Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Gormley
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I came to chiropractic after suffering a traumatic spinal injury while playing indoor Lacrosse in upstate NY almost 30 years ago, which left me in constant pain and without the use of my right hip and leg. I was unable to sit, stand, or lay down without excruciating pain. I tried everything that I could find to resolve this injury including p/t, chiropractic, eastern and western medicines and therapies, and everything that I tried failed. I was told by every medical doctor that the only hope was surgery, which would only last a short while and that I would need follow up surgeries and eventually I would be in a wheelchair by the time I turned fifty.
It wasn’t until we moved down to SC so that my wife could attend pharmacy school that I happened upon a chiropractor who not only had a very similar issue as mine, but was able to recover from it by utilizing a special method and he now specialized in that specific method of chiropractic that I had never heard of called the Gonstead Method of Chiropractic. He was the first practitioner that I met who actually was able to give me answers and hope. A few months after treatment started, I was amazed at the results and couldn’t believe that I was not only out of pain, but back to being functional like I had been previous to the injury.
This experience was so life changing that after long discussions with my wife, I decided to go back to school as an adult (I had kids in college at the time) to re-do my under grad degree and then go on to attend Chiropractic school and earn my doctorate in order to help people, like I had been helped.
My doctor gave me the advice of getting involved with the Gonstead technique club right away and I did just that. I attended Sherman Collage of Chiropractic and eventually became the Gonstead club president for 3 years. In that time I grew the club to over sixty attendees twice a week, instituted a Gonstead intern test for the intern students at the student clinic and became involved in helping teach at national seminars that specialize in teaching this methodology to student and doctors across the US and internationally.
Once I completed my education both at school and through the Gonstead Seminars, I opened our clinic in the middle of covid and began giving back and helping people like I had been helped, as well as I continue to give back to the Gonstead community by teaching seminars, sponsoring students, holding workshops both on and off campus and mentor students to help them become proficient in this method of chiropractic, which is still considered the gold standard of chiropractic care sine the late 1920’s.
Our mission is simple, we specialize in finding the real cause of a neuro/musculoskeletal problem and fix it completely, then we leave the patient alone so that they can heal. I help those who have tried everything and found no lasting help. We thoroughly examine and test the patient to find the root cause, accept where we find it (as some issues like low back pain or digestive problems can be a result of something located closer to the brain and migraines can be a result of problems in the lumbar spine and pelvis), fix the problem restoring the patient and getting them back to their life, and then give them the tools to use to help keep them healthy and prevent them from future re-occurrences.
We believe that we should all be able to live our lives the way we want to and to be able to handle about 80% of our lives ourselves and without much help. When we find underlying issues crop up that we can not handle ourselves, then there are people like me that can help get back to health and functionality quickly and efficiently.
It is a gift that I was given, that I try everyday to give back to as many people as I can. To go from no hope and nothing working, to having hope and getting your life back, to me there is no greater responsibility that a doctor can have when helping his or her patients get back to health..
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, and I am glad it hasn’t been either. Even the start of my post grad studies came with challenges, during my tenure in chiropractic school came with very real challenges of an overloaded schedule, countless hours of book study (Chiropractic programs on average have approximately 500 more class room hours required than a medical doctorate program), and utilizing every minute that I could to hone my skills in a highly specialized and competitive methodology to become proficient and certified to practice and teach the next generation for Gonstead field doctors. I have had everything stacked against me including starting much later in life, struggling with home life and work balance while I was in school, not to mention having a very active family and a busy travel schedule all across the country learning and teaching. These obstacles have all taught me patience, resilience, and perseverance. How to succeed against all odds, including opening a business in the heart of Covid. By following our heart and having a strong passion and faith to help others, we have found a way to overcome every obstacle and continue our goal of helping people overcome their obstacles, helping them to feel better, heal better and function better.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are an integrated practice that brings together cutting edge neurologic chiropractic services with professional grade skin and aesthetic services and body work services to help anyone who is interested in living optimally and functioning normally to optimize their health and wellness.
We are different than other basic chiropractic services in the sense that we focus on analyzing the relationship between your spine and extremities and your neurological function to determine your bodies ability to adapt to stress both internal and external. Basic chiropractic services (90% of the chiropractic services available) focuses on a “one size fits all approach to care, where each and every time you get the same series of manipulations and very little lasting results. We are different in that we spend a lot of time analyzing your particular case and identifying the unique problems our patients face and putting together a specialized plan of care to address those issues to resolve them.
Our Professional aesthetics services specialize in using only natural products that are free of fillers and water and get results that are noticeable and last. Our aesthetician is passionate about client care, getting results, and helping our patients to take their skin care needs. we also utilize various body work therapies and professional grade recovery therapies to help our patient s live their best life.
We are the team chiropractor for the Greenville Swamp rabbits Hockey team and the professional MMA team that Stephen Thompson started in his family business, Upstate Karate. The advantage that gives our patients in their own recovery is huge, as we introduce therapies and treatments usually only reserved for professional athletes.
With our complete professional services, we can address almost any condition and help you recover and heal from the inside out. We strive to serve our community by offering exceptional professional services that produce lasting and noticeable results, and we make them available and affordable so that anyone can enjoy the best of the best. We are open late throughout the week, and on weekends and are constantly looking to add new treatments and therapies that will make a real world difference in our patients lives.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Within the next 5-10 years, I see this industry changing drastically. The emphasis on patient care and collaboration of the medical community will be huge. With insurance rates going up, and services paid for going down we see more and more healthcare professionals returning to a cash-based practice in order to get back to the act of helping people. The medical community is overloaded with insurance regulations, oversight, and red tape. People are drowning in massive deductibles both for single or families, and as a nation we continue to fall short in the wellness capacity or salutogenic approach to healthcare. We need to all come together as healthcare professional and help each other in order to help our communities to get healthier and stay healthier. The need to lead in this regard is higher than ever before and we need to be able to work together for the betterment of our communities. I for one have been “crossing the isles” and working with the medical community for years, including assisting pre and post surgery recovery, consulting on patient care, and being the first chiropractor in SC to obtain hospital rights with Bon Secours health systems. All in the hopes of helping to shape a healthier South Carolina.
Pricing:
- We always offer a free consultation to see if we can help and we are the right fit for our patients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gowellgvl.com
- Instagram: @gowellgvl
- Facebook: @gowellgvl
- Youtube: @gowellgvl
