By Carol Stiffler
Dr. Brian Stoynoff is preparing to open a new chiropractic office on Newberry Avenue. Stoynoff has 18 years of chiropractic experience and originally considered moving to Newberry when the last chiropractor, Dr. Kristin Hieshetter, advertised for an assistant. But the timing wasn’t right – Hieshetter’s husband accepted a job in South Carolina, and they left before she and Stoynoff could join forces.
But Stoynoff didn’t let go of the opportunity. He’s setting up his chiropractic office at 224 Newberry Avenue, in the office formerly used by dentist Dr. Alan Tokar. He plans to open on February 24, 2020.
“I’m extremely excited about it,” Stoynoff said. “This town is a lot like where I grew up, before it boomed.”
Stoynoff comes to Newberry from Paw Paw, Michigan, which is near Kalamazoo.
“My wife has been wanting to move somewhere for a longtime,” Stoynoff said. “We’ve always wanted to come up this way.” His wife, Heather, and sons Beck, 11, and Rourke, 9, will join him in June after school is out.
Stoynoff’s arrival will fill a gap in the area, which has no chiropractic service within 30 miles. But don’t expect him to be like any other chiropractor you may have seen before.
There are 238 ways to make a chiropractic adjustment, Stoynoff said, and no two chiropractors are alike.
“I look at what your body shows me by looking at your feet and what your body tells me by looking at your spine,” he said.
Stoynoff will see clients at any age, including babies. He adjusted his own sons before they were minutes old, he said, because birth is one of the most traumatic things a body can experience. He is comfortable adjusting pregnant women and people in any condition, though some severe situations may require clients to first receive an x-ray at the hospital.
In every adjustment, Stoynoff says he uses as little force as possible – so don’t expect to be cracked and wrenched aggressively.
“Everything I do is done with tender, loving care. I don’t enjoy making you squirm,” he said. “I do a lot with the table. I do a lot with the activator. I am a specialist in extremities.”
He’ll also most likely be wearing pastel colors, because he hopes to put clients at ease.
Kirby Wendt, from Newberry, is a board member of the Newberry Chamber of Commerce and has never had a chiropractic adjustment. But Wendt was instrumental in bringing Stoynoff to the area in the wake of Hieshetter’s departure. He introduced Stoynoff to Tammy Henry at the Luce County Economic Development Corporation, and Henry set Stoynoff up with a small loan to launch his practice here.
Wendt says he gave Stoynoff an ear full about Newberry, noting its highs and lows. He’s thrilled for Newberry to have a chiropractor again – and Stoynoff in particular.
“You can just tell that he has a small-town heart, and he’s very much for the community,” Wendt said.
Stoynoff knows that not everyone believes in chiropractics, but he encourages an open mind. “Give me five or six tries,” he said. “If it doesn’t work for you, we part as friends.”
Most people could use an adjustment on a timed interval, Stoynoff said, though some idiosyncrasies in our bodies can be left alone.
“I’m a great adjuster. But I’m a regular guy,” Stoynoff said. “You can call me Brian if you want to. You don’t have to call me Dr. Stoynoff. I don’t need fancy titles and I don’t need to be fancy. I don’t need to invade every aspect of your life. I want to help you, and see what this can do.”
