Dr. Melissa Kisla of Tri-County Chiropractic seems to have been destined to become a doctor of chiropractic. As a child, her parents took her to a chiropractor for monthly health maintenance and whenever she was sick or injured. “Chiropractic care always relieved our symptoms,” she reflects.

Kisla earned a doctor of chiropractic degree from the New York Chiropractic College and has been practicing for 24 years. She founded Tri-County Chiropractic in January 2001, opening the first office in Pottstown. With a goal of serving Lancaster, Berks and Chester counties, Tri-County Chiropractic also had offices in Exton, New Holland and Intercourse over the years.

Today, the primary offices are in Douglassville and Bird in Hand, with a new location set to open in Honey Brook. The new office, Kisla says, will help solidify her goal of maintaining a chiropractic presence in those three counties. In Honey Brook, Kisla and her team will share space with Michael Arbuckle, DO, with plans for cross-treatment of patients.

Kisla’s focus on whole-person wellness motivates her to learn new techniques and integrate lifestyle medicine into her practice. She’s certified in the Webster technique, a chiropractic method used on pregnant women to realign joints and relieve tightness in muscles and ligaments, helping the baby move and turn in the womb. The technique is often used to correct or prevent breech or incorrect positions.

Many pregnant women are referred to Kisla by midwives and obstetricians throughout the region. “Patients come from all over to seek my service for that because it’s very effective,” she says. Kisla notes that the Webster technique has an 82 percent success rate in returning babies to proper positions, often avoiding the need for Caesarian sections.

Spinal decompression therapy is another service offered at Tri-County Chiropractic. This nonsurgical treatment is used to relieve chronic lower back pain, pinched nerves and disc herniation. Kisla’s patients lie on a computerized table that decompresses the actual vertebrae and discs by gently separating them. “We’ve used it on patients that were about to undergo back surgery and have been able to save them from that,” she says.

The practice also offers digital foot scans for custom orthotic fittings. Unlike store-bought inserts that only provide extra cushioning, professional-grade custom orthotics help correct foot positioning to improve overall balance. “If a patient is off-balance, the scan will detect if their feet are flat or if they have too high of an arch. Support from orthotics can make a night-and-day difference in patients with lower back pain. This is all part of our whole-person approach.”

Cold laser therapy is another option at Tri-County Chiropractic. This technique uses precision low-intensity light on injured or inflamed tissue to improve blood flow and reduce pain and inflammation. Kisla says it can be effective in treating shoulder, hip and knee issues.

In addition to these treatments, Kisla’s whole-person approach includes lifestyle and nutritional counseling, along with massage therapy. “If a patient comes in with neck pain or lower back pain, there could be other contributing factors to those conditions. We want to look at the big picture by addressing nutritional needs, biomechanical needs and emotional needs. We take our time to speak with patients to thoroughly find out what’s going on in their lives.”

Massage and physical therapy modalities are incorporated into each visit to help patients relax and prepare for optimal chiropractic outcomes. Kisla stays inspired by the success stories of her patients’ recoveries under her care.

“It is emotionally gratifying and exciting to see the progress in my patients,” she concludes.

Sheila Julson is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Natural Awakenings.