It’s funny because I’ve never actually met Dr. Ian Davis-Tremayne in person. Yet, I would still call him a friend. I’ve interacted with him a lot on Facebook, Twitter, email, and his blog. Through those interactions, it’s easy to see how committed he is to what he does.
His attitude on practice and his patients are an inspiration and I am grateful he took some time to answer questions for The Atlas of Life.
Brandon: How did you decide on a career as a chiropractor?
Dr. Ian: “Well, I have been seeing a Chiropractor since the age of 4. It was just something that has been a part of my life for so long. It was a normal routine that I got adjusted/checked at least once a month by Dr. Rob Smith and whenever I was sick or something was happening to me internally, my dad always took my to Dr. Rob before any medical doctor. My dad didn’t know why he took me to the Chiropractor first, but he did know that whatever Dr. Rob did worked.
As I was getting older, I knew that if being a rock star didn’t work out that I wanted a fall back plan as some type of “healer.” I became an Emergency Medical Technician to determine if Emergency Medicine was the right gig and realized that it just didn’t fit who I was. I really loved facilitating someone through their healing and not just fixing immediate problems. It has it’s place, but it wasn’t what my calling was.
So, my Chiropractor at the time gave me a book on chiropractic and told me to look into Life West. After a lot of soul searching I realized that since that age of 4 my true calling was right in front of me all along and here I am today!”
Brandon: What chiropractic school did you go to and why?
Dr. Ian: “I went to Life Chiropractic College West. I honestly didn’t look anywhere else. I had only heard amazing things about it and it was located in the San Francisco Bay Area where I grew up and was currently residing. It just made sense. Many family obligations were holding me back here and I had a super awesome girlfriend (now my wife) who I couldn’t imagine leaving.
When I visited the campus, I saw all of these people I knew already. Their philosophy resonated with me. They offered a ton of techniques, which I had no clue at the time that there were different techniques. And the campus was really nice. Everything just seemed to make me gravitate to Life West.”
Brandon: Why did you choose to get into Upper Cervical Chiropractic?
Dr. Ian: “It changed my life! I was always reading Green Books, but doing full spine work and trying to make BJ’s philosophy work with my technique and eventually realized that all I was doing was trying to prove BJ’s technique wrong while utilizing his philosophy. I was a walking/adjusting contradiction.
I started exploring Upper Cervical more and more. I put a lot of patients on toggle, some on full spine with a toggle, and some on just full spine and started noticing that the patients who were on toggle were getting amazing results and coming in less (which didn’t really help my clinic numbers for graduation) and my full spine people were still 1-2 visits per week.
My advisor at the time was Dr. Tiscareno. He and I would hang out and talk philosophy and have friendly debates over technique. Then one day I told him about my own personal battle with Insomnia and how I had been on pills since I was a teenager in order to fall asleep.
He offered to adjust me Knee Chest style and he ROCKED MY WORLD! That night and for the next two weeks I slept like a baby without any pills.
I also ended up in Forteleza Brazil two days after that adjustment for a mission trip. I saw 1400 people in 5 days, almost all full spine, but this one guy I saw had terrible Parkinson’s. He couldn’t walk and had to be carried in by his family. I knew that full spine would be too much for his system, so I did a modified toggle on him, I let him rest for about 20 minutes (which gave me a much needed break), and afterwards, he stood up, smiled, and walked out. At that moment, I knew what my true calling was.
When I got home, I immediately asked Dr. Shawn Dill and Dr. Paige Van Slooten if I could be a part of “That Something” Coaching Program and train under them, and here I am today… Getting sick people well and restoring health and hope to everyone that I possibly can.”
Brandon: Where are you practicing right now and what has it been like up to this point?
Dr. Ian: “Right now I am in a temporary office until my new office is complete in Mill Valley, Ca. I am becoming a part of The Specific Chiropractic Centers. All of the docs in The Specific are amazing, influential, and THE BEST of the best. We are all Knee Chest Specific. I am so excited to be a part of a team that inspires me every day and who I can turn to for any reason.
