Dr. Shand grew up in Prescott and graduated from Prescott High School in the class of '93. His passion for chiropractic began while attending college at Northern Arizona University with his sights firmly on medical school. It took getting kicked in the head (literally!) for Dr. Shand to change his mind about becoming a medical doctor and pursue chiropractic instead. Dr. Shand describes what happened as follows:
“Back in college, martial arts was my thing. I was passionate about the training and competition and I was pretty good at it. One day while practicing for a big competition, I took a kick to the side of the head (as my always-so-compassionate instructor said, “ya shoulda ducked…”). The head pain was intense, but by the next day I was having unbearable neck pain that shot into my arm. It was so painful that I could barely even dress myself. After a few days of taking prescription drugs, I found myself getting no better. A second trip to the doctor ended with a new prescription, a pat on the back, and an “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more we can do for you, son.” I felt so hopeless. Besides the constant agonizing pain, my dreams of winning the big competition were being crushed before my eyes.”
“Eventually, a friend of mine convinced me to give their doctor a try. This new doctor did an exam, and then ‘adjusted’ my spine. The adjustment didn’t hurt, it actually felt good. I got relief, and I could use my arm again and was able to compete after all. That doctor happened to be a chiropractor. To be honest, before that I didn’t even think of chiropractors as real doctors…but it was the only thing that worked for me! It worked so well for me, and I was so impressed with the other ‘miracles’ I saw in his office, that I decided that I wanted to be a chiropractor myself.“ And the rest is history!
Dr. Shand has dedicated his career to patient centered care. His focus is not only to decrease their pain, but also improve function and promote over-all health and wellbeing so they can enjoy their lives to the fullest.
In his spare time, Dr. Shand enjoys travelling, hiking and reading…and if it’s winter time, there's a good chance you'll find him snowboarding on the slopes.
