Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Ayanna Eckblad

For over 35 years Albert Lea Chiropractic Clinic has served the community, helping their patients treat a variety of different conditions and helping them live a better quality of life. The clinic recently underwent a lot of growth, from adding more staff to acquiring a larger space and introducing a new type of therapy.

Albert Lea Chiropractic currently has two chiropractors, Dr. Ann Sahr and Dr. Douglas Edwards, and three massage therapists. Including administrative positions and other employees, the clinic staffs 11 people altogether.

Edwards was the original owner of Albert Lea Chiropractic. Recently ownership of the clinic transitioned to Sahr. This will not change the running or services the clinic offers, Sahr explained. She and Edwards are going to continue providing the same care to patients.

Albert Lea Chiropractic also added a third massage therapist to accommodate the number of patients the clinic serves.

All three massage therapists take appointments six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Clients can book massages anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. A typical massage session is around 90 minutes, Sahr explained.

Not only has the number of staff grown, but the building has also expanded.

The clinic acquired the building space next to theirs to create two new massage rooms and make room for a second chiropractic room. The new massage rooms are closer to the back of the building, making it a quiet and more relaxing space to be.

At the end of 2024, Albert Lea Chiropractic added a new type of therapy to their offered services. This is shockwave therapy, a deep tissue treatment that uses acoustic compression, not electric shockwaves, to locate and treat damage in the body.

“We’re the first ones — as far as we know — in Albert Lea that have this … therapy available,” said Sahr.

Shockwave therapy caught Sahr and Edwards’ attention when it began taking off in the U.S., seeing success in areas like sports rehabilitation.

She said patients have seen great results with the new therapy, and it has helped especially with pesky, lingering pain that is otherwise hard to resolve. They use it most often for tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and elbow pain.

Although people most often see a chiropractor for back pain, headaches and nerve pain, Sahr said there are many other issues chiropractic care can help with that many people may not think of. Some of these include checking children’s posture to make sure they are developing a healthy spine and common infant issues like colic, gas, acid reflux and ear infections. Sahr said they also can help with any joint issues.

“We like to find the source of your condition, the root cause of your pain so that we know where it’s coming from and how to best treat that,” Sahr said. “And so we look at the whole body and try to get everybody feeling better at whatever level they want to be, healthy, what their goals are.”

One of the clinic’s main goals, Sahr explained, is ensuring patients do not have to go to multiple places to get different services. That is why they keep their chiropractic, massage and shockwave therapies in the same space as well as an X-ray machine and other equipment. They also offer some nutritional supplements.

“Not only are we helping them get rid of their back pain, but we’re helping them just feel better overall,” Sahr said. “We’re excited to see what more we can do for the community and try to continue to promote health and wellness within the Albert Lea community.”