New hire brings experience, well-rounded approach to care for Quintessenial Wellness

Quintessential Wellness has been a fixture in the Clayton community since 2014, offering chiropractic, massage, functional medicine and acupuncture. A Pennsylvania native, Dr. Amanda Keates has been a chiropractor for 14 years. She loves living in Clayton and serving her patients. That's why she has added Dr. Sean Hammonds to the Quintessential Wellness family. “I have truly enjoyed building my practice in Clayton, and calling this awesome town home. I have the privilege of treating people for their headaches, their backaches or just to maintain their already good health. And now, I’m excited that Dr. Hammonds is able to add so much to our thriving practice. He is able to care for patients of all ages but his unique gift for caring for athletes and his success with those types of injuries is a true benefit to our patients and our community,” Keates said.

CLAYTON — As an athlete, being able to stay in the game is a critical part of the equation. It's a reality that Dr. Sean Hammonds of Quintessential Wellness knows all too well.

Growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, Hammonds faced his own physical challenges and developed an appreciation for quality medical care.

“In high school, I played baseball and basketball,” he said. “I injured my shoulder while pitching one game and never took the time to have it checked out. I was stubborn and just played through the pain like so many other young athletes.

“I spent a lot of time rehabbing a shoulder injury that could have been fixed very easily — and a lot sooner — if I had just gone to a doctor and had it looked at. The experience has really helped me connect with my athletes, because I can tell them my story and explain how taking care of it now will benefit them in the future, especially if they want to play in college or further.”

Chiropractic care can be beneficial to athletes in other ways as well.

“Athletes are always beating themselves up while training, and they tend to get a lot of sprain/strain injuries,” he said. “My job is to not only get them feeling better, but to figure out why they got injured in the first place. Most injuries occur due to bio-mechanical faults and lack of rest in training.

“The athletes benefit from chiropractic adjustments, which allow their nervous system to function properly and leads to better muscle recruitment, strength and speed. I educate all of my athletes on how to stay healthy and stay in the game because, like the old saying goes, 'the best ability is availability.'

“Chiropractic is great for preventing injury as well. Routine chiropractic adjustments keep the athlete healthy and at the top of their game. They are able to recover faster, train longer and have fewer injuries. The body is very much like a machine; the better you take care of it, the more you can get out of it.”

While it provides a boon for athletes, chiropractic care can help everyone.

“Chiropractic benefits everyone from newborns to the elderly,” Dr. Hammonds said. “As chiropractic physicians, we focus on the nervous system and making sure there is optimal communication between the brain and the body. Some benefits can include faster recovery times from injury and sickness, less painful pregnancy and shorter delivery times, better immune system function and many others.

“In our practice, we have multiple ways of treating patients. Along with chiropractic care we utilize acupuncture, massage therapy and functional medicine. These different treatments give us a variety of ways to help our patients get better. Massage is great for the patients who have tight muscles from stress or work, acupuncture is great for organic issues such as digestive problems or sinus congestion and functional medicine allows us to look at aspects of nutrition that can affect a patient's health. They all play a role in how we treat our patients. There really is no cookie cutter approach in our office, everyone gets treated as an individual.”

Hammonds’ path to becoming a chiropractor was unique as well.

“I had a different path to becoming a chiropractor than most,” he said. “Usually someone has a chiropractor in the family or they see a chiropractor for an injury. No one in my family saw one while I was growing up. We went to the doctor when sick and got medication to feel better.

“I really became interested in chiropractic after hearing stories from friends about how they felt so much better after seeing their chiropractor. I decided to visit a few in town and see what all the hype was about. I spent hours with them asking how chiropractic works, what they can help, what types of injuries they see and watching the interactions they had with their patients.

“The next step was to actually get adjusted myself and see how it felt. I had always dealt with really bad allergies and asthma as a kid, and after getting adjusted, I noticed right away how much easier I could breathe and that I had way less congestion in my sinuses. I knew from then on that I wanted to be a chiropractor. I loved the idea of being able to help people in a unique way that didn't involve surgery or medications.”

It's just shy of 570 miles from Youngstown to Clayton, but Hammonds has settled in nicely to his new life in Johnston County.

“Johnston County has been amazing to me,” he said. “I love living in Clayton and the residents have welcomed me and made me feel at home. My girlfriend, Morgan, and I spend a lot of time in downtown Clayton going to the different events they have each weekend.

“Clayton reminds me a lot of back home in Ohio. I have always loved the fall weather and the leaves changing colors. Ohio tends to have much longer and colder winters, so I appreciate the much shorter cold weather here. Ohio will always be home and I will forever be a Cleveland sports fan, but North Carolina has been a perfect fit. … I have been living in Clayton for about a year now. I moved here not knowing a single person and I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to welcome me and I'm so glad I made the decision to move here.”

There were plenty of places he could have chosen to work, but Quintessential Wellness was a natural fit.

“I love working with Dr. Keates, because she really cares for her patients and will go above and beyond for them,” Dr. Hammonds said. “She has so much knowledge and has been an amazing mentor for me.

“Patients love coming to Quintessential Wellness because of how we treat them when they walk into the office. We know them by name, we laugh and have a great time in the office and we give them the exact care they need. Our office staff works as a team and everyone plays an important role which allows everyone to respect each other and work together. We are honest with our patients and let them know what we expect from them and what they can expect from us.

“We don't try to sell them on gimmicky products or make them come for an absurd amount of visits. We truly are here to help and our patients can feel that.”

To learn more about Quintessential Wellness, visit www.QWellness.health or call 919-400-7909.