Dr. Doug Devine works with patient Erin Lockwood at his new office located in Stapleton at 2330 Central Park Blvd.

The irony isn’t lost on Doug Devine. After careers in the military and finance, it took severe back pain from a parachuting injury, plus a healthy dose of skepticism, to find his calling. Devine knows what he’s up against in convincing people of the benefits of chiropractic care. He was one of those people who needed convincing, hesitant to go to a “voodoo chiropractor” as he referred to them. But faced with surgery as the only option left after traditional treatments including injections, muscle relaxers and physical therapy didn’t last, Devine pursued chiropractic care. In addition to lasting pain relief, he found other surprising physical and mental benefits along with a new career path—as a chiropractor.

Dr. Devine, D.C., or “Dr. Doug” as he prefers to be called, occupies a live/work space on Central Park Blvd. A Stapleton resident since the fall, he opened Stapleton Chiropractic in April to help people’s bodies function better and to educate them.

Devine had tried chiropractic treatments for his back before but the pain relief was only temporary. After getting a coworker’s recommendation for a different doctor who explained what was happening to Devine and why, throughout treatment, Devine found his back improving along with other, unexpected changes. Hamstrings that had been tight since college suddenly loosened, increasing his flexibility. His frequent colds stopped and he noticed his negative outlook on life changing to a very positive one.

Now as a practicing chiropractor himself, Devine says chiropractic care can address a wide variety of conditions for people of all ages (including infants and children) such as headaches, vertigo, mind fog, menstrual issues, frequent colds, knee pain, bed wetting and ear infections. “Anything that’s going wrong with your body could be helped by chiropractic because the body is driven by the brain,” explains Devine, adding that the brain communicates to the body and the body gets feedback back up to the brain via the nervous system. “It’s like the highway for our bodies to get messages to and from the brain. If that highway has potholes, or speed bumps or a tree falls, those messages aren’t going to make it to their destination with the clarity that’s needed.” He says chiropractic fills in the potholes, takes away the speed bumps, and removes the trees “so the messages can get where they go in a timely and correct fashion,” allowing the body to begin to heal itself.

Devine considers chiropractic care a conservative approach. “I’m just touching your skin. I’m not putting anything in your body; I’m not adding chemicals to your body or cutting the skin; I’m not doing anything harsh,” he says. “You don’t always jump to the most radical things first—try the easiest things first.” He adds, “Most people don’t take care of their spine like they do their skin or teeth. They have no problem going to the dentist regularly for a checkup,” he says. “But we can’t see the spine so people have an easy time ignoring what they can’t see. If our spines were external, there’d be a chiropractor on every block.”

Stapleton Chiropractic is located at 2330 Central Park Blvd. and can be reached at 720.536.0707, Doug@StapletonChiropractic.com or www.stapletonchiropractic.com.