Myrtle Beach Chiropractor : Dr. Timothy O’Neill

Myrtle Beach Chiropractor,
Dr. Tim O’Neill and his wife Cindy

Chiropractic Care for an Athlete

As a high school basketball player, I was periodically having some pretty severe low back pain episodes. The defense drills, squatting low and sliding back and forth, really hurt! A lot! I didn’t know what I was going to do. When my dad recommended his chiropractor, I wasn’t really sure if he could help me. But I went anyway. I was amazed by some of the things he could tell about my back. Like - it was as long as someone who was 4-5 inches taller than me. I was flabbergasted when he told me what my favorite sleeping position was, and that it was a big part of my problem! (I was a stomach sleeper, with my head and hips turned to the left). Well, in short order, he had me feeling much better. Like many chiropractic patients, I went in periodically when my symptoms flared up.

How I Chose to be a Chiropractor

I started college as an electrical engineering major. By my sophomore year, pretty much every class I was taking involved high level calculus. I was struggling a bit, and worse, I wasn’t enjoying it at all. When I came home for Thanksgiving break, I knew something had to change, but didn’t know what I wanted to do. My younger brother told me that my chiropractor had a just done a career day presentation at our high school. Suddenly the thought of being in the health care field was very appealing. I loved my high school anatomy class, I thought the way the human body worked and its incredible complexity was fascinating.

I called Dr. Gribbon, my chiropractor to ask him some questions. I was shocked that he actually came over to my house that night, and talked to me and my parents! An hour later when he left, I still didn’t understand a lot of what he was talking about, but I was hooked! His enthusiasm for chiropractic was contagious, and I was excited!

On my return to school just a few days later, I sought out my faculty adviser and changed my major to biology, jumping right into some upper level courses in anatomy and physiology. I had to get special permission from my adviser, who hadn’t been impressed with the way my grades had been sliding in my engineering courses. Well, I did great! I was on a mission, and I loved what I was learning about. The rest, as they say, is history.

My Chiropractic Education

Sherman College of Chiropractic was a bit of surprise. In addition to anatomy and physiology, x-ray and adjusting technique, was a course I wasn’t expecting: Philosophy. It seems that chiropractors had a completely different way of looking at health and healing, preferring an inside out approach, instead of “let’s add a chemical (drug) to the system to cover a symptom”, it was more like “let’s remove the interference to the body’s master control system (the nerves) and let the body heal itself”. The more I learned about this new way of thinking, the more excited I got! This was life changing! It wasn’t just about lower back pain, but overall health and wellness.

A Chiropractic Lifestyle

I am a chiropractor, but I’m also a chiropractic patient and I get adjusted at least weekly, as I recommend optimally for my patients. My family members, siblings, spouse and children, are also under regular chiropractic care. I take nutritional supplements daily, and the supplements I carry in our Myrtle Beach chiropractic office are all things that I take or have taken. I try to stretch every day and exercise regularly, either walking, riding my bicycle, or playing racquetball, and do some weight lifting. I rarely take any medication, even over the counter drugs, choosing instead chiropractic and nutrition as my primary health care. I’m proud to say that I have missed only 2 days of work due to illness in my entire practice life, since 1986, so it seems to be working pretty well!

On a Personal Note

I am the 7th of eight children. My wife Cindy and I have four beautiful adult daughters, Mandy, Kristy, Jessie and Nicole. Each of them are married and have children, with our current total of grandchildren at 8!! That is as much fun as everyone said it would be! Cindy and I are ballroom dancers, a hobby I took up at Cindy’s request, but I truly enjoy it. I have also more recently become addicted to woodworking, and there are several furniture pieces in our Myrtle Beach Chiropractic office that I have made myself. I also really enjoy riding my road bike, and I have ridden 100 miles in a day several times. I also enjoy reading, digital photography (especially sunrises and sunsets), and traveling.