Local “Green” Doctors Pursue Advanced Certifications For Optimal Patient Care

By Austin Sorette

Doctors Seth LaFlamme and Bri Duga of Great Works Chiropractic & Wellness have long been committed to teaching families how to be happier and healthier.  

Now, the owners of Great Works Chiropractic and Wellness are getting an education of their own.  

Though they already maintain a well-established practice, LaFlamme and Duga are taking the next step in their own professional development by participating in a fifteen month long program – offered by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association – in an effort to achieve advanced certifications.

While both doctors have already received advanced training in pediatrics, and have cared for patients with problems ranging from reflux to ear infections to developmental issues to neck and back pain, and more, Dr. Seth is quick to point out chiropractic is not a treatment for disease.

“We treat the person with the problem, not the problem in the person,” explains LaFlamme. “There’s a big difference.”

As for the certification, Dr. Seth says it can only help in his and Dr. Bri’s quest to provide the best service possible.

“We will actually have extra letters after our name,” quips Dr. Seth. “We want to have the best education so we can offer the greatest quality pediatric care for these kids whose parents have entrusted us with their care.”

Dr. Seth says Great Works of South Berwick is unique in that it accepts patients of all ages, giving families and children a safe and effective alternative to drugs and surgery.  According to Dr. Seth, most of the health problems that occur over a lifetime can be traced back to childhood – birth trauma or any number of accidents that can seem mild at the time, but create big problems later on.

As such, it is the intent of Drs. Seth and Bri to stop the problems – and thus the symptoms – at an early age.

“What you're doing is isolating a weakness, helping to restore areas of the body that have static” says Dr. Seth. “If you can reconfigure the communication between the brain and the body, the injuries tend to heal on their own.”

During his enrollment at Life University in Atlanta, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class, Dr. Seth was taught about the nature of the body and the root causes, function and dysfunction, that govern wellness or illness.  He notes that many people are now looking to treat the cause rather than manage their symptoms as per the usual medical offerings.

“There are billions of chemical reactions going on in your body every second, all tightly regulated by the brain,” says Dr. Seth. “Our unconscious mind has access to the complete blueprint to our health, and controls and coordinates such an intricate and finely balanced internal symphony—the idea that we could, through artificial means, pharmaceutical or otherwise, somehow do better than the body’s precision-tuned inborn intelligence is somewhat comical.”

Dr. Seth says that the conscious mind is “just not designed to coordinate our infinitely complex inner balance.” Chiropractic involves trusting what is called your “innate intelligence,” and identifying and removing blockages to its full expression.

“Many of us can’t even remember to pay our bills on time,” he exclaims. “Imagine if you were suddenly put in conscious control of running your entire physiology.  It would be a total disaster!”

Great Works Chiropractic & Wellness is a member of Green Alliance, a local organization that promotes local businesses who are environmentally conscious, and also offers a wide variety of discounted green products and services to their card-carrying members.  

The practice of chiropractic, as explained by Dr. Seth, is itself a form of “green healthcare”—producing very little actual garbage, and presenting none of the risks associated with prescription drug use or surgical intervention, which can be serious.

“It's overall sustainability for humanity,” he says, of alternative medical approaches like those used at Great Works.

But what really prompted Drs. Seth and Bri to focus on children’s wellness was a reason that was, quite literally, close to home: The doctors are proud parents of three children, two of whom had experienced their own health issues in the early stages of childhood. Now, with the aid and expertise of both parents’ preventative and holistic chiropractic approaches, the children all enjoy optimal wellness.

Which is exactly what they hope and expect to see in their patients, young and old alike.

“We have confused ‘wellness’ with ‘not sick’ in our culture.” says Dr. Seth. “They are not the same. We shoot for optimal wellness, and it’s an inspiring thing.”

Dr. Seth says he and Dr. Bri are excited by the prospects of turning their new-found knowledge into everyday miracles.

“With our pursuit of advanced degrees, we wanted to leave no stone unturned in order to provide this kind of care for as many families as we can possibly reach over the course of our careers,” he says. “It's really special caring for kids because we want to give them the best start possible, instead of being behind the eight ball from day one.”

To learn more about Great Works Chiropractic & Wellness go to www.greatworkschiro.com

Find out more about the Green Alliance at www.greenalliance.biz