About Dr. Dave McCann, D.C.

As a kid, I’m sure like most, I wanted to be a rock star, and an actor, and a fireman, and a policeman…oh yeah, and a professional wrestler. I recall once saying, “I’m going to be a doctor. And I’m going to have DR DAVE on my license plates.” Mom said, “You be what ever you want.” I grew up the third of three boys, in the Midwest, in a small town about 30 minutes east of St. Louis, Missouri. We had our battles, but my brothers and I were, and still are very close. If you had a problem with one of the McCanns, you better be ready to take on all three! We took care of each other. That’s how we were raised. My parents were both laborers, working rotating shifts in local factories; Dad built military aircraft, and Mom worked in a munitions factory. Dad was (and still is) a quiet but funny guy. When he spoke we listened because it was either important or funny. Mom was loving and musical, and she kept us toeing the line. I’m supremely grateful for my boring Midwestern upbringing and blessed that the worst thing that I ever had to deal with was my parents’ divorcing when I was twelve. The day I left for college, Mom said, “You let ‘em know where you came from.”

I was the first of my family to graduate from college. I had become fascinated with technology. After graduating from community college, I transferred to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. In 1990, I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology. I began work at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis later that same year in what is called the Clinical Engineering Department.

During that time, as for many years prior, I was into martial arts. I have always felt that the holistic philosophy of the oneness of mind, body, spirit, and the universe has influenced me deeply. Working in the hospital, I would routinely go from floor to floor doing quality assurance checks. I recall traveling from the heart floor to the liver floor to the lung floor and thinking to myself, “The body doesn’t really work like that. You remove the heart and everything stops working. If you remove the lungs and everything stops working.” Thus, I began looking for something more. So, I auditioned for Clown College. True story. But perhaps a story for another time.

I was going to take a SCUBA diving class with a couple of buddies. I contacted my HMO assigned medical doctor’s office to schedule a physical and they said it would be 2 months before the doctor could see me. “I just need him to sign this card so I can take this class.” I said. “Two months,” came the reply. Complaining to one of my buddies, he suggested I go see his chiropractor. “Yeah, Dr. Dan can probably get you in tomorrow.” On my first visit, Dr. Dan examined me, pointed out areas where things weren’t working optimally, and told me the story and philosophy of chiropractic. It all made sense to me. Consequently, I became a chiropractor instead of a clown. However, some would say I’m still a clown. But not my wife…she hates clowns.

Dr. Dave’s Patient Focused Approach

PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY

After graduating from Logan College of Chiropractic in 1997, I relocated to Huntsville, Alabama where I began practicing. There I met Dr. Rodney Bailey, a very successful, very traditional chiropractor who took me under his wing. He taught me a great deal about running an office, for which I am eternally grateful.

I began studying Applied Kinesiology (AK), or what some refer to simply as muscle testing. It is however, much more. I had observed an AK doctor in practice while attending Logan College. He said, “The human body will tell you everything you need to know. If you know the question to ask and the answer to look for.” Then he proceeded to, “ask the body questions.” At first I was extremely skeptical. How could he possibly know that someone’s blood sugar was out of balance by testing the strength of an arm or a leg? “This is complete crap!” I thought. Being the smart engineer guy that I thought I was, I set out to disprove it. But the more I studied it the more sense it made. Now I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t use this amazing technology.

One of my mentors, Dr. Walter Schmitt said, “AK is functional neurological assessment using manual muscle response testing to evaluate the individual neurological and biochemical pathways and are a source of nervous system output which are an expression of higher neurological function.” Now that’s a mouthful!

AK combines the use of specific manual muscle response testing and other standard methods of diagnosis, such as genetic and blood testing, and saliva analysis to evaluate structural, chemical and mental aspects of health through the dynamics of the musculoskeletal system. Treatments may involve specific spinal and/or extremity adjusting techniques, various myofascial therapies, cranial techniques, meridian therapy, clinical nutrition, dietary management, counseling skills, evaluating environmental irritants and various reflex procedures. It enables the doctor to evaluate functional physical/structural, biochemical, and mental/emotional balance and direct therapy to correct imbalances, which result in stress and ultimately cause disease.

Traditional medical practitioners focus on alleviating symptoms. Using currently available tools and technologies like AK, conventional blood labs, and tests such as Functional DNA Analysis we focus on “Root Cause Resolution”. It’s about getting to the source and eliminating the real cause of the problem. I like to gather as much information as I can to paint a more complete picture of each individual, looking at their unique metabolic patterns, genetic predispositions, and influencing environmental factors. In doing so, it’s possible to develop an individualized plan to help you get back to the life that you ought to be living.

For me it’s all about enjoying life. I like to have fun and laugh. I get so frustrated when someone comes to me and says, “My other doctor said I just have to live with this.”, or “There’s nothing I can do about it.” I say that as long as you are focusing on healing, there is ALWAYS a possibility for improvement.

I love what I do. I love that I get to put my hands on people and help them to feel better. This is one of the few things in my life that I can point to and say, “I’m really good at this.” You may find someone smarter but I don’t believe that you will find someone who will work harder to help you get to where you want to be. What I do doesn’t work for everybody. I wish it did. But there are a lot of amazing healers out there. And if I can’t help you, then I will do my best to help you find the appropriate care that is right for you.