Dr. Zev Mellman is a highly-sought after chiropractor with a unique way of spreading change while promoting healthy living through having a healthy spine.
Being regular with spinal care helps ensure your body is in optimal condition. Dr. Zev focuses on spine first, and extremities 2nd, ensuring shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and feet move and function properly. Whether it’s a spinal joint or ankle, restricted movement sets off a domino effect of problems that start as micro issues but can contribute to macro problems as time progresses. The care provided is unique to the person/s and individualized to their needs based on x-rays and/or lifestyle behaviors.
Dr. Zev Mellman is no stranger to the task of supporting professional athletes and high level performers. Celebrity sport stars like Shaquille O’Neal, Dalvin Cook, Brandon Marshall, as well as, artists like Fat Joe, boxers like Deontay Wilder & fitness icons like Phil Heath all frequent the South Florida based chiropractor.
In discussing the contribution of chiropractic care as it relates to maximizing the physical potential of athletes in training, Dr. Zev says nobody is immune to “constant low levels of stress, whether physical, chemical or emotional, & it’s counterproductive to everyone. The key to a person’s physical and mental wellbeing is having strategies in place to address stress loads. For all of his clients, chiropractic adjustments are one of the strategies to neutralize that load, and help their bodies thrive under everyday conditions.” He is an advocate for holistic health and despite his fame for care to elite performers, he treats all his clients with the same attention, love and care. His motto is “adjustments don’t lie,” and judging from his patients’ reactions, they happily agree.
His warm heart and joyful spirit resulted in his mission to make his chiropractic care both affordable and accessible to all, not just elite wallets. The beauty and thoughtful design of his office provides an inviting atmosphere with a homelike feel for the family, adults and kids alike. The open floor concept includes games, wifi, a free kombucha bar, ginger shots, tables to work or read, as well as artistic and enlightening quotes throughout.
The strong connection with the chiropractic field stems through a breathing disorder––asthma, Dr. Zev Mellman developed as a teenager. Being prescribed inhalers with no resolve, instead medical issues continued to arise leading his mother to explore a holistic alternative–– chiropractic care. After ongoing adjustments to specific areas of his spine , his condition dramatically improved. Dr. Zev Mellman explains, “There is a big difference between trick or treating your symptoms and actually getting to the source of the problem. Most of us are told to take this…Instead of asking how did I get like this…and reverse engineering that process.” It was this experience that awakened him to his life’s calling to help others through chiropractic care.
His philosophy combines key principles that include food do’s & don’ts, fitness tips, fighting inflammation naturally & of course adjustments. “Understanding how to take load and compression off the body and why is key if you want to have predictable health day in and day out.”
HIS CHIROPRACTIC HEALING EXPERIENCE
Dr. Zev Mellman: When I was 14, I couldn’t breathe because I had asthma. It came out of nowhere, I had no pain, no warning signs, nothing. I went to the doctor, and he auscultated my lungs and said, “Oh, it sounds like you have a childhood asthma. You’ll either grow out of it, or you’ll continue to use your inhalers when you need them throughout your life.”
My mom got me the prescription and told me to use it. One inhaler led to two inhalers and then all of a sudden, my skin started to get bad. I started to develop pneumonia and then bronchitis which is common when you not only start using inhalers, but also when you can’t breathe well. Your immune system starts to lower and you become more susceptible to things like that.
I remember one time, I was missing school for weeks at a time because of a really bad and deep cough. It was when I wanted to start dating girls and here I am getting pimples and things that I didn’t have before. I probably would have had it eventually anyway because of puberty. But it was really accelerated and getting bad quickly because of the asthma, inhalers and steroids. The way my liver was processing that was probably stressful and this had to be eliminated through my skin. There was just a bunch of motion going on there. I wasn’t feeling like my best self; I couldn’t breathe or date girls.
My mom was tired of hearing me complain. She said, “Look, I know a lady who helped me, let’s give her a try.” My mom was personally helped by a chiropractor, but she just didn’t link what was going on with her years ago to what was going on with me then. She brought me to this chiropractor, and the woman took an x-ray of my spine and showed it to me. It had a nice little bend in it, right in that thoracic spine area. She explained that it was interfering with my body’s ability to function at its best. It was affecting my diaphragm’s ability to move up and down. From the first adjustment, I fell in love, I was instantly breathing better. And every adjustment just felt like I was getting stronger and stronger. I went from two inhalers to one, until I then felt like I rarely ever needed them. That was my first go around with chiropractic and I loved it.
LOVE WHAT YOU DO
Dr. Zev Mellman: I always tell people the school never makes the chiropractor, it sets up the stage in the environment to facilitate it. In my opinion what makes a chiropractor great is allowing what they love to transfer through their hands and into a person’s adjustments to where the client goes “Whoa!”
This is an extra special something that is no different than a chef cooking food. Why are some so phenomenal? I think it really just comes down to being generis. I truly love what I do. Because of that it just always drives me to stay connected with the hands and master the practice; to be understanding, empathetic, to feel and touch. Also, I come from an athletic background. I definitely think that plays a role because my style adjusts for even very large men that need care.
DE-STRESS
Dr. Zev Mellman: As a chiropractor, my job is to de-stress, not add stress. From a scheduling standpoint, I recognize that was stressful. What we did is that now there are no more appointments. You want to be here, you’re supposed to be here. As long as you’re an active client in mind, come in, these are my hours, we call them open hours. On average we’re touching seven to nine hundred people a week. As long as you come in [as a registered patient], I’ll be more than happy to take care of you.
