Key adjustments: Lawrence chiropractor balances work, family life

Colleen Auchenbach is a Lawrence chiropractor and mother of four, with a fifth child on the way.

Chiropractic treatments are an integral part of Colleen Auchenbach’s life. You could say they’re a family affair. Her father, two uncles, an aunt and several cousins are chiropractors, and her two sisters attend chiropractic college.

Auchenbach received her first chiropractic adjustment as an infant.

“I had constipation, and my parents brought me to see Dr. Millie Cleveland at Cleveland Chiropractic Clinic, where my dad was a student,” she says.

“She laid me on her knee, gave me an adjustment, and the result was immediate. My parents were amazed.”

Although she and her nine siblings knew and experienced the value of chiropractic treatments at their father’s Colorado practice, Auchenbach didn’t want to follow in her father’s footsteps. After graduating from Lamar High School in 1993, she attended Regis University in Denver.

“I decided to rebel a little, do a general arts course and have a good time,” she says.

It worked briefly. Auchenbach soon realized she wanted to lead a more useful life.

“When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with myself, I thought about what kind of life I wanted for my family,” she recalls.

“I wanted to be self-sufficient and provide for my children the way my dad took care of us. Helping others in their quest for health was also appealing. I’d also grown up with a very healthy lifestyle and a belief that the body is capable of healing itself given the right circumstances and support. Becoming a chiropractor seemed like a good fit and a good way to help others.”

She left Regis in 1994, graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College of Kansas City in 1998, then moved to Lawrence and married her husband, Brad, in 1999 after meeting on a blind date. They have four children with a fifth on the way.

She works about 30 hours weekly at Advanced Chiropractic Service, 1605 Wakarusa Drive, while Brad looks after their children. She’s gradually learned how to balance her roles of wife, mother and chiropractor.

“I don’t take the office home, and I don’t take home to the office,” she says.

“I try to give my full attention to whatever I’m doing or whoever I’m with, whether I’m with patients, my kids or my husband.”

Auchenbach uses the chiropractic activator technique: After completing a series of tests to locate areas of interference in the spine, she uses a hand-held activator to deliver a fast, specific adjustment to remove blockages. She says it’s a technique her patients like, and it’s especially helpful for children.

“Regular chiropractic treatments help improve a person’s quality of life and help the body to function at its optimum level,” she says.

She gets regular treatments herself, and her children love having adjustments.

“It’s very fulfilling to work with people and help them feel better by ridding their bodies of pain, discomfort and malfunction,” she says.

“I’m blessed to have such a rewarding profession and have time to enjoy my family.”