Dr. Keith Kuch has been a chiropractor in Mankato for 25 years. | John Cross
Healing hands
Best chiropractor – Keith Kuch
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r. Keith Kuch has been a chiropractor in Mankato for the past 25 years. He has seen patients as young as 3 days old as well as those well into their 90s. Mankato Magazine spoke with him about being named “Best chiropractor” by its readers. Mankato Magazine: What are the most common reasons people see a chiropractor? Dr. Kuch: By far, the most common reasons people see chiropractors is for neck and back pain. With that said, we successfully treat headaches, sciatica, disc problems, sports injuries, and work-related injuries, and many other health related issues. MM: How long does a typical session last? DK: The length of time necessary for a treatment varies tremendously depending on the needs of the patient, the technique employed by the chiropractor and even the particular chiropractor. It’s not uncommon for a chiropractic adjustment to take only five to 10 minutes. In fact, one of the comments I hear from patients quite often is the relief that a visit to the chiropractor doesn’t have to take so long and interfere with their day so much. MM: Once a person begins seeing a chiropractor, is it necessary to continue for a long time or is it possible to see you on an as-needed basis? DK: That depends on what the needs of the patient are and also what the goals of treatment are. Some patients prefer to utilize chiropractic on an as-needed basis, and others are interested in trying to not just receive pain relief, but rather correct the problem to the best of the body’s ability. And quite honestly, some patients will present to the office looking for just pain relief but after establishing a level of comfort with the chiropractor and seeing that the same condition keeps coming back, will often opt to try to stabilize the condition instead of just pacifying it. 40 • July 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
MM: People seem very stressed these days. Can seeing a chiropractor help with such things as stress, poor sleep and tension headaches? DK: I often share with patients that everyone has stress in their lives. But not everyone suffers o u t w a r d symptoms of their stress. Oftentimes, a patient will have underlying spinal j o i n t dysfunctions, or subluxations and then, when stress is increased in their lives, it’ll manifest with tension headaches or sleep challenges. Receiving a chiropractic adjustment to clear the subluxations does indeed provide very nice relief of those stress-related symptoms. Usually quite dramatically, and fast! MM: What do you enjoy most about your career? DK: I decided to become a chiropractor to be able to help people. Even after 25 years, I still get goose bumps when I get to witness the incredible effect that chiropractic has. People that had felt that they were going to have to live with the pain for the rest of their lives. People that had tremendous debilitating pain, and are provided relief. Parents being able to sleep during the night, because now their baby is sleeping. These things still give me goose bumps and always will. MM: Why do you think the readers selected you as best chiropractor? DK: I think people appreciate a doctor that genuinely cares about them, and develops a relationship with them. I’ll typically know their children’s names, their hobbies and interests, what type of work they do. And conversely, they’ll know when I’m in my next Merely Players play or know of my motorcycle adventures. Of course, paramount to developing this relationship with the patients is the ability to successfully manage their condition, including referring them to a specialist or maybe another chiropractor if indicated. Mankato is so blessed with the health care that’s available in our community. We’ve got a world-class medical community, as well as a number of excellent integrative services available, such as massage therapy, yoga, acupuncture and health clubs. I also feel the Mankato area is very blessed with an incredible collection of chiropractors of which I’m proud to call my colleagues. — Nell Musolf