E76: Roots Chiropractic: Gentle Care for Growing Families

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

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of achiropractic practice?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Shadley Centofanti with Roots.
Chiropractic Shadley, how's itgoing?
It's going well.
Thanks so much for having me.
Thanks for being here.

(00:33):
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business, so
please tell us more about yourpractice.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Sure yeah.
So my husband and I own RootsChiropractic in the South Hills
of Pittsburgh, specifically inMount Lebanon, and we specialize
in prenatal, postpartum andpediatric chiropractic care, and
we also recently added pelvichealth physical therapy to our
team as well.
So we're really excited to beable to offer that.
We generally see a lot of thatpregnancy and postpartum,

(01:04):
pediatric demographic, but wealso do see the rest of the
family.
It just seems that people seemto seek us out for those
specific concerns, I guess whenit comes to pregnancy and kids.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Sure.
How did you get into thisbusiness initially?

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Sure, yeah.
So we let's see.
I played soccer competitivelyin high school and I had a
pretty bad injury where I justwasn't feeling like taking
medication.
I was just really opposed to itand my mom was like you know
what, let's just take you to mychiropractor, let's kind of see
if they can help.
So I started going to see himand he helped me so much in such

(01:43):
a short amount of time that Iwas like, okay, what is this
sorcery?
I need to learn more about this.
I'm super curious.
So I started learning moreabout it and I was like all
right, this is really cool.
I like the idea of being ableto help people without the need
for medication or surgery andthose kinds of things.
They obviously serve a time andplace, like they're definitely

(02:06):
right in the right circumstances.
But I wanted to be able to dosomething where I could help
people, you know, a little bitmore holistically, a little bit
more conservatively, and so thatreally sparked my interest.
And then I pursued mybachelor's degree at Michigan
State, where I got my bachelor'sof kinesiology.

(02:27):
My husband did the same thing,and then we went together to get
our chiropractic degree atPalmer in Davenport, iowa.
And when we first started ourbusiness we weren't like
intending to be in this niche,this like pregnancy pediatric
realm but we quickly realizedthat it was a very underserved

(02:49):
demographic in our area andwe're like, all right, this is
something that is really neededhere, so we're going to dive in.
So that's when we reallycommitted to more continuing
education, getting into more ofthat prenatal and pediatric
realm through the InternationalChiropractic Pediatric
Association, getting certifiedin the Webster technique, which
is specifically for pregnancy,doing a bunch of postpartum

(03:13):
pregnancy, pregnancy trainingwith birth fit and just more
pediatric training through theICPA.
So we've really just, you know,dug our heels in and been like
all right, this is definitelywhere we need to focus our
efforts and clearly it hasworked very well because we are
thriving in.
Business is great and we loveserving our community and
helping all of these families,especially in that difficult

(03:33):
transition of parenthood.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Our community and helping all of these families,
especially in that difficulttransition of parenthood.
Excellent.
Could you expand a little bitmore on the Webster technique
for our listeners who might begoing through that chapter of
their life and wondering what itis and how it might benefit
them Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
So the Webster technique is a specific
chiropractic technique that'sfocused on the sacrum and just
pelvic biomechanics, sobasically just making sure that
the pelvis is moving how itshould be and so that we can
create as much space as possiblefor baby to get into an ideal
position for birth, and thenalso just to make sure that
you're as comfortable aspossible throughout pregnancy.

(04:08):
So that Webster technique isfocused on adjustments, yes, but
then also on a lot of softtissue work.
So working on things like theglutes and hip flexors and the
round ligaments places that wetend to carry a lot of stress
and strain that area duringpregnancy, just with all of the
hormonal changes, with thatrelaxing hormone, and also just
like seeing how your postureshifts and your gait shifts and

(04:30):
we got a little bit of thatwaddle going on.
So that Webster technique canbe really great to help develop
more comfort and more stabilitythrough that area and really
prep your body for that laborand birth process.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Could that also aid a mother who is expecting a
breech baby and wanting to spinthem?

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Absolutely.
So we'll be very cautious insaying like that.
What we do does not turn babies.
That's not within our scope ofpractice.
But what we find is that whenwe work on balancing everything
through the pelvis, we tend tosee baby shift into a more
optimal position.
So it's kind of like a happyside effect of it, and we do
have a lot of people that seekus out when they find out baby's

(05:10):
breach to try and do everythingthey can to encourage that that
vertex position and it'sincredibly successful.
So we work very closely withdifferent OBs and midwives in
the area and so they kind ofknow okay, if that presents, you
know they know where to sendthem.
So that is definitely somethingto keep in mind if you're
concerned about a breachpresentation.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
Very nice, excellent.
That's great insight for ourlisteners.
So what are some myths, ormaybe misconceptions in your
industry that you'd like toaddress today?

