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Dr. Heun

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Back to Our Team » Dr. Scott J. Heun

I was born into chiropractic in Davenport, IA in the late summer of 1959. Mom, Dad and I moved to Storm Lake, IA, following my father’s graduation from Palmer College.

The Heun family moved from Storm Lake, IA in the fall of 1963, to Napa, California. My father opened his chiropractic practice in Napa, and for 37 years served the people of Northern California with exceptional care.

As is often the case with second-generation chiropractors, I was raised a bit differently than the norm. You might say I developed a "thick skin" as a result of "growing up" with chiropractic. Being exposed to the likes of Dr. “G”, (Dr. Clarence Gonstead, a “God in our household) Dr. Reggie Gold, Dr. Joe Flesia, Guy Riekeman and “Renaissance”, and a host of lesser-known, yet still outstanding chiropractors, helped to offset the impact of negative attacks by an ignorant public.

At an early age, I visited the world famous Gonstead Clinic of Chiropractic in Mt. Horeb, WI. Sitting in the basement of the clinic surrounded by chiropractors, I began to learn the art and craft of chiropractic. Dr. Gonstead made quite an impression on me, as "Dr. G" was an inspiring, “bigger than life” individual. The other interest cultivated by visits to Wisconsin was with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. These passions, each which embrace the structure, function relationship: Wrights architecture, and the fundamental principles of chiropractic, continue to this day.  It should come as no surprise that my current choice for our family  “home base” is only a short drive from Taliesin, Wright’s home and architectural school.  All my ancestors on the Heun side settled in Mineral Point and Dodgeville, WI from Bavaria.  It is easy for me to call this area home.

I graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in 1983, after attending Palmer College in Davenport, IA. It was at Palmer-West I first met and befriended Dr. Don Harrison, a friendship and collaboration I treasure to this day.  I passed the California State Board exam and began practicing in Pinole, California (a suburb of San Francisco) in July of 1983.

My practice developed a unique style from the start. A focus on rehabilitation was always a part of my practice orientation. I completed the Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician program taught by Dr. Kim Christensen in 1984, and learned a great deal about extremity injuries, sports nutrition and rehabilitation and case management of sports injuries.

In the late 1980's, I was actively looking for a solution to resolving the structural challenges patients presented to me, and I postulated that the answer must lie in the soft tissue which was at that time, mostly ignored by chiropractors (in my experience). I learned about a chiropractor who was doing some work using a kind of “Rolfing with motion” to resolve sports injuries.  I decided to travel to Los Angeles to learn the Neuromuscular Re-education soft tissue technique pioneered by Dr. Gary Glum and Joe Horrigan. For nearly two years, in order to support Dr. Glum in his quest to publish a book on an ancient cancer remedy (“Calling of an Angel” Dr. Gary L. Glum), I commuted to Los Angeles on a weekly basis and treated the patients of the Neuromuscular Re-education Center. During this time, I treated world-class athletes from around the world: members of the (then) L. A. Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, many Olympic athletes, world champion body builders, power lifters, and boxers. This experience left me with a unique skill level in managing various types of injuries and conditions.

Upon my return to Northern California, I subsequently became team chiropractor for the "Bay Area Touring Side (BATS)" rugby team, and the Stanford University Rugby Team. I also worked with the women’s Eagles Rugby team and members of the men’s national rugby team, the Eagles. Many of the world-class athletes I worked with in Los Angeles followed me North to Pinole, CA when I no longer made the weekly trip to Los Angeles. 

In 1988, I used what I had learned to date and compiled an impressive team to take musculoskeletal rehabilitation to a new level. Working with an exercise physiologist, a world-class gymnast and a physical therapist, I founded SOMA Institute, Inc., Industrial Fitness and Sports Medicine.

After completing a course of study in Pilates Techniques at the Dance Medicine Institute, a division of St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, CA, my team and I pioneered the use of Pilates exercise in a chiropractic rehabilitation setting. A rigorous water exercise program soon followed. The combination of soft tissue therapy, manipulation and rehabilitation exercise proved to be extremely valuable in caring for patients. During this time, I also completed training in Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA) and the chiropractic orthopedics course of study under the direction of Dr. Richard Stonebrink through Western States Chiropractic College.

In 1989, when Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP®) was in its infancy, I realized that the combination of aggressive soft tissue work, Gonstead full spine adjusting, and intensive rehabilitation exercise was not successful in improving spinal structure or posture. After a lengthy conversation with my friend, teacher and mentor, Dr. Don Harrison, I decided that CBP® was on to something. I embarked on an intensive course of study to master CBP®. I eventually became a Certified CBP® Instructor, and taught CBP® at Life Chiropractic College-West. I am a proud and enthusiastic member of the “CBP® Family”.

To provide the level of CBP® care my conscience demanded I needed qualified help.  I implemented an intern program and for the last eight years of my practice, mentored many students and doctors through this program.  I am proud to say that all of my former interns are in active practice today.

After running single and multiple doctor offices, the SOMA INSTITUTE, and practicing for 20 years, I realized there was a significant need for mentoring in my profession.  This realization came in large part from my exposure to students at Life-West and Palmer-West, and of course among the ranks of those attending CBP® Seminars. I am committed to continuing to make a difference in chiropractic.  I want to help as many doctors as possible achieve success in practice with dignity, integrity, and honesty, and always putting patients first.

My Name is Dr. Scott Heun. I am a chiropractor, seasoned clinician and mentor. Telephone me at 608.489.7542 or, if you prefer, email me at info@chiropracticementoring.com

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