Central Florida Green Guide

For the past nine years, I’ve been driving to the other side of the Earth (which means South Orlando to this long-time Sanford resident) at least once a month for chiropractic care. Now in my pre-Mommy days when spare time was abundant, I didn’t think much about it. But with each addition to our family (we’ve been blessed with two little ones since then), packing up for the 30-minute trek seems more cumbersome. Many times I’ve thought about finding someone closer, but after each visit (no matter how bad the traffic), I remember why it’s worth the journey.

Action Chiropractic Clinic (415 E. Michigan Street in Orlando) is more than just a chiropractic office; it is a wellness center for families. We see Dr. Anita Melcher, who has a wonderful focus on holistic care that incorporates nutrition, exercise, homeopathy and whole food supplementation in addition to chiropractic adjustments. We have referred many friends and family members to her, and everyone comments on her ability to make suggestions for improving your health without making you feel guilty about what you’ve actually been doing. She is in practice with her father, Dr. Gustav Marquart, and her mother manages the office.

Over the years, she has helped me heal from cycling accidents, improve pregnancy ailments and recover from a nasty bout of mastitis after the birth of my daughter. She is skilled in muscle testing for checking internal organs, evaluating the need for supplements and assessing the body’s reaction to foods, personal care products and other substances that may cause sensitivities.About seven years ago, I turned to her to help me find the cause of sore and swollen glands. I had seen a medical doctor, who looked down my throat and immediately prescribed antibiotics. The problem persisted, so Dr. Melcher asked me to bring samples of my laundry detergent, soap, moisturizer, etc. on my next visit. She used muscle testing to determine that my moisturizer was causing the problem, and within a week of throwing it away, my glands were fine for the first time in four months and the problem never returned!

Though we rarely have the aches and pains you typically think of seeing a chiropractor for, we try to go regularly for general wellness care. On the rare occasions we get a cold or flu, she’s the one we see for that as well. She was recently able to clear up a bad cold (bacterial infection) we’d been struggling with for a week through adjustments, a whole food supplement, a homeopathic remedy and diathermy treatments (which generate heat in the body tissues to increase blood circulation and promote healing).

My kids (now 3 1/2 and 10 months) have seen her since birth. As a mom of young children herself, she is wonderful with kids - mine love her. My son’s first pretend play activity was “going to Dr. Melcher’s” with his Hotwheels cars, and he now likes to give his little sister “chiropractic adjustments”! Her kids are often with her in the office when they’re not in school, so the office is very family friendly. My son loves playing in the playroom, and there are always a set of loving hands to hold my daughter while I’m being adjusted.

Dr. Melcher has been very supportive of our natural parenting choices, including natural childbirth, breastfeeding, delayed introduction of solids, co-sleeping and building the immune system through nutrition rather than vaccination. In a time when “natural” health is not yet the norm, it has helped build confidence in our choices to have a medical professional support and encourage us in these areas (our pediatrician is wonderful as well; we just never need to see him.)

You can reach Action Chiropractic at 407-423-1616. Tell them Noah and Ava sent you.

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