As one that has personally benefitted from chiropractic care and physical therapy during his younger years, Dr. Corey Van Westen of Optimal Performance Health Care Center, LLC, operates his practice with an underlying goal: to educate patients so that they can take control of their own health.

As a youth in Iowa City, Iowa, Van Westen was active in almost every sport his school offered. When he was 12 years old, he suffered a severe concussion from a football injury, and shortly after, he began experiencing migraine headaches. Local medical experts had no solutions except for a heavy regimen of medication, which failed to help the headaches and also gave him ulcers.
Before long, Van Westen was frequently missing school due to his health woes. His grades slipped, and he was unable to play sports or socialize with friends. His parents began to worry.

Through a family friend, Van Westen’s parents learned of a chiropractor and physical therapist. “The chiropractor performed an examination on my upper cervical spine, and he determined that the football injury misaligned the top two vertebrae,” Van Westen relates. “I began an intense six-month regimen of chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy, which eventually cured the migraine headaches. I was back at school full time and participating in hobbies and activities with my friends and family. It has now been 28 years since I’ve had a migraine headache. Chiropractic and physical therapy changed my life forever.”

Van Westen knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in health care in some way, and after experiencing first-hand how chiropractic gave him his life back, a career decision came easily. After graduating from the University of Iowa in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in biology, he went on to Palmer College of Chiropractic, in Davenport, Iowa, where he earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 2004.

As a sports enthusiast, Van Westen found a good fit as a chiropractic physician for the Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten men’s football team, and the men’s and women’s track teams. Eventually, Van Westen relocated to Chicago to form a multi-specialty wellness center that employed chiropractors, physical therapists, two medical doctors,  exercise physiologists, massage therapists, dieticians and a large support staff—a precursor to the practice that Van Westen opened in 2009 after he and his family moved to the Milwaukee area.

Optimal Performance specializes in educating patients about healthy lifestyles and providing corrective care. Van Westen says his practice differs from some chiropractors that treat pain until it is temporarily gone, only to have the patient experience pain again later. “We utilize a unique combination of physical therapy, chiropractic care, medical diagnostics, therapeutic massage and weight management to completely address the underlying cause of aches and pains once and for all,” he explains. “The Optimal Performance model of care is the most financially responsible way for the patient, and it also enables them to focus solely on resolving their health problems. They make an investment in their health and learn to maintain it for the remainder of their lives.”

Conditions that the practice treats include digestive issues; neurological issues; disc problems; radiculitis; inflammatory diseases; migraines; headaches; numbness and tingling in arms, hands, legs and feet; arthritis; degenerative diseases; chronic pain syndromes; metabolic syndromes; fibromyalgia; neck and back pain; and shoulder, hip and knees injuries. The clinic also treats personal injuries from automobile accidents, workers compensation injuries, and pediatric and geriatric issues.

Van Westen notices how the public is slowly shifting toward a whole-person approach to health and is embracing a self-determined, proactive style of care. When he sees his patients regain control of their health and enjoy their lives again without limitations, he’s reminded of why he first entered natural medicine. “The best way to predict your future health is to create it,” he says confidently.

Optimal Performance Health Care Center is located at 15850 W. Bluemound Rd., Ste. 306, Brookfield. For more information, call 262-226-8349 or visit OptimalPerformanceWI.com.

Sheila Julson is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Natural Awakenings magazine.