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Where do I start?
So I think there are a lot ofmisconceptions about
chiropractic care.
I will admit that I don'tsubscribe to a lot of the
philosophies or mentalitieswithin my own profession.
We definitely stand out alittle bit in how we practice
and I guess one of the big ones,especially when it comes to the

(06:02):
demographic that we see comesto the question of safety.
So let's start with pregnancy,for example.
So is it safe to get adjustedwhen you're pregnant?
The answer is yes, and as longas you're seeing someone who is
specialized in prenatal care.
So we are using that Webstertechnique, which is a very
gentle approach, so you're notgetting any dramatic like

(06:23):
twisting or cracking throughthat pelvic or lower back area,
and we're working on a lot ofsoft tissue work, like I
mentioned before.
So there is very low risk inutilizing that technique during
pregnancy and we have so manymoms in our office that are like
, wow, I really wish I knewabout this sooner.
And again, like I mentionedbefore, we do work closely with

(06:43):
OBs and midwives in the area whorefer to us and completely
support what we're doing.
Another, I guess, realm whatwe're talking about with this is
that pediatric realm.
I would say that the number oneconcern for parents bringing
their kids into us, especiallynewborns, is are you going to
crack my baby?
And the answer is absolutelynot, and any chiropractor that

(07:04):
is doing that is not doing theirjob.
Well, when we're talking aboutpediatric care, especially young
children, like newborns andvery young children, we're not
using any kind of cracking ortwisting or popping or anything
like that.
We usually describe it as usingthe amount of pressure you
would use to test the ripenessof an avocado.
Usually, when parents hear that, they're like oh okay, I can

(07:26):
take a deep breath.
It's not as like, scary, it'snot.
It's not what you usuallyexpect when you think
chiropractic.
I think people are used toseeing more of an aggressive
style of an adjustment on socialmedia, maybe more of a
clickbait kind of thing, andyou're not going to find that in
our office.
Like I said, our technique isincredibly gentle and it's
modified to the age and the sizeof the patient that we're

(07:49):
seeing and the size of thepatient that we're seeing.
So, again, we work withpediatricians, especially when
it comes to things liketorticollis.
We work with PTs as well.
Co-manage that a lot when we'retalking about colic reflux, ear
infections, constipation and abig one is nursing struggles,
any kind of latch concerns.
So those are all things thatpeople will seek us out for in

(08:12):
that pediatric timeframe.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Gotcha.
Yeah, I mean, whenever youthink about it, it's like the
two most traumatic events ofsomeone's life is being born and
then if you're a woman, givingbirth, right.
So, all of the pressure andcompression that we're
experiencing.
Going through the birth canalis something that baby's going
to need some support fromrecovering from afterwards, and

(08:37):
I think a lot of people mightnot realize that or prioritize
that following birth, but it isreally so critical to your
baby's health and so, as we'rethinking about marketing as the
heart of any business, who areyour target customers?
I know you said you knowexpecting mothers and then

(08:57):
you're also serving newborns andpediatric, but how are you
attracting them to the business?

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Sure.
So I feel like we tend toreally click with, you know,
women or female presentingindividuals in that childbearing
age, so they tend to be thedecision makers when it comes to
healthcare, and so usually it's.
We have a lot of moms in ouroffice and then they're they're

(09:25):
coming in like during pregnancyor they're bringing in their
children because they justlearned that this could help
with something, and then it kindof spreads from there where
they're like oh well, you know,I want to have this family
member worked on, or oh, now myhusband has this complaint and
so can he be seen, and theanswer is yes.
So it really is just kind ofreaching those individuals and
we spend a lot of time trying toengage in our community in

(09:48):
different like community eventsand just making connections,
because it's a tough time youneed a village when you're in
the thick of that initial shiftto parenthood and we just aim to
be a part of that supportsystem for families in our local
area.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah, whenever you're trying to reach your village
and build that support systemfor people, have you ever
thought about going about itdigitally through maybe starting
your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (10:16):
I have not thought about that.
Actually, I feel like it's abit intimidating, but I will
definitely keep it, you know, inthe back of my mind here for
the future.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, so outside of work, what do you do for fun,
shadley?

Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, so I have.
Well, we have a six-year-olddaughter, so we spend lots of
time as a family.
We're big into like playingboard games and spending time
outside, but I'm a big readertoo, so I'm I love like fantasy
and thrillers, so anything inthat realm, and I'm also a big
runner.

(10:48):
I'd love to run, done a coupleof half marathons.
I'm trying to convince myselfto commit to a full marathon and
I'm a little too nervous tocommit to it.
So if anybody has any advice,let me know.
But those are kind of the bigthings that I like to do
recently, kind of testing thewaters with a little bit of
gardening and learning how tosew and things like that, just
trying to learn some new skills.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
Oh, very nice.
Yeah, we just got a little freelibrary in our neighborhood and
I'm loving it.
They have adult books on thetop shelf and children's books
on the lower shelf and it's justbeen a great addition to our
street, so we're really excitedabout that.
Yeah, mostly whenever I'mreading, I'm reading some

(11:31):
different nonfiction books orjust things for self-improvement
or spirituality, but it'sreally cool to see that kind of
crop up in our neighborhood andit's a whole movement, the
Little Free Library movement.
So that's really exciting tohear that.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
That you're also a reader and epic reader at that.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
So, Chadley, please tell our listeners one thing
that they should remember aboutRoots Chiropractic.

Speaker 3 (12:02):
I think the thing I want people to remember or know
about us is that we're not yourtraditional chiropractor.
I think people have somepreconceived ideas about
chiropractors understandably soand I just think that people
should give us a chance, becauseI think we would surprise you.
We totally and fully respectthe medical community.

(12:26):
We love working with them.
It's not about us or them.
We love to work together toprovide the best care for our
families, and I just hope thatpeople will be brave enough to
kind of step out of theircomfort zone a little bit and
try something new, because itcould make a world of difference
in your life.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
Excellent, and how can our listeners learn more
about Roots Chiropractic?

Speaker 3 (12:49):
So you can check us out at our website rootschirocom
.
We're also on Instagram atRoots Chiropractic, or on TikTok
at Roots Chiro, and you cancheck us out on Facebook too.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
Excellent.
Well, Shadley, I very muchappreciate your time today and
having you as a guest on ourshow.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (13:14):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnppittsburghcom.
That's gnppittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.