A Conversation With ... Steve M. Perkins, D.C.

I’ve been in practice for about 26 years, and in Springfield since 1984. I have a staff of three – a billing clerk, a front-desk receptionist and a back-office receptionist. My oldest patient right now is about 85, and my youngest patient is about a year old.

What do you do for patients?

Chiropractic is not a broad-scope type of health care. What we focus on is care and treatment of the human frame, particularly the spinal column. We do that through chiropractic manipulative care.

What sorts of conditions do you treat?

Obviously, the most common one would be lower back pain. That’s probably the one symptom that we’re most known for. However, as research has blossomed in our profession, we see that there are more conditions beyond that. We see a lot of sports injuries ... we see a lot of auto-accident cases and neck injuries, the treatment of the neck itself after an injury. We also treat headaches as they relate to the neck region. Many headaches stem from improper motion and alignment of the neck. We use things like electrical stimulation therapy and ultrasound. I do a lot of exercise recommendations in therapy. I do orthotic casting for feet (and treat) knee, hip, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, and shoulder problems.

Do you think that chiropractic care is becoming more mainstream in health care?

I think that’s probably accurate. I can remember back when I first started practicing in 1981, chiropractors were really considered alternative. I’ve seen a real change in that. I think it has to do with the fact that utilization by our patients is increased. There’s more acceptance of what we do, and there’s more research to point out the efficacy of what we do as chiropractors. The biggest thing that has changed that is probably managed health care. Managed health care has brought chiropractors into their panels because of demand by our patients.

To what do you attribute increased patient utilization of chiropractic care?

There’s an increasing balloon of population in baby boomers – and I’m one of them. We live in a culture of sedentary lifestyles ... many times our work situation (is) sitting behind computers, working at keyboards. Our kids are working game controllers at television sets. As a society, we’re not getting out enough and doing enough outdoors to get exercise. That’s part of it, too. ... I think also what’s driving (growth) in relation to chiropractic is people are not always accepting that taking a medication for a back pain problem is the solution for the problem. They’re seeking ... what I would consider a more permanent solution rather than just covering it up with medication.

What changes would you like to see in chiropractic care?

One of the things that concerns me is that statistics tell us about eight out of 10 people at some point in their lives will have a debilitating back issue, but chiropractors are only seeing 12 percent to 15 percent of the population. That tells me that we’re not utilized to the extent that we should be utilized. I think education is part of the challenge.

Why did you decide to become a chiropractor?

When I was a kid, my dad was pretty much disabled because of his back. They were looking at doing disc surgery on his lower back. He got a call from a friend who said, ‘Before you do that, why don’t you consult with my chiropractor?’ My dad said, ‘What’s a chiropractor?’ This was back in the late 1960s, early 70s. So he went to the chiropractor, and the chiropractor got him up and on his feet and back to work. My dad was thrilled with that. My dad used to suffer with migraine headaches ... and the nice benefit was, after going for back care, he finished up his treatment, and he actually had no headaches, too. From that point ... chiropractic was just sort of second nature to us. ... I did my chiropractic training in Portland, Ore., at Western States Chiropractic College.

Tell us about your family.

My son, Ryan, is 25, and is attending Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis. My daughter, Brooke, is 27, and she’s an interior designer for an architecture and design firm in Kansas City. My wife, Betty, and I have been married 29 years, and she works here in the office with me as my billing clerk.

Is your son going to join you at Perkins Chiropractic?

I’m hoping so. It would be great.

What do you do in your free time?

I serve on the board of the Pregnancy Care Center. I’ve been on that board for five years. I’m just finishing up a car restoration, which has taken up my spare time for the last three years, working on a ’68 Mustang, candy-apple red.