While playing high school football at Wheeling Park, Andrew Goldbaugh, DC, sustained a back injury, and through chiropractic care he was able to recover while missing no playing time. Later, while playing college football at West Virginia University, Goldbaugh suffered another back injury, and his recovery and treatment regimen did not include chiropractic care. He missed significant playing time.
Because of those two different experiences, Goldbaugh knew he was: A. a believer in the benefits of chiropractic treatments and care, and B. going to follow that career path in his professional life after college.
Goldbaugh, 34, is the owner and chiropractor at the Goldbaugh Chiropractic & Sports Rehabilitation facility located at 594 National Road in the Fulton section of Wheeling, and he is driven to provide care to athletes and non-athletes alike so they can remain active with little or no lost time.
“I hurt my back when I was playing football at Wheeling Park,” Goldbaugh said. “Coach (Mark) Nardone sent me to his cousin who was a chiropractor in Wheeling. Never missed any time; I was able to play a full season. Fast forward to WVU, same back injury. They didn’t send me to a chiropractor, and I missed months with the back injury. So that was kind of the deciding factor for me.”
Goldbaugh played receiver in football for four years at Wheeling Park for the late Coach Mark Nardone. Additionally, he played freshmen basketball, ran indoor track for three seasons and outdoor track for four seasons.
Once he graduated in 2007, Goldbaugh attended WVU, playing football at receiver for three seasons for Bill Stewart and one season for Dana Holgorsen. His last game for the Mounatineers was the 70-33 drubbing of Clemson in the 2011 Orange Bowl.
He left Morgantown with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, then moved on to Logan University in St. Louis where he earned a second bachelor’s degree in Life Science, a master’s in Sports Science and Rehabilitation, and a Doctor of Chiropractic.
And how does such diverse training correlate into practice for Goldbaugh? “It gives me a lot more knowledge with physical therapy, different rehab exercises, rehab protocols. I have a lot deeper knowledge with that than most other chiropractors.”
Once finished in St. Louis, Goldbaugh returned to Wheeling as a resident, but not as a chiropractor. He went to work for a chiropractic facility in Pittsburgh to earn valuable experience before branching out on his own.
“I don’t think I was ready to open up my own practice right after school. I think I needed to learn a little bit more of the business side. How things run, they don’t really teach you the business side of things in school,” Goldbaugh said. “So, I knew that was the end goal (to open his own practice in Wheeling), so I wanted to work for somebody else for a little bit to make sure I was ready.”
He provides diverse services at his facility for any type of patient but still has a special place for that certain patient. . . you guessed it, athletes.
“I would say my bread and butter is sports rehabilitation in athletes, but I love treating everybody. I’ve had babies in here, I’ve had the elderly. I love different patients; that kind of keeps everything interesting.”
His experiences as an athlete, and as an injured athlete, help Goldbaugh improve his connection with his patients and increase his empathy with their ultimate goals.
“Athletes have the mentality they don’t want to miss out on anything, so they always want to practice, they want to be playing no matter what the situation is. I’ve been that athlete, I’ve been in a training room, I’ve been to a chiropractor because of injury. I’ve had to miss time because of an injury. So I feel like I can sympathize with them a little bit better than (a chiropractor) who wasn’t an athlete.
“Plus I also understand their desire to play. A lot of times I’ll allow an athlete to keep participating unless it’s going to cause significant harm.”
By no means is this an athlete-only facility, he is quick to point out. His ultimate goal for each and every patient seems obvious and simplistic.
“I’m huge on movement and exercise. So even with regular patients, patients who aren’t athletes, the end goal is exercise. Everybody should be exercising. I can still connect with them on that level and try to figure out how we can get them pain free so they can continue to exercise or start an exercise program.”
Goldbaugh has goals for his business in the future, including purchase of a building for a permanent location and the addition of a second chiropractor. A second chiropractor in the practice would allow him to focus more attention on the business, and subsequently expansion of the business.
Goldbaugh is the son of the late William and Missy Goldbaugh, and with his wife Natalie, also a Wheeling native, they have two daughters, Emma, 10, and Nora, 7. His current office hours include scheduling opportunities from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. To contact the office for information or to schedule an appointment, call 304-905-9701.
Heading into an appointment with Goldbaugh, what can a patient expect as the main goal of treatment? “The benefits are mobility, that’s one of the biggest things. So, we really strive for joint mobility. The adjustment, that pop and crack the patients hear, is gas being released from the joints. It’s nothing scary, nothing crazy. But it does improve joint mobility. So that’s one of the big things (we focus on); most chiropractors focus on is movement of the spine, of joints.”
If you are experience anything that is limiting you or your performance, giving Dr. Goldbaugh a call would be a very wise decision.
Article compliments of Howard Karnell.
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