An institution in the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood for nearly 40 years is moving, but it won't be going far.
Burnaby Heights Chiropractic, currently at 4322 Hastings St., is moving across the street as of March 1.
Dr. Forest Eaton bought the practice from the previous owner, Dr. Steven Dow, in 2005. Dow had been at the location for about 31 years, Eaton says.
"It's been a great spot for me," Eaton says. "I run the clinic pretty much in the same way the previous chiropractor did."
He chose to avoid having a highpressure, high-volume practice, and prefers to focus on each individual client, he explains.
"I've always approached treating patients the way I would want to get treated," Eaton says, adding he has been a chiropractic patient since he was in his mid-teens.
DR. EATON LIKES HEIGHTS "COMMUNITY FEEL"
"I've seen different chiropractors, I know different treatment strategies that different chiropractors have, methods of running different practices," he adds. "No single chiropractor is the single be-all, end-all for all patients out there."
Patients come to him for issues ranging from back and neck pain to headaches, he says, and primarily find him in the phone book or through his website, www. bbyheightschiro.com.
He points out that chiropractors are highly trained and spend a lot of time on school, and learn hands-on skills.
Chiropractic spinal adjustment is a "pretty controlled act," he says.
Eaton has strong ties to the neighbourhood and knew it was one of the places he might like to have a private practice someday, he says.
He graduated from chiropractic college in 2003 and worked in Kerrisdale for more than a year after that.
"It just wasn't the right neighbourhood for me," he says, adding he grew up in the Burnaby and New Westminster area as a kid.
"I shopped at Tazmania Comics since I was 12 years old," Eaton says of the Heights. "I knew it was a good area. I love the community feel that you get here."
Eaton purchased the practice from Dow on April 1, 2005. But last November, the landlord told him he had renegotiated the lease with a new tenant.
"It was unfortunate, I was really happy here," Eaton says "But I got lucky and a space came up across the street."
Eaton has been working on renovating the new space and preparing it for his move on March 1, but he's also expanding his services once he moves, he says.
Eaton plans to get a massage therapist in to the new clinic.
"It's a really good fit in a chiropractic office to have a massage therapist," Eaton explains. "Massage therapists offer different treatment strategies and it's a different skillset to have.
Its very complementary to what I do," he adds.
Eaton plans to keep the community feel going in his new office, and says he will continue to offer each patient as much time as necessary to put them at ease and deal with any questions or concerns.
He adds that he is also open to chatting with anyone who wants to drop by his practice and discuss chiropractic treatments, provided he isn't with a patient.
Eaton treats each patient himself, dealing with acute physical injuries as well as chronic conditions arising from the nervous, muscular, or skeletal systems, according to his website.
First visits to Eaton's practice include a thorough review of the patient's health history, it states, as well as an exam to deal with current problems.
The exam includes functional movement tests, a postural assessment and joint motion analysis.
The clinic is open Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1: 30 p.m. Appointments can be booked by email or by phone.
Eaton is a member of the B.C. Chiropractic Association and the B.C. College of Chiropractors.
