Instead, Kruse, a Cave Creek chiropractor, takes time and learns about each individual patient in her 24 years of practicing her trade in the local community.
She wants to get to the root of the patient’s problem rather than cracking a back and sending someone on their way.
“We treat the body as a whole piece,” Kruse said.
Chiropractic care is something she swears by — getting a body adjustment for herself “at least” once a week.
Kruse got into the chiropratic field by happenstance. At age 9, She remembers seeing her brother, Mark, for chiropractic work while he was going to college.
Then, a doctor of osteopathic medicine told her she’d have to give up high school sports altogether after she was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease — a condition that causes pain in the knee and upper shin.
But she got a second opinion and was able to continue playing sports such as volleyball, basketball and track after she started to wear elastic knee braces, she said.
“I didn’t have something miraculous that brought me to (the chiropractic field),” Kruse said.
Now, she wants to help her patients — some who have trouble with small tasks such as picking up their grandchildren and getting in an out of the swimming pool, she said.
But residents shouldn’t settle for coming into a chiropractor’s office solely when they happen to be in pain, she said. Instead, people should see it as a holistic approach to prevent their body hurting in the future. Often times, going to see the chiropractor gets put on the back burner by some, according to Kruse.
Getting aligned helps take the pressure off the nervous system so your body can properly heal.
“(You) are better off coming in for a check-up — like when you get your oil changed in a car,” Kruse said.
At times, your body can be thrown off-kilter by something as simple as falling or carrying an object the wrong way, the doctor said. The doctor combines therapy with adjustments to make the hurting muscles relax first to help the body heal properly, she said.
Gail Zastrow of Prescott Valley travels a long distance to see Kruse. She prefers Kruse to other chiropractors she’s seen over the years, she said.
Zastrow said she’s has gone to the chiropractor to make her back feel better.
“She takes the time,” Zastrow said. “You feel like she genuinely cares and wants to fix you.”
The doctor uses techniques that range from extremity adjusting to the Thompson technique — which is used for spinal adjustments, according to her website.
But how often patients visit Kruse depends on the individual, she said.
“Everybody is different,” Kruse said. “I have some patients (who) wouldn’t miss a week. It’s a choice for the person.”
One goal — is to let the body heal naturally after chiropractic sessions instead of having the patient use pain killers to ease tension and pain, Kruse said.
Patients who saw a chiropractor “as their initial provider for low back pain had 90% decreased odds of both early and long-term opioid” use and “chiropractic users had 64% lower odds of receiving an opioid” prescription, according to the American Chiropractic Association website.
“People are becoming more aware of what they are putting in their body,” Kruse said. “Chiropractic fits right into that.”
Word has spread a bit about the doctor and Zastrow said her neighbor sees the chiropractor on a regular basis.
“She’s so good, it’s worth the drive,” Zastrow said.
The office is located at 7005 E. Cave Creek Road, Suite 107.
Brent Ruffner joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2021 where he writes about developments at TSMC and Maricopa County issues, including election topics.
He's written about stories that range from accusations that a Mesa monkey breeding facility is unsafe to what to do if you encounter a rattlesnake in the desert.
Community: He is a supporter of the American Cancer Society.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, May 2007.
Random Fact: He met former San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays at a Phoenix Firebird game after winning a contest for an autographed baseball.
Hobbies: Hiking in the woods and collecting sports memorabilia.
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