Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

E76: Roots Chiropractic: Gentle Care for Growing Families

• Leila Carter & Shadley Centofanti • Episode 76

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What makes Shadley Centofanti with Roots Chiropractic a good neighbor? 

Gentle techniques and specialized care are revolutionizing the chiropractic experience for Pittsburgh families, particularly those navigating pregnancy and early parenthood. In this enlightening conversation, Shadley Centofanti reveals how Roots Chiropractic is breaking stereotypes and filling crucial gaps in family wellness care.

Shadley's journey into specialized chiropractic began with her own healing experience as a competitive soccer player, leading her and her husband to build a practice that focuses on prenatal, postpartum, and pediatric care. Located in Mount Lebanon, their clinic has become a trusted resource for families seeking gentle, effective alternatives for pregnancy discomfort, breech positioning, and common pediatric concerns.

The conversation tackles persistent myths head-on, particularly regarding safety. For concerned parents wondering about pediatric adjustments, Shadley offers reassurance that their techniques use pressure comparable to "testing the ripeness of an avocado" – not the dramatic "cracking" many associate with chiropractic care. This gentle approach helps address issues like torticollis, colic, reflux, nursing difficulties, and more, working collaboratively alongside pediatricians and other healthcare providers.

What stands out most is Roots Chiropractic's commitment to being part of each family's support village during transformative life stages. Their integration with conventional medicine reflects a refreshing philosophy that it's "not about us or them" but rather a collaborative approach to family wellness. For listeners curious about exploring gentle chiropractic options for their growing families, this episode provides valuable insights from a practitioner passionate about transforming how we think about care during life's most pivotal moments.

Ready to explore how specialized chiropractic care might benefit your family? Visit rootschiro.com or connect with Roots Chiropractic on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to learn more about their gentle, family-centered approach.

To learn more about Roots Chiropractic go to: 

www.rootschiro.com

Roots Chiropractic

(412)502-2297


Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a chiropractic practice? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Shadley Centofanti with Roots. Chiropractic Shadley, how's it going? It's going well. Thanks so much for having me. Thanks for being here. We're excited to learn all about you and your business, so please tell us more about your practice.

Speaker 3:

Sure yeah. So my husband and I own Roots Chiropractic in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, specifically in Mount Lebanon, and we specialize in prenatal, postpartum and pediatric chiropractic care, and we also recently added pelvic health physical therapy to our team as well. So we're really excited to be able to offer that. We generally see a lot of that pregnancy and postpartum, pediatric demographic, but we also do see the rest of the family. It just seems that people seem to seek us out for those specific concerns, I guess when it comes to pregnancy and kids.

Speaker 2:

Sure. How did you get into this business initially?

Speaker 3:

Sure, yeah. So we let's see. I played soccer competitively in high school and I had a pretty bad injury where I just wasn't feeling like taking medication. I was just really opposed to it and my mom was like you know what, let's just take you to my chiropractor, let's kind of see if they can help. So I started going to see him and he helped me so much in such a short amount of time that I was like, okay, what is this sorcery? I need to learn more about this. I'm super curious. So I started learning more about it and I was like all right, this is really cool. I like the idea of being able to help people without the need for medication or surgery and those kinds of things.

Speaker 3:

They obviously serve a time and place, like they're definitely right in the right circumstances. But I wanted to be able to do something where I could help people, you know, a little bit more holistically, a little bit more conservatively, and so that really sparked my interest. And then I pursued my bachelor's degree at Michigan State, where I got my bachelor's of kinesiology. My husband did the same thing, and then we went together to get our chiropractic degree at Palmer in Davenport, iowa.

