Dr. James C. Gardner, DC
Doctor of Chiropractic
Dr. Gardner has been passionately practicing chiropractic since 1999. He specializes in sports medicine and has served as a team chiropractor for football and dance. Dr. Gardner loves to fill his free time with various projects and making memories with his family. Patients describe Dr. Gardner as jolly and efficient, like Santa.
Dr. Gardner graduated with an Associate of Science from Utah Valley State College, a Bachelor in Business Management from the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University, and a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (now called Southern California University of Health Sciences).
Dr. Gardner has shared a life of joy with his wife since 1994. They share six children: two girls and four boys. They love to go on trips as a family, go camping, and enjoy their season tickets to the BYU football games.
I was born with a heart condition that required surgery when I was six years old. I am alive because of the benefits of modern surgical methods and practices utilized in my behalf. As a result, I respect modern medical care for the acute, life-saving tools available from surgery and short-term pharmaceutical use. However, as I got older, I developed a chronic sinus condition that just wouldn’t go away regardless of how many trips to the medical doctor I took to get drugs for fighting off the ever present infections. I was not impressed with the medical treatment for chronic or long-term health issues, like my recurrent sinus infections, but like so many Americans, I didn’t know what else to do.
As a 16-year-old young man, I worked for a landscaping architect. I was a grunt; a dirt mover and rock flinger. As so often happens in these trades, I hurt my back one day and literally could not stand up. So, after being excused to go home for the day,
I shuffled into my house and told my Mom what happened. She stated that I needed to go see her chiropractor immediately. I asked her what a chiropractor was and what he could do to help me. She basically said, “you’ll see,” and sent me off to his office. The chiropractor took an x-ray, examined my back, and gave me my first chiropractic adjustment. The only tools the chiropractor used to re-align my spine was his two hands. I got off the table to much better! I was amazed at the combination of two hands and chiropractic know-how. I was so improved, I was able to go to work the next day! I became a believer in the art and science of chiropractic.
I planned to be a medical doctor when I grew up. I worked hard, got great grades, and passed hard tests so I could go to medical school. However, I had a revealing experience during my my cardiology check-up as a 21-year-old. I asked my doctor if he liked being a cardiologist, because I was thinking of becoming one. To my surprise, he flatly stated that he wouldn’t recommend it. When I asked why, he said that HMO insurance had drastically hurt his ability to both make a living and treat patients how he felt they needed to be cared for. I was shook up after this conversation because he was so good at what he did and was well-known. He actually suggested that I should look into computers and not into health care. I decided to look at all my options; however, I just felt most interested in health-related professions.
I decided to take an anatomy class in college and was amazed at the way bones, muscles, and joints all work to make us move, live, and function as humans. Then one day shortly after my marriage, my wife hurt her thigh muscle. I applied some of the knowledge acquired in anatomy to give her some relief. It was powerful to me that I could use my hands and make such a difference in both pain levels and function. From this experience, I decided to become a chiropractor instead of a medical doctor.
After completing an extensive amount of pre-requisite coursework in anatomy, physiology, general and organic chemistry, and other classes, in the fall of 1996 I was accepted into the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, located in Whittier, California (now part of Southern California University of Health Sciences). After successfully completing 10 consecutive academic terms and four national boards, I graduated with my Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree in December 1999.
My next task was to decide where I wanted to move and start my practice. I looked at many areas but the decision finally came down to Loveland, Colorado (my hometown) or Idaho Falls, Idaho (my wife’s hometown). After finding a practicing chiropractor in Idaho Falls who would help me get acclimated to the business side of practice, and failing to find a matching offer in Loveland, we packed up our bags and moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho. In today’s world, it is rare to go from no established clientele to success, but that is exactly what we’ve accomplished in Idaho Falls. After leasing space for over a decade, I purchased a building on 17th Street. We are loving the area and the profession.
