By Howard Koplowitz
When soldiers return to Queens after ending their tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, they will have more to look forward to than reuniting with their families and getting back to civilian life.
Dr. Anthony DeSano, a Woodhaven chiropractor with a practice at 84-16 Jamaica Ave., is offering free evaluations and full care for a year for any soldier who walks into his office.
"I always felt like I wanted to do something more," said DeSano, director of the Center for Alternative Medicine for 13 years.
He said he got the idea for the free service for soldiers based on a national program by the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance.
"We're as a profession just wanting to give back to those who protect us and protect our rights," said DeSano, who launched the free service on Memorial Day.
Any soldier whose tour in Iraq or Afghanistan ended within a couple of months of their return home is entitled to a full evaluation and free care for a year, he said.
"The idea is to ease their transition back into civilian life," DeSano said. "I know they're undergoing a lot of stresses over there — physical stresses, emotional stresses, chemical stresses. All of these stresses takes a toll on their nervous system."
While some chiropractors focus only on pain, DeSano said, he also looks to balancing the nervous system.
He said he will evaluate soldiers using state-of-the-art technology called Insight Millennium, which detects disturbances in the nervous system that cannot be found through X-rays. The device can pinpoint problems in other areas of the body through the spine.
"By not caring for themselves, they're at risk for systemic problems and not living their life to their fullest potential, and who wouldn't want to be at their best?" DeSano said.
Soldiers will also be entitled to chiropractic adjustments.
"The adjustments remove pressure from the nervous system and balances the body," DeSano said.
When the year is up, DeSano said he would refer the patient to another chiropractor for ethical reasons.
An exam at the Woodhaven office normally costs $45 and adjustments are $40 each.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
