By the time Dr. John Boyle was a teenager doing farm work in upstate New York, he had already had enough sports injuries to inspire him to pursue a career in the healing arts. Then, when he was around 20, he fell two stories off of some scaffolding, and that made things much worse. Add to that spending many “back breaking” years of being in the construction industry, and his back was a hot mess. He was not at all impressed with the idea of having his spine cut, burned, fused, or the prospect of taking pain meds for the rest of his life, and it was through the expert care he received from a chiropractor that made him decide to leave the construction industry and go to Chiropractic college. He graduated from Life University in Marietta, GA, and has been in practice for 12 years.
I first met Dr. John while working at a health fair in September, and he was offering a very generous introductory package to the vendors and attendees. While I am no stranger to chiropractic, I knew I was in need of some sustained treatments to deal with the problem of numbness in my hands. I had fallen off a log bridge when I was about 3 years old, broken my collar bone, reversed the direction of my neck, and it was time to start to restore my neck and spine to the original plans of my Maker. Having a career that involves continually relegating my hands to the movements required to write on a laptop wasn’t helping, either, and I made my first appointment just to see where things stood. I was grateful to not be in pain, but the numbness was getting worse.
The X-rays revealed what I had told them regarding the reversed direction of my spine, but there were some new “twists,” literally. I was starting to develop both scoliosis as well as bone spurs, and the first smile I got from Kris, the technician who read my “films,” was in connection with the good news that my condition could be remedied, and it would take some time to do so.
Now, Hazel Green Chiropractic isn’t exactly around the corner from Athens, but I can tell you, it is worth the trip. The place is almost always hopping, and they see approximately 400 patients per week. They are open Monday through Friday from 7am until 6pm, and I have been there at all hours of their working day. Without fail, I have been treated like a friend, and their concern for me, their humor, friendship, and “patience with the patient” has been strong and consistent. Clearly they have been “doing something right,” and it shows!
John believes strongly in giving back to the community, both here, in New York, and in Louisiana. “I don’t just stop being a doc @ 6pm, there is a table at my home, and we’re here to help.” When 9/11 hit, he went to NYC to help, whether it was doing first responder type work,(which he used to do full time,) or giving adjustments to first responders, police, firefighters or other helpers. He was there for 3 weeks. When Hurricane Katrina roared through Louisiana, John was part of the Louisiana state bio-terrorism team that dealt with the secondary threat of water-borne illness. He worked with the Javins Brothers to build, literally, a hospital by renovating an abandoned K Mart. “We created it out of nothing,” he said, and people literally came out of the swamp to get care. While John’s Hazel Green clinic is state of the art, and has decompression equipment, waterbed therapy, massage chairs, electric stimulus pain abatement equipment and more, he can say with the pragmatism that made our country strong, “when the lights go out, we still have our hands.”
These days he also uses those hands as the team doc of the Huntsville Rockets Semi Pro football team, who happen to be the 2011 defending champions of both the BCS Semi Pro division, and the National Developmental Football League. “We’re the best thing nobody’s ever heard of,” he says with a chuckle. The team tryout date for the upcoming season is December 16th, and they typically have a roster of between 50 and 65 players. Several players, he told me, are as good as anyone in the NFL, “but these guys can go to work on Monday,” and they truly play for the love of the game. Anyone interested in being part of the team can contact the Rockets at www.thehsvrockets.com. The tryout fee is $45.
Whether you are in need of excellent chiropractic care on or off the field, Dr. John Boyle and his capable team at Hazel Green Chiropractic Clinic will fix you right up.
Hazel Green Chiropractic Clinic
13971 Highway 231/431
Hazel Green, AL, 35750
256-828-4288 phone
256-828-4250 FAX
hazelgreenchiropractic@yahoo.com
hazelgreenchiropractic.com
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