Speaker 3:

And when we first started our business we weren't like intending to be in this niche, this like pregnancy pediatric realm but we quickly realized that it was a very underserved demographic in our area and we're like, all right, this is something that is really needed here, so we're going to dive in. So that's when we really committed to more continuing education, getting into more of that prenatal and pediatric realm through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, getting certified in the Webster technique, which is specifically for pregnancy, doing a bunch of postpartum pregnancy, pregnancy training with birth fit and just more pediatric training through the ICPA. So we've really just, you know, dug our heels in and been like all right, this is definitely where we need to focus our efforts and clearly it has worked very well because we are thriving in. Business is great and we love serving our community and helping all of these families, especially in that difficult transition of parenthood.

Speaker 2:

Our community and helping all of these families, especially in that difficult transition of parenthood. Excellent. Could you expand a little bit more on the Webster technique for our listeners who might be going through that chapter of their life and wondering what it is and how it might benefit them Absolutely.

Speaker 3:

So the Webster technique is a specific chiropractic technique that's focused on the sacrum and just pelvic biomechanics, so basically just making sure that the pelvis is moving how it should be and so that we can create as much space as possible for baby to get into an ideal position for birth, and then also just to make sure that you're as comfortable as possible throughout pregnancy. So that Webster technique is focused on adjustments, yes, but then also on a lot of soft tissue work. So working on things like the glutes and hip flexors and the round ligaments places that we tend to carry a lot of stress and strain that area during pregnancy, just with all of the hormonal changes, with that relaxing hormone, and also just like seeing how your posture shifts and your gait shifts and we got a little bit of that waddle going on. So that Webster technique can be really great to help develop more comfort and more stability through that area and really prep your body for that labor and birth process.

Speaker 2:

Could that also aid a mother who is expecting a breech baby and wanting to spin them?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. So we'll be very cautious in saying like that. What we do does not turn babies. That's not within our scope of practice. But what we find is that when we work on balancing everything through the pelvis, we tend to see baby shift into a more optimal position. So it's kind of like a happy side effect of it, and we do have a lot of people that seek us out when they find out baby's breach to try and do everything they can to encourage that that vertex position and it's incredibly successful. So we work very closely with different OBs and midwives in the area and so they kind of know okay, if that presents, you know they know where to send them. So that is definitely something to keep in mind if you're concerned about a breach presentation.

Speaker 2:

Very nice, excellent. That's great insight for our listeners. So what are some myths, or maybe misconceptions in your industry that you'd like to address today?

Speaker 3:

Where do I start? So I think there are a lot of misconceptions about chiropractic care. I will admit that I don't subscribe to a lot of the philosophies or mentalities within my own profession. We definitely stand out a little bit in how we practice and I guess one of the big ones, especially when it comes to the demographic that we see comes to the question of safety. So let's start with pregnancy, for example. So is it safe to get adjusted when you're pregnant? The answer is yes, and as long as you're seeing someone who is specialized in prenatal care. So we are using that Webster technique, which is a very gentle approach, so you're not getting any dramatic like twisting or cracking through that pelvic or lower back area, and we're working on a lot of soft tissue work, like I mentioned before. So there is very low risk in utilizing that technique during pregnancy and we have so many moms in our office that are like, wow, I really wish I knew about this sooner. And again, like I mentioned before, we do work closely with OBs and midwives in the area who refer to us and completely support what we're doing.

Speaker 3:

Another, I guess, realm what we're talking about with this is that pediatric realm. I would say that the number one concern for parents bringing their kids into us, especially newborns, is are you going to crack my baby? And the answer is absolutely not, and any chiropractor that is doing that is not doing their job. Well, when we're talking about pediatric care, especially young children, like newborns and very young children, we're not using any kind of cracking or twisting or popping or anything like that. We usually describe it as using the amount of pressure you would use to test the ripeness of an avocado. Usually, when parents hear that, they're like oh okay, I can take a deep breath. It's not as like, scary, it's not. It's not what you usually expect when you think chiropractic.

