Dr. Manfred Ahnen, DC

Doctor of Chiropractic

I operate an amazing practice dedicated to providing Natural Health Care, and I get to do what I love every day, helping people become healthy.

Before I became a Doctor, I worked with my hands for a living...

Doctors were a part of my life growing up. I was always sick as a kid and a teenager, I could count on having a cold or the flu every 2-3 months as regular as clockwork. It didn't stop me from doing things like water skiing, hiking, and playing racquetball, but it did make everything much more difficult.

During high school and as a young adult I worked summers in Alaska, up on the North Slope, as an oil spill containment specialist. One day, trying to grab an out of control fire hose on an oil rig, I disabled my back, and became unemployable for the summer. Repeating what I'd learned as a child - I immediately went to a medical doctor, who was unable to help me.

The US Army was my next adventure. I learned two things there: one was how to use my hands to fix helicopters and electronic weapon systems; and two, was that I needed more education if I was ever going to do anything else. After my honorable discharge, I became a "field engineer" for a national office supply company. A field engineer is a fancy name for a "repair guy," who drives around in a van all day fixing and moving office machines.

How two auto accidents in eight months changed my life...

Most of my days as a field engineer were spent driving from office to office in Anchorage, Alaska and later Olympia, Washington. One day, while driving in Olympia, I was rear-ended in my work vehicle, an accident so severe that it totaled both vehicles. I was in terrible pain, my back and neck hurt so bad I could barely move. But after a few days of recovery, a ton of aspirin and Ben Gay, I went back to work (even though I was hurting) just to keep my boss happy and mainly to protect my job.

Eight months later I was in another accident, rear-ended again. This time, I was smashed while stopped on the freeway. I couldn't overcome the pain to keep working, so I started visiting back specialists under the state's Workmen Compensation Program. The pain became so intense - I couldn't work, I couldn't even walk across a room. I became sedentary (a couch potato), and gained 50 pounds. I was a mess and I couldn't understand why all these doctors couldn't help me.

Since I couldn't work, I decided to go back to school. After 2 years of attending a local college, I transferred to Western Washington University to study biology and chemistry. As a PRE-MED major, I was determined to accomplish two things, first to study hard and keep my grades up to get into medical school and second, to get my health and life back. I just wanted the pain to go away and I was willing to try anything.

$50,000 in traditional medical treatments and the wrong surgery made my condition worse...

While I was attending college, the doctors continued to try to figure out what to do with my back. If there's a procedure that requires you to be poked - pinched - or stuck with a needle, I've had it. Multiple MRI's, Milograms (replacement of spinal fluid with dye - you're sick for a week), spinal injections, x-ray after x-ray, one specialist after another. Every doctor said the same thing - we'll need to do a few more tests, just be patient.

Patient - I'd been patient! All I wanted was some relief! After every treatment my condition seemed to get worse, as long as I didn't move I could take the pain, but if I tried to walk, I was in intense pain. It made walking to class very difficult, but once I got there I felt better. Sitting didn't hurt that bad, as a matter of fact it was the only time I wasn't hurting. I guess the ONLY good thing that came of all the unnecessary medical treatment I received was that it forced me to sit still in the library and study - day after day.

Finally, the medical doctors decided the only thing to do was to cut me open to repair a herniated disk in my lower back (L5-S1). After the operation and weeks of recovery - guess what? My condition was even worse. Since I've become a doctor, I've learned that the medical doctors completely misdiagnosed my condition, I didn't have a herniated disk, I have a condition known as Facet Syndrome... NO OPERATION IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE CORRECTED IT!

A friend offers me an alternative treatment - Chiropractic...

Now, I'd been treated like an experimental lab rat for 3 years, had my back cut open and I still couldn't walk across a room without being in intense pain. A friend of mine suggested I go see their family Chiropractor. After my first treatment, I was in for the surprise of my life.

In two weeks I was walking PAIN FREE, for the first time in over three years. What an army of medical doctors, over $50,000 in treatments, and unneeded surgery couldn't do - a Chiropractic Doctor had accomplished in a few short weeks. I still needed many months of treatments to correct all the damage from the accidents and the other doctors, but I was pain free and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What type Of Doctor should I become? Medical or Chiropractic...

Now I was ready to graduate from college with a pre-med degree, with grades and test scores high enough to get into any medical school I wanted, but what type of medicine should I practice?

I thought about this extensively, and after a while the answer was very clear. I had a simple choice - either help people stay healthy with preventative care, or to treat them like an insurance claim number and only work with them after they were sick. The choice was easy.

I knew from that moment on, my life would be dedicated to helping other people avoid all the needless pain and suffering I had gone through.

Utilizing chiropractic training to learn about the human frame and combining all my pre-med, biology, and chemistry knowledge to learn about nutrition, I could really become the "Doctor Of The Future" as predicted by Thomas Edison 100 years ago. I chose to become a Chiropractic Physician, and I've never regretted it.

I understand pain from both sides now, as a patient and a doctor...

Today I'm the luckiest man on earth. I'm 50 years old and I do everything that I want to. Chiropractic is part of my life to this day both as a doctor and patient. I still receive regular adjustments that keep me going. I've experienced this with many of my patients and share my story with them often.

Just the other day in our Mesa chiropractic office a patient commented that I helped their son with Carpal tunnel syndrome. "Doc", they said, "you did an adjustment and acupuncture to my son, and after only one treatment it, his pain was gone". I recently heard another similar story about knee pain from another patient.

One great complement I often get from patients is that I'm a great adjuster. It usually goes something like this... "I've been to chiropractors all my life and no one adjusts as well as you. No other chiropractor does the things like you do." I just had a patient that said his reflux has gone away. He's had reflux most of his life and was on all kinds of meds. I gave him a digestive enzyme and acid and it all went away. He is so thankful. Helping people is what I love to do.

Outside the office...

I have two amazing sons, Tristan and Brayden.

I work out three times a week with weights, and I play a lot of Racquet ball. I just won first place in a Tournament (Grand Canyon Games)! I play chess, and usually have several games going with friends on Facebook. I do Kempo Karate with my boys, two to three times a week. I'm a purple belt, and so is my son Tristan. Brayden is a yellow belt. I enjoy it. It gives me an activity that I can do with the boys rather than sit in the stands.

I love going out on my boat, fishing, and water skiing. Our family enjoys hiking, camping, and evening walks. Being a father seems to mean that I'm also a part time chauffeur. My boys are involved with lots of sports. I also enjoy reading and love Football… Go Raiders!

I operate an amazing practice dedicated to providing Natural Health Care, and I get to do what I love every day, helping people become healthy. As a patient, I figure you want what I wanted when I was hurt. You want to get fixed right and you don't want to wait around. Natural first and drugs last (or surgery last) is my philosophy. I hope it's yours too.

The following information is what the medical boards use for a doctors qualifications - I think the biographical information you just read is what really qualifies me to understand your needs as a natural healing physician.

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