Dr. Eileen Hearn has been a practicing Doctor of Chiropractic for over 18 years. A student of yoga, nutrition,  reconstructive massage therapy, rehabilitative exercise and holistic health, Dr. Hearn combines many areas of study for a “whole person” approach to health care.

Dr. Hearn has taught continuing education courses to chiropractors and acupuncturists, emphasizing correct methods of orthopedic diagnosis and patient evaluation. She attends continuing education courses regularly, participates in weekly meetings with other chiropractors and reads numerous health care publications to keep up to date on new health research.

Dr. Hearn is proud to be an affiliate doctor with the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine in Santa Monica, California. She attends monthly staff meetings there to expand integrative patient care skills and participate in co-managing patients who enjoy the benefits of a truly holistic medical and chiropractic partnership. (For more information about this wonderful center, go to: http://www.akashacenter.com)

Since 1993, Dr. Hearn has helped major health insurance companies review over two thousand insurance claims to determine whether chiropractic treatment was appropriate in each instance. In performing these consultations, she developed an unusual awareness and commitment to expedient, effective and ethical treatment practices. She holds certificates of completion in courses of Qualified Medical Evaluator and Industrial Disability Examiner.


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In her own words:

“When I was 16 years old, I suffered from severe headaches. Over the course of two years, they had grown into a daily problem, sometimes beginning when I awoke in the morning. It interfered with my schoolwork, and my enthusiasm for life in general.

At a friend’s urging, my mother took me to a chiropractor. I was amazed at how my health improved. Within weeks, the headaches were less intense, and soon I could go a whole day without having one! In a few months, I could go a whole week with no headache. It felt like my life was being given back to me.

I became one of those annoying people who pestered anyone with a health problem to go see my chiropractor – I was sure he could “fix” them! Then in junior college, I had people tell me I was good at finding the sore spots, when I gave a backrub. I scrapped my original plans to become a forest ranger, and with the encouragement of my chiropractor, decided I would use my talents to pursue a career in chiropractic instead. I’ve been grateful for the opportunity, ever since.

Spending years as a massage therapist while training to become a Chiropractor has greatly influenced my perspective. I can’t picture treating the bones and joints without also treating the muscles in and around the joints. These structures work as a whole. Specialized deep tissue procedures, such as rolfing, have inspired a multitude of similar techniques, each promising to be “the be-all, end-all cure” for sports injuries or chronic bodily aches and pains. In truth, they all have value, and a good diagnostician learns to match the technique with the patient. These practices make a wonderful accompaniment to chiropractic adjustments and physiotherapy, sometimes yielding miraculous results.

Systems like Yoga and Pilates recognize the need for proper balance in the muscles and joints of the body, and the importance of good posture. The “hottest” new trend in musculoskeletal rehab is “core strengthening” – with good reason. Application of a few simple principles and procedures can revolutionize a patient’s home care regimen, and protect the spine from re-injury.

As a chiropractor, I can adjust the spine all day long, but unless there is attention given to the muscles and to posture, the body will often revert right back to the unhealthy patterns that caused the problem to begin with. This, I learned from my own first chiropractor.

The origin of the word, “doctor”, means “one who teaches”. It’s like that old saying, If I catch you a fish, you’ll eat for a day; if I teach you to fish, you’ll eat for a lifetime. The healthiest patients are those who are willing to learn, to participate in their own health and well-being. It is a great joy for me to provide information and tools for patients to help themselves.

The origin of the word “health” meant integrated, or whole. If we look at our health as a result of all the things we do to & for our bodies – what we feed ourselves, how we move, how well we breathe, what postures we’re in for long periods every day, what type of movement or exercise we engage in, what / how we think and feel, how we connect with life, with others, and how we rest or sleep, THEN we have a holistic model of health. Without that, even perfect spinal adjustments will be limited in how much they can do to improve someone’s health.

I like looking to the origins of things, to gain a wider perspective. So much can be learned from looking at how Modern Man (and Woman!) came to be as we are.

We only have to look back as recently as the 1950’s to see how differently people lived, moved, ate and exercised. Fifty years is NOT enough time for the body to adapt to new chemistry (foods/substances) and habits. Yet the oldest intact humanoid skeleton, “Lucy”, is 3 ½ million years old! How did the forces, conditions, and habits of those 3 ½ million years of evolution shape our bodies’ biology? What are we designed to eat, how are we designed to live? Asking these questions helps provide some simple, straightforward answers to why there are so many health problems in a country that has the highest standard of living on the planet.

Obviously, we’re not headed for lifestyle changes that resemble anything like Lucy’s world. What we CAN do is to see where things have gone awry, and make use of available information, technology, and common sense to live healthier, more balanced, and more enjoyable lives. My job is to provide an avenue for adopting simple but powerful health habits that support this process…and of course, this often starts with careful treatment of a painful or bothersome health condition. That certainly was the case in my life – headaches brought me to a chiropractor’s office, and thus began my journey into health.” 

Yours In Health,

Dr. Eileen Hearn