Speaker 3:

I think people are used to seeing more of an aggressive style of an adjustment on social media, maybe more of a clickbait kind of thing, and you're not going to find that in our office. Like I said, our technique is incredibly gentle and it's modified to the age and the size of the patient that we're seeing and the size of the patient that we're seeing. So, again, we work with pediatricians, especially when it comes to things like torticollis. We work with PTs as well. Co-manage that a lot when we're talking about colic reflux, ear infections, constipation and a big one is nursing struggles, any kind of latch concerns. So those are all things that people will seek us out for in that pediatric timeframe.

Speaker 2:

Gotcha. Yeah, I mean, whenever you think about it, it's like the two most traumatic events of someone's life is being born and then if you're a woman, giving birth, right.

Speaker 2:

So, all of the pressure and compression that we're experiencing. Going through the birth canal is something that baby's going to need some support from recovering from afterwards, and I think a lot of people might not realize that or prioritize that following birth, but it is really so critical to your baby's health and so, as we're thinking about marketing as the heart of any business, who are your target customers? I know you said you know expecting mothers and then you're also serving newborns and pediatric, but how are you attracting them to the business?

Speaker 3:

Sure. So I feel like we tend to really click with, you know, women or female presenting individuals in that childbearing age, so they tend to be the decision makers when it comes to healthcare, and so usually it's. We have a lot of moms in our office and then they're they're coming in like during pregnancy or they're bringing in their children because they just learned that this could help with something, and then it kind of spreads from there where they're like oh well, you know, I want to have this family member worked on, or oh, now my husband has this complaint and so can he be seen, and the answer is yes. So it really is just kind of reaching those individuals and we spend a lot of time trying to engage in our community in different like community events and just making connections, because it's a tough time you need a village when you're in the thick of that initial shift to parenthood and we just aim to be a part of that support system for families in our local area.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, whenever you're trying to reach your village and build that support system for people, have you ever thought about going about it digitally through maybe starting your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

I have not thought about that. Actually, I feel like it's a bit intimidating, but I will definitely keep it, you know, in the back of my mind here for the future.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so outside of work, what do you do for fun, shadley?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so I have. Well, we have a six-year-old daughter, so we spend lots of time as a family. We're big into like playing board games and spending time outside, but I'm a big reader too, so I'm I love like fantasy and thrillers, so anything in that realm, and I'm also a big runner. I'd love to run, done a couple of half marathons. I'm trying to convince myself to commit to a full marathon and I'm a little too nervous to commit to it. So if anybody has any advice, let me know. But those are kind of the big things that I like to do recently, kind of testing the waters with a little bit of gardening and learning how to sew and things like that, just trying to learn some new skills.

Speaker 2:

Oh, very nice. Yeah, we just got a little free library in our neighborhood and I'm loving it. They have adult books on the top shelf and children's books on the lower shelf and it's just been a great addition to our street, so we're really excited about that. Yeah, mostly whenever I'm reading, I'm reading some different nonfiction books or just things for self-improvement or spirituality, but it's really cool to see that kind of crop up in our neighborhood and it's a whole movement, the Little Free Library movement. So that's really exciting to hear that.

Speaker 1:

That you're also a reader and epic reader at that.

Speaker 2:

So, Chadley, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Roots Chiropractic.

Speaker 3:

I think the thing I want people to remember or know about us is that we're not your traditional chiropractor. I think people have some preconceived ideas about chiropractors understandably so and I just think that people should give us a chance, because I think we would surprise you. We totally and fully respect the medical community. We love working with them. It's not about us or them. We love to work together to provide the best care for our families, and I just hope that people will be brave enough to kind of step out of their comfort zone a little bit and try something new, because it could make a world of difference in your life.

Speaker 2:

Excellent, and how can our listeners learn more about Roots Chiropractic?

Speaker 3:

So you can check us out at our website rootschirocom. We're also on Instagram at Roots Chiropractic, or on TikTok at Roots Chiro, and you can check us out on Facebook too.

Speaker 2:

Excellent. Well, Shadley, I very much appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on our show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburghcom. That's gnppittsburghcom, or call 412-561-9956.