Auburn Hills Upper Cervical Chiropractor
Dr. Zachary Ward

The Doctor

Hi, my name is Dr. Zachary Ward, and I’m an upper cervical and structural chiropractor – with a practice conveniently located on along the I-75 corridor in Auburn Hills.

Why you might want to work with me – the short version

Here’s the short version of why you might want to visit with me about your health concerns:

  • You’ll get something different than what’s currently offered by 96% of chiropractors in Oakland County

I look at the spine from a different perspective, and that can mean different results, which can be a good thing if you haven’t gotten the response you have wanted yet from chiropractic care – or other body work, or physical therapy.

  • You get custom care based on your goals and your situation

I don’t use cookie-cutter care plans – instead I ask you what you want to get out of our potential relationship (a revolutionary concept for the doctor’s office!) – and then let you know if its something that I think I can help you with, along with a time frame for your potential results

  • Visible changes in your posture and spinal structure are often possible, sometimes almost immediately

I want you to get on the right track to self-healing as quickly as possible – because that helps you stay happy with your care – which helps me have a successful practice

(Learn more about the upper cervical chiropractic procedures here.)

Now, here’s the longer version of why you might want to work with me, plus there is some academic information below so you know I have the credentials I need to do what I’m doing…

Skip to the academic information.

Why you might want to work with me – why I love what I do

I’m no stranger to chronic pain. I was in multiple car accidents by the age of 18 (none my fault). There was a time in my life (during college) when I could barely sit without having to move around – the act of being in a chair was so uncomfortable.

I did all of my school age sports (football and running) in pain or dealing with some sort of injury.
If you have pain – I can relate.

I can relate to that sense of you feeling betrayed by your body. It’s no fun. And as it happens, I discovered an interesting explanation for a lot of chronic body suffering – which has personally helped me – and which I have used to help hundreds to have less pain, a healthier body, and a more enjoyable life.

I’m personally invested in the care that I offer – upper cervical and structural chiropractic care has transformed my personal health and the health of my family.

My brother’s story – why I got into this, and why I still love it.

LukeAndZach

My little brother sent me to college…well, his mysterious pains did. Let me explain.

I didn’t have a clue about how important the top of the neck was, until I went to chiropractic school. And the only reason I ended up at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, in 2005, was because of my brother.

His name is Luke.  He is the one on the left in the image above.

Between ages 4 and 8 he suffered horribly from these mysterious pains. Especially at night. For multiple nights per week.  Weeks at a time — he would wake my parents in pain.

They would spend good portions of the night rubbing his aching legs. Experimenting with all kinds of doses of children’s aspirin and Tylenol. My father walked the long hallway of our Chicago apartment holding Luke. Trying to keep him quiet so I wouldn’t wake. Then the ache would disappear for awhile, only to return again a short time later.

What was wrong with Luke?

Even stranger…My brother had this weird way of sleeping. He would sit crossed legged, and bend forward at the waist, folded up a like a chair. He never started out that way.

Naturally, mom and dad wanted answers for his pain. So they went to the family pediatrician. After some blood tests, and a few other screenings, they learned absolutely nothing. There was nothing wrong with Luke.

Not medically, any way. They were just growing pains. And his sleeping position? The pediatrician just kind of laughed it off. “He’ll grow out of it.”

My parents were a little irritated that their concerns weren’t taken very seriously. Waking multiple nights per week to comfort a child in pain…That isn’t easy. Even if all of his tests are negative.

So, they got a bit angry when the search ended and there was no good answer. No diagnosis. No referral. No specialist.

They were ready for a second opinion. A good friend of my mother had just started visiting a chiropractor to help with her MS symptoms.

Chiropractor, huh? Hmm. The guys who crack your back? I hadn’t heard the word “chiropractor” ever in my life.Which was too bad.

I had a child hood of many ear infections, and multiple ear surgeries. I loved to play sports, but dealt with a lot of debilitating aches and pains. But I didn’t know what a spine was at that point…Or why I should care.

So, at their wits end, my parents went to the doctor who “cracks your back”-even though they were a little nervous.

And within a few visits, my brother’s pain was gone. Years of sporadic growing pains melted overnight.

What was wrong with Luke?

His nerve system was under stress because of restrictions in his spine. His brain and body weren’t in complete communication. It sounds complicated, but it’s not.

The solution was obvious and simple. We just didn’t know, because no one bothered to tell us to look at my brother’s spine.

Do you know my little brother?

It was amazing for my family to see my brother’s problem vanish with a few small adjustments. A problem that didn’t even really have a name in our pediatricians office.

Chiropractic care allowed us to go from no answer to a reasonable answer. From doctor’s shrugs to a plan of action.

Chiropractic care allowed my family to see my little brother’s health change over night.

Not long after my brother received the results he did, I started getting chiropractic care to help me through some self-inflicted football and running injuries.

I didn’t know it yet, but that was the birth of my life as a chiropractor.

A little bit more about my personal life

  • I am a student of life and I love learning
  • Husband and father
  • I am member of a top-notch group of business professionals called the “Business Executive Network”
  • We didn’t start out as a “chiropractic family”- I first learned about chiropractic because my younger brother suffered from major growing pains as a kid–we were a bit skeptical, but the chiropractic care helped and it opened up a new way of looking at the body
  • I have been in multiple car accidents (none my fault), and dealt with chronic neck and spinal pain for many years, until I received consistent upper cervical chiropractic care–so if you have pain, I can relate

Dr. Ward’s Professional and Educational Background

  • Opened Life In Alignment Chiropractic, Lc in September of 2011
  • Doctor of Chiropractic Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa February 2009
  • Member of Quantum Spinal Mechanics (QSM3), 2014 – present
  • Active Member of National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA), 2007-2013, passed Level I, and sought Level II Candidacy
  • Board Certified, National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, 2008
  • Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI 2003
  • Past Publications Committee Chair, National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association
  • Studied with Board Certified NUCCA chiropractor Dr. Barbara Read in Ames, Iowa from November 2008, through May 2010
  • Michigan Association of Chiropractors, Member

Post-Graduate Hours in Upper Cervical Care

  • Spring 2019 (Quantum Spinal Mechanics, Atlanta, GA)
  • Fall 2015 (Quantum Spinal Mechanics, Dallas, TX)
  • Spring 2014 (Quantum Spinal Mechanics, Newport Beach, CA)
  • Spring 2012 (Quantum Spinal Mechanics, Rock Island, IL)
  • Spring 2012 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, Orlando, FL)
  • Fall 2010 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, Atlanta, GA)
  • Fall 2009 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, Dallas, Texas)
  • Spring 2009 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, St. Louis, MO)
  • Spring 2008 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, Davenport, IA)
  • Fall 2007 (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, Atlanta, GA)

Post-Graduate Hours in SOT® Methods

  • Fall 2023 – SORSI Homecoming: Neurological basis of SOT Categories, Introduction to Cranial Motion, and SOT Category System and Pelvic Blocking (with emphasis on ligament injury of SI joint system Category II)

Post-Graduate Hours in Cervical and Brain Injury

  • “Whiplash Injury Biomechanics & Traumatology 2017, Modules 1-4, Spine Research Institute of San Diego

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