Hello,

My name is Dr. Mark N. Berry. As you'll read, my chiropractic story is not accidental. It is a very personal story of my journey from pain, fear and indecision to ultimate relief, wellness and happiness.

In the tenth grade, I played football at St. James High School the fullback and linebacker positions. While playing in the area championship game I blocked someone, just as I had always done in every other game that season. But during that particular play, I had a sharp pain in my neck. I played through it, though, because I was tough. HA HA. Stupid is more like it!

At first the pain and discomfort was horrible. I could not sleep on a pillow. I had trouble moving my neck and, even worse, getting myself out of bed was painful. The intense pain went on for weeks. After a few months most of the pain was gone so I tried to participate in spring training drills. One hit and I was in the same amount of pain and discomfort that I experienced in the beginning. It was distressing: I had just begun receiving letters from colleges about their football programs and I couldn't even handle one hit.

My father decided to take me to an orthopedic doctor. An MRI found a bulging disk in the cervical region of my spine. I was referred to neurologist who told me that I should try physical therapy and see what happened before we thought about surgery. We asked why the disk was bulging and the doctor told us that it was possible that I was born that way. I knew there wasn't any way I was born with it. My father asked if it was okay to go to a chiropractor. The neurologist said, 'yes.'

Initially, I was scared. I thought that it might break my neck. My father told me not to worry, that it would be over before I knew it. The chiropractor (Dr. Jones Montgomery, AL) took X-rays and looked at the MRI and found where the problem was on the film. After the first adjustment I had better movement in my neck and it did not hurt as bad. I had been in so much pain and discomfort--for months. Now, after about ten treatments, I felt no pain and could move my neck normally! This sparked my first interest in chiropractic.

While studying at the University of Alabama, I was going back and forth trying to decide whether I should become an oncologist or a chiropractor. At the time, the desire to beat the illness that took my mother away from me was so strong that oncology was in the lead. One class required you to shadow a professional in the field of your choice for 120 hours and journal your daily experiences. I decided first to shadow a chiropractor, Dr. Tidwell (Tuscaloosa, AL). There, I saw things that I never thought chiropractic could help: hemorrhoids, ear infections (in the daughter of a pediatric nurse much less, dizziness, pain, etc. There was even a woman who could not open one eye without the use of her hands. Through the doctor's chiropractic care I saw each of these patients conditions improve or eliminated. I was amazed at the magnitude that an adjustment could have on someone's health regardless of their condition. After that class assignment I was certain, without a doubt that I wanted to be a CHIROPRACTOR!

High School:

• St.James High School, Montgomery, Alabama

Undergraduate:

• University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (2000)
  
• Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Human Environment Sciences
  
• Major: Food and Nutrition
  
• Parker College of Chiropractic Dallas, Texas (2006)
  
• Bachelor of Sciences, Human Anatomy
  

Graduate:

• Parker College of Chiropractic, Dallas, Texas (2006)
  
• Doctor of Chiropractic

Certification:

• Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP) Technique (2005) 
  
• Croft Whiplash and Brain Injury Traumatology (Pending Sept. 2009)
• CLEAR Institute Scoliosis Treatment and Care Protocol

Additional Studies:

• CLEAR Institute Scoliosis Treatment and Care Protocol
  
• Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP)
  
• Gonstead Technique
  
• Torque Release Technique
  
• Charrette Extremities Technique (feet, hands, knee, ankles etc..)
  
• Sacral-Occipital Technique (SOT)