Daniel David Palmer, an Iowan, performed the first chiropractic adjustment in 1895. His patient was a partially deaf janitor named Harvey Lillard whose vertebra, Palmer noticed, was out of alignment. After Palmer completed the adjustment, Lillard partly regained his hearing—and the world gained a new medical practice: chiropractic care.
Dr. Nickalos Peterson was Ridgefield’s first-ever chiropractor, opening an office on Main Street in 1976. Nickalos had served as a paramedic in Vietnam, for which he earned a Bronze Star. This experience made him realize he wanted a career in helping people. He decided he’d seen enough gore and shellshock in Vietnam—but because he, too, hailed from Iowa, Nickalos was familiar with Daniel David Palmer. “With the GI bill, I could pick what I wanted to do, and chiropractic sounded interesting,” he tells us.
Nickalos’s wife, Dawn, grew up in nearby Dutchess County, so after earning his degree, the Petersons moved to Ridgefield with their small daughter in tow and another baby on the way. Peterson Chiropractic settled into its present location at 31 Bailey Avenue nearly 45 years ago—and it has always been a family affair. Dawn works at the front desk and handles billing. Two of her sisters worked there for a time. And the baby, Nicholas (yes, it is indeed spelled differently than his father), grew up visiting his father’s office. Nicholas recently took the helm of the business, telling us, “I always knew this is what I was going to do.” But it’s the newest family member who is by far the star. He also happens to be the fluffiest.
Atlas is a very sweet miniature goldendoodle puppy. “My dog is important, I think he makes people feel more relaxed when they’re receiving treatment. Whether it’s an adjustment, acupuncture, or simply being in a medical office,” Nicholas says. And he’s right, the office’s atmosphere is made immensely lighter by the presence of this adorable little pooch. Think of Atlas as providing services in goldendoodle grounding. He’ll happily snooze beneath the table of a patient, allowing them to stroke his silky fur, easing their mind off of their therapy.
Not only did Nicholas grow up around chiropractic care—he knows its benefits firsthand. “I learned about whiplash from being in a car accident. I got an avulsion fracture on C5,” he casually slips into our conversation. But he’s far from flippant, adding. “If you can give people sound advice from experience, that can change their life.”
Nicholas, who tried to play professional hockey until he was 28, then tells us, “All of these teeth are all fake,” laughing as he points to nearly his entire upper row. “I ruined my body, and my father put me back together.”
Once it became clear that professional hockey wasn’t in the cards, Nicholas doubled down on his studies, earning his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University College of Chiropractic in 2007. Soon after, he joined his father’s Ridgefield practice, and the duo’s accumulated expertise is now closing in on 75 years.
Nearly fully retired, Nickalos still helps at the practice as a sounding board for his son, but his procedures are limited to traditional acupuncture—something he began studying in the 1970s at the National College of Chiropractic. “When I first came to Connecticut, well…it was very archaic. To get the needles, we would have to send away to China,” Nickalos tells us. “And then of course, we would use them over and over! We’d clean them with alcohol and steam them,” he reminisces, chuckling in disbelief.
While there are many more chiropractors in town these days, Peterson Chiropractic and Wellness has evolved into something greater than a revolving door for cracking backs. They’ve embraced a multi-faceted, whole-body approach, applying various techniques to help their patients. Cupping therapy and acupuncture are methods used, encouraging the body to promote natural healing.
“You can’t always get to a muscle with your hand. Muscles on the side of your spine or deep underneath your trap lend themselves to acupuncture because there’s no other way to treat them,” Nicholas explains. “It’s called dry needling, or deep needling. Insurance often pays for it, it’s bloodless, and for the most part, painless.”
Then there is electroacupuncture, where needles are inserted into the patient, electrodes are attached, and an electric current is turned on, stimulating large areas around the needle points. Studies have found this releases stem cells, relieving pain and promoting tissue repair. “It has to be the right candidate with the right condition. I’ve had people say to me, ‘No one has been able to fix my neck,’ and that will fix it,” Nicholas says.
Acupuncture isn’t just limited to pain management. Nicholas also sees patients for help with anxiety, headaches, and even fertility treatments. “I don’t treat diseases, I treat conditions,” he tells us.
Nicholas’s aptitude for being nimble in an ever-changing field means he nixed his father’s X-ray machine room (there are many places one can get an X-ray these days), opting to convert the space into a massage therapy room. Though devoid of standard spa flair (there are no babbling fountains), Jade Lee has extensive training in many massage healing techniques. “We have a lot of people who come in and want massages for stress management,” Nicholas says.
Active release is another procedure Nicholas is adept in. “We didn’t know why nerves would get stuck in fascia a few decades ago, and we’re still learning things about the body,” he tells us. But something that truly sets Peterson Chiropractic and Wellness apart from other practices in the area is not a technique—it’s a piece of equipment.
“People with sciatica and herniated or bulging discs are often told to get injections of cortisone—which relieves the pain…temporarily. But the spinal decompression table is a very effective machine,” Nicholas tells us. Once the patient is strapped in, the table gets to work, gently stretching their spine, creating negative pressure within the spinal discs. With a recommended round of therapy, this can result in the retraction or repositioning of the disc material—and relief from chronic pain.
Not everyone wants to have their neck cracked, or is or is willing to endure electricity pumping through their body via needles in the name of pain relief, and Nicholas has his hand on the pulse of this movement towards “light technique.” He’s currently taking classes in a cranial sacral technique to aid in abetting headaches. “Some people don’t want pain, or anything forceful. This is a gentle way to balance cerebral spinal fluid, which can help with a variety of conditions,” he tells us. “It’s quite difficult, but if it was easy, it wouldn’t be so valuable.” Other gentle procedures include facilitated stretching, therapeutic ultrasound, and myofascial release.
Sports injuries, chronic pain, and other conditions—many due to stress—are all things many people suffer from. “I like to do catch and release, where you fix someone, maybe they come back if they have another problem,” Nicholas tells us. But at this warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable family-affair of a practice, “The ultimate goal is to make people better.”
The best part? Not only do they accept most insurances, you’ll also get some quality time with Atlas.