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Barnes Road Chiropractic
By Virginia Bruce

Who hasn’t experienced back pain at some point in their adult life? Perhaps the human body hasn’t fully evolved to handle our upright stance! Gravity works against our long spines, carrying the weight of our big heavy heads on a thin column of stacked vertebrae.

Dr. William Econe has treated 6-7000 patients during his career as a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.). These years of experience help him quickly diagnose and skillfully treat the roots of spine problems, from his practice in the “triangle” shopping center on Saltzman, just south of the Cornell intersection.

Dr. Econe checks the patient’s heel alignment.

Chiropractic treatment was developed by D. D. Palmer in the 1890s, and his son B. J. Palmer helped to expand it in the early 20th century.  It aims to correct the misalignments (subluxations) that can occur as a result of, “trauma, poor posture, poor diet, stress, incorrect work habits, lack of exercise, and general human frame use over time (the need to manage gravity),” says Econe. These subluxations can cause not only back pain, but other problems that arise when nerves are pinched by the vertebrae on either side of the nerve outlets.

Econe moved to Oregon with his family as a child in 1964. He says, “My first experience with a chiropractor was while I playing football as a student at Aloha High. Following a very aggressive tackle, I began having mid-back pain, and found breathing painful as well as most, if not all, movement of my upper extremities. I attended a Beaverton Chiropractor who said that I had 2 rib fixations. He adjusted me and the relief in this case was immediate. Some few visits later I was entirely free of pain and continued to enjoy my high school football.”

He studied economics, pre-med, and general science at OSU, and after receiving his degree, he attended Western States Chiropractic College (now University of the Western States) in Portland and received his D.C. Oregon was one of the earliest centers of chiropractic study and practice. (history.uws.edu/)

A high school swim team competitor gets a relaxing heat treatment before her adjustment. Chiropractic helps athletes stay at the top of their game.

“After the years of studying and hard work to put myself through school, I decided to pause, and thought that a long-term dream of traveling to Australia would be in order. I contacted the Australian authorities and chiropractors there,and fulfilled all legal requirements. I then found employment working with another chiropractor in Victoria, Australia,” he says. To become a licensed practitioner in Australia, he had to become an Australian citizen. He still holds dual citizenship.

Dr. Econe uses the skeleton model to help his patients understand their spinal problems and his treatment

He married a woman from New Caledonia, and they eventually returned to Portland in 1987. He established City Chiropractic in the Princeton Building in downtown. His wife didn’t like the Portland weather, however, and they returned to Australia in 1990. He established a private practice there. He says, “Chiropractic in Australia is essentially the same as chiropractic in the USA. However, in Australia the majority of chiropractors run a cash practice and very little insurance is used.”

His marriage broke up, and in 2004, “after a total of 15.5 years in Australia I returned to the USA for the history and politics.” He purchased Barnes Road Chiropractic from Dr. Joan O’Connor, who was moving to Vermont. The office was near St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Using the Activator, a spring-loaded device that delivers a gentle nudge to the bone, Dr. Econe can make subtle adjustments to vertebrae.

He moved the practice to its current location in 2009. “I had been located in a suite on the second floor of a medical building. I needed to provide my patients with easier access, and I hoped for a more commercial setting to reach out to the general public.”

His long years of experience let him tailor the treatment to the patient. “I use more than one chiropractic technique to provide choice at each patient visit, for both the patient and myself. Every visit is somewhat different then the last. The patient may have altered symptoms, new events may have occurred to alter the patient profile, and so on. Being able to provide an osseous adjustment (which is where you can hear a pop or a click) or low force technique (using an activator that gently pushes the bone into place) frequently assists in patient recovery. The techniques by name and description are: Diversified, Gonstead, Thompson Drop Table Technique, Activator Methods Technique, Sacral Occipital Technique, and Orthobionomy. With some patients there is also a need for manual therapy, which includes muscle relaxation techniques at a deep level of muscle function.”

Dr. Econe gets a weekly massage to stay flexible and relaxed.

Econe does some of the manual therapy as part of a treatment, but for some patients, the addition of a massage is beneficial. “Scott Smith, LMT, has been our licensed massage therapist since 2005. He offers more than one type of massage therapy: Swedish, therapeutic, prenatal and myofascial. Working with Scott is of great benefit when dealing with motor vehicle collision cases in particular, due to the trauma and the need for muscular therapy,” explains Dr. Econe.

Some people shy away from chiropractic because they are wary of the need for repeated visits. However, a lifetime, or at least several years, of bad posture and tense muscles that result from misalignments cannot be cured in one or two visits. Econe explains, “Our bodies become acclimated to incorrect motion or correct motion. If incorrect motion has been established over a period of time then it will take more than one chiropractic visit to reestablish the underlying correct function of the attendant muscles.” If an injury occurs that knocks our bones out of alignment, our muscles respond by tensing up around the site of the injury.

Many types of insurance, including Medicare, cover chiropractic care when indicated as a result of injury. Patients usually need to be referred by their physician: check with your doctor to see what type of coverage you can obtain.

Both chiropractic and massage are physically demanding professions, so Massage therapist Scott Smith also gets regular adjustments.

The goal of Dr. Econe’s practice is not simply pain relief. “The normal patient is on a continuum of health—from severe symptoms to moderate symptoms to minor symptoms to no symptoms to good function to wellness to fitness to optimal health/optimal fitness. This clinic attempts to clearly communicate to the patient their place in the stated continuum of health, and explain to them their responsibilities in improving the presenting health status they own,” he says.

Receptionist Ashley Moore does scheduling, and can assist patients with most of their questions.

Does everyone need chiropractic care? Econe says, “I have yet to meet a person who cannot benefit from chiropractic care. We all have spines and they all react well to appropriate treatment. There are, however, conditions which are not to be considered as chiropractic in nature. The list includes but is not limited to cancer, fractures, etc. Many people who have had such conditions, however, use chiropractic therapy to assist in their recovery. Frequently neuromuscular conditions develop in response to the disease or trauma.”

A chart in the office explains the progression from pain treatment to wellness to vibrant health. Click to enlarge.

Dr. Econe has been very happy with his move to Cedar Mill. “It’s an exciting area for me as it is the right size. It is easy to get around and the merchants in general are very pleasant. It is nice to see and know many of you by name.” He lives nearby. His mother, sister and brother live in Seattle. One son was recently married and lives in France with his wife, and his other son lives with his mother in Australia.

Barnes Road Chiropractic Clinic is open from 9-1 and 2-6 weekdays except Tuesdays. Their address is 475 NW Saltzman, between China Rim restaurant and the new Great Bones studio. Visit the website, barnesroadchiropractic.com for more information, or call 503-203-6855 to schedule an evaluation. The website includes a wealth of information about many wellness topics, and you can sign up for a free newsletter even if you’re not a patient.

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