Biography :: Circum Vitae

Dr. Raymond Sykes

Biography

I was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1951. I was the middle child growing up with 4 sisters and 2 brothers. We lived in a nice subdivision in Dearborn Heights, Michigan just outside of Detroit, Michigan. I was in high school during the height of the Vietnam War. Most boys in high school figured they would end up there. I graduated from high school and took a job at one of the local GM factories. We were making diesel engines, with most of them being shipped to Vietnam. I loved to watch the engines being built. I thought how interesting it was to watch all these parts come together and roll out as a working engine. After I started working, I started hanging out with all my friends from high school. We were all waiting for the letters to go and get our army physical. During this time I spent time in the afternoon looping restaurants with my friends. This was something we did in the 60s. One night while looping a restaurant with all my friends showing off our cars, I met my now bride Nancy. I got out of the car and sat and talked to her and her sister. I met her at the restaurant several times after that and we would talk for hours. Once while working with a friend, he told me he just bought a new GTO. He asked if on Friday I would like to get together and hang out. He then asked if I had a girl friend and if she had a friend. I called Nancy and asked if she and her sister would like to go out on a date. This was my first real date with Nancy. It was a Friday night, and we were going to Toledo, Ohio where we could go dancing in the night clubs at 18. After we left the club we were involved in a very serious accident that left me injured. I had neck and back injuries and was unable to work. I was going everywhere to try to get help. This went on for months. In January, after some pressure from my sister, I went to see a Chiropractor. He very quickly explained what we needed to do to get me better. I started with a series of adjustments to return my spine back into alignment. Within three months I was ready to return to work. I ended up getting my letter and went for my Army physical. After the physical they said to get ready and watch the lottery on T.V. That was the year they started the lottery and my number came up 226. Thankfully they were only taking those with numbers lower than 140.

One day I stopped to get my spine checked, and I asked him why more people didn't go to chiropractors. He replied that there weren't enough chiropractors out there telling people about chiropractic. I remember looking up at my chiropractor when he asked me what I was doing for the rest of my life. He then said, "Why you don't become a chiropractor?"

After some thought, I decided to attend Logan Chiropractic College. My thoughts then were to be able to tell the world about the great benefits I experienced through Chiropractic. In September I left family, friends, and Nancy. After 2 semesters I decided to return home and hopefully bring Nancy back with me. We got married that summer and returned to St. Louis. While in college, we had two daughters- Autumn and Rhonda. I graduated from Logan in 1974 and returned to Michigan to take my boards. After I took the boards I went up north to a small town I visited during the summers while I grew up in Dearborn Heights. During that time I decided to open a practice there. In a short time we were seeing many patients and enjoying the area. In February of 1975 we were blessed with another daughter- Bridget.
After 7 years there, we decided to move to a warmer climate. Nancy moved to Florida, and I visited there for the next year. I sold the practice in Michigan and took Nancy and the 3 girls on a road trip in a 30 foot motor home.

After 2 years and 20,000 miles, we decided to settle down in Port St. Lucie. We opened the office in 1985 at the Lexington Plaza and have been there ever since.

Shortly after we opened we were blessed with our son Raymond Jr. Autumn, our oldest daughter, is a school teacher and has 2 daughters. She lives in Perry Florida. Rhonda, our middle, is a Chiropractor who lives in Richmond, Virginia and has two daughters. Bridget, our youngest daughter, has 2 boys and is an ultrasound tech for an OB in Stuart, Florida. Raymond Jr. attends Central Florida University in Orlando. He is a junior and is studying to be a forensic pathologist. Nancy and I just celebrated our 35th year of being married and still work and enjoy our family together.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to find out more about Chiropractic and our office. I have been treating patients since 1972 as a young clinician at Logan College of Chiropractic. I still remember the great thrill I got when I helped my first patient. I remember thinking to myself what a great way to live my life, helping people. Still to this day I feel excited to take care of a new patient helping them understand how their body works and how Chiropractic can help them. I remember back to the days when I first opened an office in northern Michigan. In 1974 most of my patients did not really understand what Chiropractic was all about. There was very little insurance then and there was a lot of questions about what we could do. Today most of the patients we see have insurance that pays for most of their care. Most patients have a pretty good idea of what we do, and we have sophisticated computers to find a great deal of information and much more supportive therapy to help patients in acute pain. When I first opened my practice I did all of my adjustments by hand. After a short time we moved on to different tables that assisted me with the adjustments. I then spent years researching different techniques, and my research led me to Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique. Activator is the most researched technique in Chiropractic today. The Activator Method is extremely successful in finding locked spinal joints in the body that are causing health problems. Activator uses what is known as an "orthoneurological reflex tests" to aid in determining which joints aren't moving properly and causing subluxation. I believe a well educated patient gets better, faster results and stays well longer. The word doctor is derived from the word teacher. As I stated earlier, I got into chiropractic to help educate the patients on what Chiropractic can do for them to get well and stay well.
This web site is dedicated to those who want to learn the truth about Chiropractic.

As I stated earlier I loved to see the engines built and leave the factory working the way they were suppose to. In Chiropractic we understand that the body, through the central nerve system, maintains our state of health. Our nervous system keeps us in a state of harmony, a state of balance or a state of ease. It is only when our body is not in this state of balance or ease that we have dis-ease. My job as a chiropractor is to try to remove any interference in the nerve system so the body can maintain health.
Today I love to see patients leave the office working the way they are suppose to work.

I love the statement "GO FOR IT". If you feel that your get up and go, got up and left; you need to try CHIROPRACTIC.

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