KATC speaks with Lafayette’s first black female Chiropractor
By Tre Francis
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LAFAYETTE, Louisiana (KATC) — Dr. Elizabeth Chavis became the first black female chiropractor in Lafayette nearly 12 years ago.
Chavis is now using her expertise to focus on educating the public about her transformative profession.
“I loved that you can change people’s health and life with just our hands with no drugs or surgery. I’ve seen people’s lives change with chiropractic adjustments. And that’s what I wanted to spend my life doing,” Chavis said.
Chavis received her education at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, considered the top school for getting blacks into medical school. While also attended Life University in Atlanta, Georgia for chiropractic, before receiving her degree in osteopathic medicine at Philadelphia College in Georgia.
Dr. Chavis is now one of two chiropractors practicing at ABC Rehab and Chiropractic.
She says most believe you need to be referred to a chiropractor by a primary care doctor or had to have gotten in a car accident, however, she says that is not the case.
“You don’t have to have anything wrong with you to see a chiropractor. If you have a spine and a working nervous system you want to get it checked for interference so your body can function better,” Chavis said.
And for those wondering how often they should receive an adjustment from a chiropractor…
“She says there’s no cookie-cutter answer for the number of times you should see a chiropractor however after an in-house analysis,” Chavis said.
For those who are hesitant about the sound or thought of “cracking” your body, Chavis says there are different techniques available.
“We have the activator technique where I use an instrument and a table that does a dropping mechanism where I don’t have to do any cracks. I just set the table for each person’s weight and it drops, which will take care of the adjustment,” Chavis said.
Chavis also says throughout the day if you’re feeling tenacious and need relief you can do one simple thing to release it.
“One thing people overlook is breathing, taking three deep breaths will completely release tension in your body,” Chavis said.
If you need a chiropractor, speak to your primary care physician or a local chiropractor for a consultation.
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