ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Dr. Carmen Starnes has been a chiropractor for 16 years. She started in Memphis, then built a practice in Glasgow, and in 2022 opened Active Health Chiropractic in Tompkinsville. She got into the field by working the front desk at a chiropractor’s office and watching patients come in barely able to move and leave smiling.
Joseph asks her the question a lot of people won’t say out loud: why do so many people think chiropractors are quacks? Carmen answers it directly. Chiropractic isn’t something you believe in. It’s a licensed, regulated profession with a board, continuing education and insurance billing, and physical therapists and DOs are trained in joint manipulation too. She’s also honest that some chiropractors, herself included, sometimes explain it badly.
They also cover what she actually sees in the office. Sciatica is number one. Then there are migraines, stiff necks from summer box fans, sore backs at planting time, TMJ and vertigo. She explains dry needling, shockwave therapy and spinal decompression, why you shouldn’t crack your own neck, and why keeping muscle mass matters more than anything as you age.
Along the way: medication and talk therapy working together instead of against each other, the brain’s ability to rewire itself, how she trained herself to manage pain before a home birth, Joseph admitting he’s burned out three months into private practice, why Active Health has no plans to get big, and a detour into why Five Star is the best gas station around.
What ties the conversation together is honesty. A good provider will tell you “I don’t know” and send you to someone who does.
Active Health Chiropractic is a sponsor of the Average Joseph Podcast. This episode is general conversation, not medical advice.
