It was 27 years ago when Dr. Bryan Strother and his wife, Rose, started Corrective Chiropractic in an old house at 1 Madison Street in New Buffalo.
Later, they added massage therapy on the lower level and decompression therapy. In 2021, they tried expanding the Madison Street location but outgrew it.
In 2023, they opened A Hot Place to Chill, which is located at 400 South Whittaker Street in New Buffalo.
"We've constantly talked about what can we create for people that's just bigger than what we had... We always in our minds thought, 'I want a place where people can come and do more things for themselves.'"
— Rose Strother
Now, they've created that place by moving Corrective Chiropractic into the 400 South Whittaker building, right next to A Hot Place to Chill, ensuring that people can move freely between the clinic and recovery studio.
The new clinic boasts more "aesthetically pleasing" features, Dr. Bryan said, as they've opened the ceiling, as well as a larger adjustment area and technological upgrades.
The first exam room, Dr. Bryan said, is tailored for clients to undergo the testing process, which includes Surface Electromyography (sEMG); structural analysis, where clients are digitized "to what any kind of shift they may have;" foundational assessments using lasers on their arches and full physical exams.
Periodically, either some or all tests will be done on clients to assess their progress. Every three months, they'll return and full analysis will be performed.
"We do a full digital analysis of how their nervous system and their structure is functioning, so each room is built out that way to efficiently do that testing for them."
— Dr. C. Bryan Strother
A new, high frequency X-ray can exam shoulders, hands, wrists, knees and hips, in addition to the spine.
"Our other examination is set up in kind of a mirror to where it's flipped over on the other side, but it has the same things," Dr. Bryan said.
Massage therapy is now on one floor, with a waiting area and restroom.
Rose said that most people who utilize A Hot Place to Chill, which is a separate business entity from Corrective Chiropractic, are on a "health journey."
"I feel these things we offer you can take your health into your own hands and say, 'I can do this stuff for me,' so all really great research outcomes, all really natural kind of services that you can just do for your health," she said.
For those in need of a relaxing break, there're chair massages and the spinal stretch table.
The NormaTec compression system is used for compression therapy. Rose said that people can put their legs, hips and arms up to air units, which will go through a cycle of inflating and deflating the sleeve, helping those with blood circulation problems.
Regarding the contrast therapy, Rose said sleeves for shoulders and knees alternate between heat and cold exposure electronically. The therapy is beneficial in decreasing swelling for those who've had surgery, such as a knee replacement.
There's a newer version of the power plate, which is a vibrational fitness machine, that has air tracks, which helps absorb the vibration when on the plate and reduce the stress on the joints.
The full body cryotherapy unit is kept at -110 degrees on average a day.
"Because it's so cold, all the blood's rushing from your extremities to your core to protect your vital organs — when that blood flows down, that's what helps push inflammation out of your body."
— Rose Strother
There are two infrared saunas, with one that's kept at the highest temperature setting of 165 degrees all day. In the other is a smart tablet, with protocols that cycle through infrared rays at different intensity levels. The staff can set up different protocols, such as an anti-aging or a cardiovascular one, with each one having different temperature settings.
Regarding Red Light Therapy, which benefits skin health, there's now a four-wavelength panel in addition to the three-wavelength bed, and the addition of a five-wavelength one.
"These medical grade units, like ours are, have longer wavelengths so the higher the wavelength, the deeper inside the body it can go," Rose said.
In keeping with the couple's mission to help people have a more proactive role in their health, Dr. Bryan said they hope to hold nutrition programs that would increase education and human interaction.
"We want to create a community lecture area, where people can hang out and we can cover topics and they can work together on getting better."
— Dr. C. Bryan Strother
For more information on memberships at A Hot Place to Chill, which is open seven days a week, visit www.ahotplacetochill.com. For more information on Corrective Chiropractic, which is open all day Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, Tuesday afternoon and Saturday mornings, visit www.newbuffalochiropractor.com.