I was practicing in an office that offered all types of therapy and Chiropractic Techniques, but that just didn’t work out very well for me. It’s hard to build your own house under someone else’s roof.
Upper Cervical wise, it has been nothing but amazing. I go to work everyday with a smile and leave with a smile. Just being able to be a part of a life changing experience in someone’s life is such a blessing. I have found that when I just be myself, treat every patient like they are my mother or father, and give every adjustment like it’s the last one that I will ever have a chance to give, I know that I have served that person to the best of my abilities.”
Brandon: Can you describe some of the most interesting things you’ve witnessed since being in practice?
Dr. Ian: “Every experience has been super interesting. That’s a hard one to answer.
I’ve had patients who have been in pain for over 20-30 years, who have tried everything, including Chiropractic, and while resting after their first adjustment start crying because they know that when they stand up, they will no longer be in pain.
I have been a part of working with Meth Babies who show the signs of Autism and epilepsy who are now sleeping through the night and not banging their heads into walls every time they stress out.
Or getting to work with people who have such bad insomnia that they don’t sleep for 72 hours straight on a regular basis and now are able to sleep without any problems as long as they are holding their adjustment. The list goes on.
Every patient has been amazing to work with and all of them have been true inspirations for me.”
Brandon: What advice can you give to someone who is suffering, miserable, and unsure of where to go when all their conventional medical options run out?
Dr. Ian: “I would ask them to look deep inside. Truly think about how everything inside their body works. What runs it? Why are we able to heal from a flesh wound without having to tell the body what do do? Why is that different from healing an internal dis-ease?
What if all you had to do was simply remove the interference of communication between what the brain is telling the body what to do and the body’s response? I know it sounds too simple, but just ask yourself “what if?” There is no need to lose hope if you haven’t tried looking from Within.
We, as Upper Cervical Chiropractors, just simply remove that interference and allow the body and the Innate Intelligence with in it do what they do best and that is heal.”
Brandon: What advice can you offer chiropractic students who might be struggling with the idea of what to do after graduation?
Dr. Ian: “I would honestly say that you need to go with your heart and if you don’t know what that is, then start asking to shadow and apprentice with THE BEST of the best and watch miracles happen. What lives being changed. I know that if changing lives resonates with you, then you won’t have a hard time finding your true calling. All you really have to do is search within because the answer is already there. Sometimes it just needs to be dusted off.”
Brandon: What is your vision for the future of Upper Cervical Chiropractic?
Dr. Ian: “I see Upper Cervical Chiropractic being THE Chiropractic. I see it as being the leader in the Wellness Industry. I see it as being the “Go To” Technique in Chiropractic. The Upper Cervical docs will be the ones that all of the other Health/Wellness/Medical prefessions come to for the answer, which of course is a very simple answer as we know…just remove the interference. I honestly believe that we already are all of these things.
I think that we already are the “Go-To” technique and we are the leaders in the Wellness Industry. Unfortunately, not many others will admit that due to egos.
The cool part is that we stay humble and aren’t stepping up and demanding recognition. We are waiting patiently. Eventually it will come (I think sooner than later) and we will just smile and go about doing what we do best, getting sick people well. We are a part of the most awesome profession ever and I am so stoked to share it with the rest of the world!
With that being said, there needs to be unity not only between Upper Cervical Docs, but Chiropractors in general. We all have our place and we all have the ability to do great things. The fight should not be about who’s technique is better and what BJ really meant. The fight should be for the well being of our patients.
I have no problem admitting that if Knee Chest isn’t the answer for a particular case, I will refer them out to who I think would be the most appropriate Chiropractor before I send out for any other modalities.
My pride isn’t so big that it blinds me from reality. We must realize that we are all specialists and should be treating one another like colleagues, not enemies.”
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Rock On!!