FAQs

Dr. Heather combines cutting edge nutritional science and natural holistic methods to help you restore your own natural balance of health. She treats each person uniquely, addressing their individual concerns.

As a clinical nutritionist and chiropractic physician, she combines her extensive knowledge of nutrition and physiology from formal academic training and research with her knowledge of functional blood chemistry, oriental medicine, kinesiology and body-mind methods. With this comprehensive approach, patients are often able to overcome health challenges when other methods have been unsuccessful.  In a respectful, supportive manner, Dr. Heather gives her patients personal care and attention to determine their unique needs. It is helpful to come in with an open mind,  a willingness to modify your diet and consider that there may be a mental/emotional component involved.

As people restore their own natural balance of health many conditions have improved. Below is a partial list of conditions that people have reported improving following her approach:

Allergies                                             Asthma                                                          Heartburn & GERD           ADD/ADHD

Digestive problems                         Chronic fatigue                                             Hypoglycemia                     Headaches

Thyroid imbalance                         Sinus congestion                                           Fibromyalgia                      Skin conditions

Irritable Bowel Syndrome            Liver & Gallbladder conditions                  High cholesterol                Anxiety

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis                Pre diabetes & Diabetes                               Pain syndromes                 Arthritis

Menopausal symptoms                 Constipation and/or diarrhea                    PMS                                      Earaches

Gluten intolerance                         Autoimmune conditions                             Celiac disease                      Insomnia

Adrenal dysfunction                      Urinary complaints                                      Osteoporosis                       Depression

Anemia                                             Challenging health conditions                   Migraines                            Muscle aches

Candida symptoms                        Chronic poor health                                     Respiratory issues             Bloating

If you are not sure, call the office and ask our friendly staff. If they feel they cannot answer your question(s) they will arrange for Dr Heather to speak with you personally.

Every visit will be unique and tailored to what your needs are that day. (See Dr. Heather’s Services)

This depends on how much needs to be done to restore you to better balance and how quickly you want to accomplish this. In the beginning 30-60 minute appointments are recommended, typically every two weeks, for the first 1-3 months. The more chronic and long term your condition has been, the longer it may take in the beginning to establish a foundation for healing. As you improve, follow-up visits are scheduled further apart. The resolution often is long lasting, however if the causative stimulus continues and/or you return to unhealthy habits, the problem may come back or you may need ongoing support to prevent recurrence.

No. We accept cash, check or credit card. Some patients have had success using their HSA accounts or Flexspending accounts.

No, it is not laser, it is LED Light therapy . It is gentle and effective without the risk of eye injury that can come with laser use.  It uses red and infrared light.  It does not expose the patient to any harmful UV light.

Dr. Heather carries a selection of supplements she has handpicked to meet her criteria. She recommends whole food, organic supplements whenever possible, that are free of major food allergens and free of chemicals, fillers and colors. She recommends nutritional, herbal and homeopathic remedies. She also recommends probiotics and enzymes when appropriate.

The supplements Dr. Heather carries are of physician strength and quality. Most don’t cost much more than supplements that can be purchased at a health food store. Because they are of higher dose and are more absorbable, patients need fewer pills for a shorter period of time and get better results. In the end they are more convenient, less expensive and make greater improvements in the patient’s health.

Dr. Heather does not load her patients up with hundreds of dollars-worth of supplements. Not only is this a huge financial strain, it is many times also a huge strain on the body’s already compromised system. Therefore, she limits supplementation to what is necessary.

Your lifestyle plays a big role in how many supplements you will need. Nutrients obtained from fresh, organic food are the most beneficial and any dietary improvements you are willing to make will not only significantly improve your health but will also lower your supplement costs.

Absolutely, as long as the supplements are of good quality and your body responds well to them. Bring them in to your appointments so Dr Heather can see if they are what you truly need.

Dr Ron’s approach is usually very successful with neck pain, headaches, mid back pain, shoulder problems, low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, tennis elbow, dysfunctional movement patterns, etc. These  are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved. Pretty much any acute or overuse injury/ musculo-skeletal condition can be helped quickly. Chronic problems can be more challenging to resolve/manage and often take more treatments or ongoing treatment s to manage.

On your first visit you can expect to fill out some paperwork about yourself and have a conversation with Dr. Ron about what’s bothering you. He will check your posture and ask you to do some tests such as range-of-motion, muscle strength, and functional movements to help evaluate your problem. After your examination he will talk to you about his findings and make recommendations for treatment. If you’re a candidate for care, he will proceed with your first treatment. Of course, he won’t do anything without talking to you about it first and explaining what he is going to do.
If you’re not a candidate for his type of care he will recommend you to some of the top doctors in our area who specialize in the care you need. Dr. Ron has an excellent reputation, and most patients experience significant relief immediately. They almost always walk out feeling confident that they came to the right place for care.

