By Carol Stiffler
Imagine relocating to the Upper Peninsula – that can be challenging enough – at the dawn of the COVID pandemic, and opening up a chiropractic practice in a town you’re not from, just as Michigan was discovering its first few cases.
That’s what Dr. Brian Stoynoff did when he opened Northern Star Chiropractic in February of this year. It could have spelled ruin.
Instead, Stoynoff said he had 10 slow days when the stay home order was first put in effect, and then his business level gradually returned to where it had been: busy.
Chiropractic care was deemed essential during the stay home order, so patients could still make appointments if they wanted.
“They weren’t somewhere they weren’t supposed to be,” Stoynoff. “That essential service title really helped out a lot.”
Stoynoff says he currently has 350 active clients. He’s officially busy, though it’s not impossible for established clients to make same-day visits.
Being in alignment is potentially more valuable now than ever, according to Stoynoff. With the flu season set to launch in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s time for our immune systems to be at their prime.
“Your nervous system and immune system are tied together,” Stoynoff said. “When there’s a problem with your immune system, there’s a problem with your nervous system, and vice versa.”
Your nervous system tells your immune system how to work. “When your spine is misaligned, your nervous system has trouble telling it what to do,” Stoynoff said.
In the end, he believes herd immunity will be critically important to getting through the pandemic.
Despite the global crisis, Stoynoff says he is honored by the warm reception he has received.
It’s beyond what he ever would have expected, Stoynoff said.
“I was given all kinds of stories about going to the U.P. for business and not being a Yooper,” Stoynoff said. “I have found none of them to ring true. I am honored and proud to be a serving member of this wonderful community.”
Stoynoff says he is happier here, living the U.P. lifestyle – it’s more down-to-earth.
“Sometimes the $20 I put in my wallet at the beginning of the week is still there at the end of the week,” he said.
