According to Dr. Elliott Armstrong, it’s not enough to work hard and obtain a doctorate degree. It’s not even enough to be a skilled doctor in practice.

&uot;The one thing that sets me apart is that I care about the patients,&uot; said Suffolk’s newest chiropractor, sitting in his office, Accident and Injury Center, in the Suffolk Village Shopping Center. &uot;I always wanted to help people. I have a big heart, and I want to make people feel better. If I can’t make people feel better, I’ll send them to someone who can make them better.&uot;

Watching a chiropractor make someone else feel better was what first got Armstrong interested in the business. Majoring in biological science at East Carolina University, his then-girlfriend was involved in a car accident.

&uot;She was banged up pretty bad,&uot; he said. &uot;I took her to the chiropractor and saw the benefits she received, and I was interested. I asked the doctor if I could go back and help him work, and he said he didn’t mind. It looked like a quick and easy way to help people.&uot;

After finishing at East Carolina, Armstrong went to Sherman College in Sparten-burg, S.C., from which he obtained a degree in chiropractic medicine in Sept. 2002. Then he went to Newport News to work with another doctor.

&uot;I came to Hampton Roads because I felt the Lord was pushing me in this direction,&uot; he said. &uot;I thought about going elsewhere, but I kept getting pushed back.&uot;

Soon after taking up work in Newport News, some men approached Armstrong and told him of their plans to open a business in Suffolk. But first, he had to learn the non-medical side of medicine.

&uot;In chiropractor school, they teach you how to be a chiropractor,&uot; he said, &uot;but they don’t teach you how the business aspect.&uot;

He went to Henderson, N.C. to train in running such a business, then continued in Martinsville. Finally, in early August, he came to Suffolk to open the Main Street business, which opened last Monday.

&uot;All my equipment is brand new,&uot; he said. &uot;I have a full range of technology. I have muscle stimulation units, chiropractic and lumbar pillows, and traction tables.&uot;

Designed for people with disc problems, traction tables allow fluid to flow into the space between their discs. Eventually, Armstrong said he hopes to begin giving lectures on back treatment, and holding blood pressure screenings.

For more information, call 925-1295.

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com