Dr. Ron does not participate with any insurance companies including Medicare. Payment is due at the time of service. If you have insurance that covers chiropractic care, our friendly and competent staff will provide you with a walk-out receipt for you to submit yourself.  Any reimbursement for services rendered should be sent directly to you from your insurance company. If problems arise please notify us ASAP so we can try to help you remedy the situation.

Medicare Patients: Even though Dr. Ron Andelora is a NON-participating provider for Medicare our office will process and send a paper CMS-1500 claim form via the USPS for Medicare part B patients.

Dr. Ron does not take his own X-rays. Dr. Ron will only recommend imaging if he believes it is in your best interest. If you have films from another doctor, or any imaging reports (MRI, CT, X-Ray, other), please bring them in for Dr. Ron to look at.

That is entirely up to you. Dr. Ron does not offer any contracts that lock you into care, or expect you to have to come in all the time. He believes that results from care for acute conditions should happen quickly in most cases. Chronic problems often require less frequent visits over a longer period of time. If you are happy with the care provided, you will come in as needed, or on a schedule that works for you and your particular health issues. Every patient is treated uniquely, there is no one size fits all approach!

Yes! Just like MDs, dentists, osteopaths, etc., chiropractors study extensively to fully understand the body’s systems. Their education consists of four years of graduate level training encompassing over 4700 hours of classroom and clinical study.  Doctors of Chiropractic – often referred to as chiropractors or chiropractic physicians – practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling. In the state of AZ Dr. Ron is board certified to practice acupuncture as well.

The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.” The purpose of the adjustment is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypo mobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Chiropractic treatments are remarkably safe—actually, they’re one of the safest kinds of health care available. Chiropractic adjustment rarely causes discomfort. However, some patients may experience mild soreness or aching following a chiropractic adjustment and/or soft tissue treatment (as with some forms of exercise) that usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours. Feel free to discuss any post treatment soreness with Dr Ron.

Dr Ron uses his own blend of ART inspired myo-fascial techniques. He uses a collection of soft tissue techniques for examination, diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue disorders. It is non-invasive, movement based both passive and active, that helps locate and break down adhesions that are often the cause soft tissue injuries.

Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.

Significant results should be seen within 2-3 visits. Muscle strength typically begins to return on the first or second visit. Treatments can be uncomfortable; patients report that it “hurts good” or is reproducing the symptoms. Both are temporary and usually stop after the treatment, a good sign that the treatment is solving a problem and healing an injury. Patients report a freed-up, lighter, expansive or blood flow feeling with better movement.

In our office treatments are done 2-7 days apart. This can be a stand-alone treatment but Dr Ron often uses it in conjunction with chiropractic adjustments, IASTM and Trigenics^®. Full resolution in 4-6 visits is common, it could take as many as 10 or more in some cases. In the beginning 30 minute appointments are recommended. As treatments progress a 15 minute appointment is often adequate. If you have 2 or more regions needing care, i.e. shoulder and knee, 30 minute appointments are strongly advised.  The resolution is often permanent, but if the causative stimulus continues the problem could certainly return.

Trigenics^® is an assessment and treatment system which uses interactive applied functional neurology to reset the way the brain communicates with the body. Trigenics® is a neurological treatment system that relieves pain and restores function. It does this by locating muscles that are neurologically inhibited (act weak, not firing, turned off) and then turns them back on! Trigenics® also addresses muscles that are acutely or chronically tight and helps restore them to a healthy length.

Your brain sends signals down through your nervous system to control all the systems of your body including your muscular system. There are nerve sensors in your muscles which send signals, called “reflexes”, to the brain telling the brain what the muscle is doing in order to coordinate movement. When muscles undergo stress or injury, their sensors stop sending proper nerve reflex signals to the brain. These muscles then become neurologically short or weak causing improper joint movement through a process called “neurological inhibition” or “NI”. When muscles are in a state of neurological inhibition, they will not strengthen or stretch fully with exercise or rehabilitation. “NI” may not always be immediately perceptible but it will eventually lead to weak links in the muscle movement chain which will lead to injury, pain and/or deterioration.

With Trigenics®, your nervous system is treated to reset the way your brain communicates with your body, which includes the muscles and organ systems. Patients are interactive participants in the treatment process. Trigenics® is remarkably effective in strengthening weak inhibited muscles and lengthening short and tight muscles. It  provides rapid, dramatic results otherwise not  possible.

IASTM stands for Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization. The instruments are high-quality stainless steel tools that effectively detect and treat scar tissue and restrictions that affect normal function.

Scar tissue limits range of motion, and often causes pain, which prevents the muscles and joints to function as they did before the injury.

The results can be phenomenal. It is very effective in detecting and breaking up scar tissue and restoring function to acute and chronic injuries, and pre- and postsurgical conditions.