Sussex's CARE Health Center Dedicated to Conquering Pain

When Dr. Kurt Simons opened up his first chiropractic clinic in Sussex back in 1995, he did so for a couple of good reasons.

First, he didn’t have much competition on the business front. Second, he just felt at home in the village.

“When we started, I was looking for a community that was growing and didn’t have a lot of chiropractors at the time,” said Simons who owns and operates the .  “There are three chiropractors in Sussex now, but when I started there was only one other one.” 

After 17 years, Simons says he has no regrets about coming to Sussex. It’s not all that far from Brookfield where he grew up. Plus, he’s always liked the people as well as the business climate in the area.

So much so, in fact, that Simons opened two different clinics on Main Street before eventually moving into his current location on S. Corporate Circle in September 2010.

“It’s a fairly conveniently located community and there’s a lot of growth,” said Simons. “When we opened, it was one of the fastest growing communities in the area.”

The CARE Health Center is focused on helping patients get out of pain quickly and to stay pain free. Offering a wide variety of treatment options, Dr. Simons and his staff treat many different conditions including Carpal Tunnel, lower back and neck pain, headaches, shoulder issues, disc problems, Fibromyalgia, Scoliosis, Sciatica and whiplash.

The center also offers therapeutic massage and a program for weight loss.

“We treat all kinds of patients, from infants all the way up to senior citizens,” said Simons. “We offer chiropractic, massage, and other types of rehabilitation therapy. We treat postural problems, herniated discs, and scoliosis... Generally, our patients are about 55 percent female and 45 percent male probably because women make most of the health care decisions in the family. Men don’t really like going to doctors.”

Just as Dr. Simons has come a long way since 1995, so has the field of chiropractic care itself.

For many years, chiropractic care was overshadowed by a stigma that it was not really a legitimate form of medical care.

In fact, Simon admits that stigma has not entirely gone away.

“There is still some of that out there and there always will be,” said Simons. “Most of the people of that opinion either don’t understand chiropractic or maybe they or someone in their family had a bad experience with a chiropractor.”

In comparing chiropractic care to conventional medical care, Simons used lower back pain as an example.

“Let’s say you have lower back pain going into your leg,” said Simons. “If you go to an orthopedic surgeon, he’s got three options: physical therapy, medication or surgery. Chiropractically, nine times out of ten we can treat the same condition. Assuming you are avoiding surgery, you will have much better end results.  Back surgery is not something you want to go through if you don’t need to.”

According to Simons, most people get significant relief from their pain within 4 to 6 visits. 

“If it’s a chronic condition over several years, there’s probably more going on than just the pain you’re feeling,” said Simons. “The body, especially the spine, is very adept at compensating. But if problem persists, we’ve got to figure out whether it’s a mechanical problem, a flexibility problem, or a conditioning problem. Our goal is to give people an alternative to taking medication to cover up the pain.”

The CARE Health Center keeps regular business hours Monday through Friday and is also open on Saturdays by appointment.