The Joint Chiropractic - Arnold

Dr. Emily Paszkiewicz became part of The Joint Chiropractic’s team of local healthcare providers in 2017 when she began serving the residents of Arnold, where she continues doing the world she finds so rewarding.

Dr. Emily, as she likes to be called -- and her patients thank her for it -- loves being part of the chiropractic field. “The thing I like best is being able to help people get out of pain and function better holistically,” she says. “The other thing is being able to help the whole family, from babies to kids to parents to grandparents.”

It’s not surprising that Dr. Emily gets such professional satisfaction by being able to impact the entire spectrum of family because it’s with her family that she enjoys spending her downtime. She and husband Travis have two cats, Monster and Ozzy.

Having grown up in the St. Louis area, Dr. Emily has a bachelor’s degree in human biology, as well as her doctorate, from Logan University’s College of Chiropractic.

“I knew chiropractic was my calling when I learned what chiropractic can do to help babies and kids with all different kinds of issues that they may suffer from,” Dr. Emily says. “I get to help people every single day. That’s pretty cool. I love the number of families that come into the Arnold location. It’s particularly gratifying to help babies with colic.”

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When it comes to liquid refreshment, Dr. Emily says she always has coffee in her kitchen: “It’s my favorite drink besides water.”

If she could share an ideal coffee klatsch, she would love to include George Washington and Hippocrates. “I would love to meet him and talk about the history of medicine,” Dr. Emily says of Hippocrates. “It would be very interesting to hear from George Washington what it was like to come over to America, colonize, and become the first president.”

But her discussion group would also include the father-son duo of Daniel David Palmer and BJ Palmer; the former is the founder of chiropractic in 1895, the latter is recognized for developing chiropractic. “It would be so interesting to hear all the stories from both DD and BJ about early chiropractic,” she says.

Dr. Emily is a fan of author JK Rowling’s signature work and has spent hours engrossed in the world of Hogwarts. “Harry Potter has been my favorite since reading the first book in middle school,” she says.

Dr. Amanda Hansen became part of The Joint Chiropractic’s team of local healthcare providers in 2020 when she began serving residents in suburban St. Louis, where she continues doing the work she finds so gratifying.

She loves being in the chiropractic field. “Although adjustments are small changes, they impact patients’ lives dramatically,” she says. “It’s humbling to see not only how drastically people change, as far as pain levels, but their entire lives and attitudes. The power to make such change with just two hands is incredible. I also love meeting people and hearing all the interesting things they have going on in their lives.”

Dr. Amanda, as her patients call her, has worked previously in Kansas City. She grew up in a small river town in southern Ohio called Ripley: “I don’t know if it influenced my choice to be a chiropractor, but it sure impacted my decision to want to be a healer and simply help others.”

She and her husband, Joey, have one son. They met at Logan University in Chesterfield, Mo., where both received their doctorate degrees in chiropractic. She graduated from Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, with a bachelor’s in anthropology.

She and her husband are craft beer enthusiasts. The small family also includes three Dachshunds with wide-ranging personalities.

“After attending massage school, I felt this was the logical next step,” Dr. Amanda says of chiropractic. “My first-hand experience is literally being in so much pain that I was unable to walk, but after an adjustment I walked out of the chiropractor’s office. That’s so amazing. I’ve also given that same experience to patients. I feel like once you’ve personally been there, you can relate much better.”

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If Dr. Amanda could bring together any four persons from history, she would go for the laughs and send invitations to Kat Williams, Kevin Hart, Chris Farley, and Will Farrell.

The coolest thing that she has done took place in a cloud forest in Costa Rica. “I ate a bug that the natives said would improve respiratory function,” she says. “Honestly, it did open up my airways."

Dr. Jeffrey Belcher joined The Joint Chiropractic in 2019 when he became part of the team at the Arnold clinic, where he does the rewarding work of helping people as their local healthcare provider.

“The best thing about being in the chiropractic field is helping people live a healthier, more pain-free life and to see a dramatic change during a single visit,” he says. “I also really appreciate getting to know the patients on a personal level and developing a connection.”

Dr. Jeff, as his patients call him, grew up in St. Louis, one of America’s best baseball towns. In addition to teaching and being involved in his parish, Dr. Jeff umpires high school and college baseball games.

He attended St. Louis Community College and Truman State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and St. Louis University where he got a degree in forensic science.

“It was in working in research in biofeedback that I became interested in natural healthcare,” he says. “Having Logan College in town made the choice of where to go to school much easier. I had also thought about being involved in sports and perhaps pursue athletic training. A couple of friends talked to me about chiropractic and it seemed to have everything that I was looking for in a career.”

He got his doctorate of chiropractic from Logan College of Chiropractic in 1998.

“Among the most memorable situations I’ve encountered was adjusting my daughter for the first time when we brought her home from the hospital,” he says.

Oftentimes, patients don’t realize to what extent chiropractors are doctors, but it paid off for a patient who was finishing up her treatment plan for back pain. “She was off work and wore shorts into the office, and I asked if she had any questions or other health concerns,” Dr Jeff recalls. “She mentioned her leg was a little sore and wasn’t healing very fast. I noticed some swelling in her legs, pressed in and she had some pitting. I recommended following up with her primary physician or a cardiologist. She came in a month later and they had found a blockage in a coronary artery. She had a stent put in, had lost some weight, had more energy, and was breathing much better.”

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Dr. Jeff says the one thing he always keeps stocked in his refrigerator is a “good, cold glass of milk. It also ties into my weakness for cookies.”

If he could sit down to dinner with any four people from history, Dr. Jeff would include U2 singer Bono, comedian Robin Williams, Cardinals legend Stan Musial, and chef Gordon Ramsay: “I think they would all have great stories to tell and I could learn a lot from them.”

One of his favorite books is Make Your Bed by United States Navy Admiral William McRaven. “It has great stories that tell how little changes can add up and make a big difference in one’s life,” he says.