Life altering events shape life’s calling for Toledo chiropractor
By Bev Berens
Dr. Mickey Frame
Dr. Mickey Frame missed a lot of school as a kid. He suffered from asthma and mild scoliosis, typically missing 40 to 50 school days in a year. When he was nine years old, his father suffered a severe back injury that left him unable to walk. His options were surgery with a 50/50 chance of walking again, try chiropractic treatment or leave the status quo and remain disabled and in pain for life.
“I remember my neighbors coming and carrying my father out to the vehicle, screaming that he didn’t want to go to the chiropractor,” he laughs. “He came back that afternoon in pain, but walking. Six or eight weeks later he went back to work. He never has had any type of back surgery.”
“When I was about 10 years old, I started getting treatments for my asthma. I have to say it didn’t cure it completely, but I stopped getting sick and was able to participate in sports again.” A severe allergy to cat dander will cause his asthma to engage, but the condition has remained controllable since that time.
Seeing success for her husband and son, Dr. Frame’s mother sought treatment for severe migraines that eventually brought her headaches to a more manageable level. “Chiropractic changed my life as a child. It changed my whole life. I’m the chiropractic miracle people hear about and that’s why I chose to become a chiropractor,” he said.
Once the outcast of the medical profession, chiropractic treatment has moved into the main stream. Many doctors now refer patients to chiropractic care for chronic pain and more, especially as people look for alternatives to invasive surgery or procedures. “It’s not just for back pain anymore,” he says.
After graduating from Palmer College of Chiropractics in Davenport, Iowa, Dr. Frame started his first practice in 1989 in Sylvania, Ohio. The practice thrived and grew for the next 10 years until a motorcycle accident left Dr. Frame without the ability to bear weight due to a left ankle fracture. “Once again, everything changed,” he said. “I was in the hospital for weeks and I spent two years without putting any weight on my ankle while it healed.” The injuries caused by the accident left him in chronic pain and unable to stand for long periods, a necessary physical requirement when it comes to treating chiropractic patients. He sold the practice, returned to school to study finance, then worked as a financial advisor for a few years.
Dr. Frame admits financial planning was not a good fit for him and soon returned to school, pursuing a law degree and selling pharmaceuticals. “I was in yet another accident where I was rear-ended by a colleague,” he said. Those injuries triggered old accident injuries and surgery was inevitable. The good news was that the surgery helped return feeling to his left hand which eventually led him to be medically cleared to practice once more. “I left law school and went straight back to chiropractic, my first love.” Although it took some time to see if he could handle the physical rigors of practice again, he eventually realized that his stamina and strength had returned enough for him to hang his own shingle once more. Frame Chiropractic and Acupuncture of Toledo opened its doors in 2007.
After the accident, acupuncture was a part of Dr. Frame’s recovery program that included physical therapy, pain medication and chiropractic adjustments. However, he did not like the side effects of the pain medications, but experienced tremendous pain relief from the acupuncture treatments. With firsthand knowledge of its benefits, he studied the skill on advanced levels, adding acupuncture to his treatment options at his clinic.
Dr. Frame explains that people often forget that chiropractors are physicians. “We have to assess and diagnose a patient. We do full exams before treating. That may include x-rays or diagnostic tests. We may refer patients to other doctors or not treat them at all if there is nothing we can do.”
“People often look for the quick fix for an ailment, and that is usually the drug or medication route,” he said. “But the long term effects on the kidneys, liver and stomach are often overlooked.” He said that frequently the goal of treatments is just to reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals a patient takes, helping turn the tide on some of the negative effects to the body’s organs.
“Eighty percent of chiropractic is skeletal/muscular problems,” he said. “But we can use acupuncture to treat a wide variety of conditions like smoking cessation, chronic pain, pancreatitis, sweaty feet and even cancer.”
Frame Chiropractic and Acupuncture is in the process of expanding, either at their present location or at a new site, and hopes to unveil the results in April or May. In the meantime, their every-other-month newsletter will keep patients posted on progress and special events happening within the practice.
If you have found this story interesting, informative or inspiring, please let Dr. Frame know! You can contact him at 419-475-9355; visit Frame Chiropractic and Acupuncture at 4210 W. Sylvania Ave. #102, Toledo, Ohio; email him at framechiro@yahoo.com; or visit the website at www.getwelltoledo.com.
