Traverse City’s alternative healthcare practices are feeling just fine, thank you very much.

As healthcare costs rise and interest in holistic medicine rises nationally, The Ticker caught up with four local practices that are reporting strong growth.

At Grand Traverse Natural Health Care, owner Jill Donberg has added four additional practitioners in the past 24 months.
“My five-year plan came true in two years,” says Donberg, who opened the practice in January ’08. “It just took off.” The business grew 55 percent in its second year and revenue is up 30 percent year to date.

Donberg, who practices acupuncture and Oriental medicine, says a broader awareness of alternative therapies, a shortage of certified practitioners (only two board certified naturopaths and 4 board certified acupuncturists in Grand Traverse County) and a growing reputation have all contributed to her growth.

Five professions comprise what the National Institutes for Health call “Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM): acupuncture and Oriental medicine, chiropractic, massage therapy, midwifery and naturopathic medicine. Other fields include yoga therapy, homeopathy and Ayurvedic medicine.

A 2007 Centers for Disease Control survey reported that complementary and alternative healthcare practices account for some 12 percent of all U.S. out-of-pocket heath care expenditures.

In general, people seek out these alternative approaches when traditional medicine hasn’t worked, say local practitioners.
Dr. Joe Piche’s 10-year-old chiropractic practice has grown from just himself to four doctors, a massage therapist and two additional staff.

“We’re seen tremendous growth within our field,” says Piche. “The majority of people who come to our office have pain they don’t know how to get rid of.”

Dr. Nathan Olsen says his practice has doubled every year since he first opened Olsen Naturopathic Clinic in Traverse City in late 2006.

“I see a lot of complicated cases from people who have exhausted other options … a lot of autoimmune, gastro-intestinal issues, fibromyalgia … you have to look at the whole body,” Olsen says of his typical patients.

He feels the growth of his practice is part of a larger societal movement in which people are questioning everything and realizing “what they put into their body determines what they are going to feel like.”

Both Olsen and Donberg see their practices as integrating with standard western medicine, not as a replacement.

“We are often referred patients when standard medical care and medical imaging have been inconclusive,” adds Donberg, usually for very specific reasons such as pain, infertility, hormonal issues and insomnia.

“I’m not anti-M.D.,” says Olsen. “We’re both here for a reason.”

Katherine Roth M.D. has a particularly interesting perspective, as her TC practice bridges both traditional medicine and alternative therapies. People come, she says, “when traditional medicine hasn’t satisfied.

Roth reports an increase in patients interested in diet and nutrition as a medicinal, therapeutic approach.