Chiropractor comes to Mountain City

A chiropractor from Johnson City is opening an office in Mountain City. The goal of Connected Chiropractic & Wellness is to treat people's spines and "reduce pain, improve mobility and enhance nervous system functions by correcting joints that are out of alignment," owner Dr. Carter Knecht said. Knecht said he does a lot of "old school, manual adjusting." That doesn't many he doesn't have advanced tools, however; among his tools include an air-driven table; a computer-controlled table that accounts for patients' height and weight; and an X-ray machine. Knecht called chiropractors "mechanics of the body" — and in the same way you take a car in for preventive maintenance, he said you should get treated by a chiropractor before you begin experiencing major symptoms. "The hard thing in our profession is people always wait until they can't bear it anymore," he said. "When you lift something heavy and your back kinda feels stiff, kinda feels funny, that would be a good time to come in." Another symptom to be on the look out for is tingling in the hands and feet, Knecht said. He noted that people with high labor jobs are likely to need "preventive maintenance" more often. Knecht said that one of the biggest misconceptions people have about chiropractors is that they can usually fix your problems in one visit. "Chiropractic is one of those things where we'll set you on a treatment plan that's warranted for your needs, he said. We kind of have to train your body to get that muscle memory to help hold those joints in the optimal position." Knecht grew up in Ohio and received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree at the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa. In June 2024, shortly after he graduated, he and his wife moved to a farm located in Creston, North Carolina that's owned by his wife's grandmother, Sharon Santa Rita. "She said many local residents would remember [my wife's] great grandparents… J.W. and Clara Daughetry," he said. Knecht has been working in Johnson City, but is opening his office in Mountain City partially because "this area needs healthcare expansion." To begin with, the office will be open on Mondays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m, but his goal is to open full-time as soon as possible. The anticipated opening date is Thursday, May 28. He said the office will be taking Medicare and Medicaid. The office is located at 2009 S. Shady St., Mountain City.