Chiropractor adjusts to area after moving from Tennessee

Bill Cromer grows his new chiropractic practice one handshake at a time.

"Nice to meet you," Cromer says, introducing himself. "Got a headache?"

Cromer opened the Sea Isle Spine Center in Mount Pleasant two months ago, relocating from Memphis, Tenn., to be closer to the ocean.

He builds his practice by meeting people and using a friendly manner. He asks about headaches because something as simple as that symptom might suggest the spine is out of line.

In the center, patients are greeted by a variety of pastel colors, a tiki bar reception area with a Key West look. Cromer, a Jimmy Buffett fan, said he wants his patients to feel relaxed. A countertop Web camera shoots patients' photos so that Cromer can greet his patients warmly the next time they come in.

The camera and wireless setup are part of a system installed by Lauren Lavorgna, one of Cromer's newest patients.

Lavorgna started getting treatment from Cromer a month ago after talking to him about his practice, she said.

Cromer starts out by asking patients, "When's the last time you felt normal?"

"It shouldn't take 20 minutes to get out of bed, that's not normal. You shouldn't have headaches. That's not normal," Cromer said.

Lavorgna said she normally comes in for adjustments after every soccer game.

"I didn't have aches and pains. This is preventative," she said.

Cromer presses down on the low center of Lavorgna's back and then pushes using what he calls the drop technique.

With Lavorgna face-up, Cromer adjusts her neck, causing a popping, crackling sound. Cromer said most people think the noise is the sound of bones rubbing together, but he says it's the movement of nitrogen bubbles that makes the sound like a kid smashing bubble wrap. The whole process takes perhaps 15 minutes.

Cromer, 51, formerly a bartender and a football player, became a chiropractor after seeing one himself. While attending a chiropractic school, Cromer hurt his back turning to pick up his then-2-year-old son.

He said the follow-up chiropractic care kept him from having surgery for 14 years. His vertebrae eventually had to be fused. It turned out his back had been broken at some point, he said, but he didn't know when.

In between appointments, Cromer may head to the back of his practice that houses a yoga studio and exercise equipment that his patients can use after they've been adjusted.

In an X-ray processing room hangs an X-ray of Cromer's fused spine, which he shows to his patients. "You don't ever want to let your back look like that," he said.

Reach Jessica Johnson at jjohnson@postandcourier.com.