Local chiropractor celebrating 20 years of service to Sisters

With a focus on wellness care and planning for the future, a local Sisters chiropractor is celebrating 20 years of service to residents of Sisters.

It was a cold, snowy February 20 years ago when Sisters resident and chiropractor Dr. Inice Gough, along with her husband and daughter visited Oregon for the first time. They came to Sisters from Georgia through a work connection Gough's husband had, and decided to stay.

"We wanted to live someplace where there was more open space outdoor activities. I did not want my child hanging out at a mall in the city. I wanted her to experience horses and skiing," Gough said.

Having already sold their home, they were in Sisters permanently by April. They've been here ever since, with Gough building her chiropractic business around her daughter's school schedule throughout the years.

As a child, Gough said she had her first chiropractic experience when she woke up one day unable to move her neck, so her mother drove 30 miles to the nearest chiropractor and she experienced her first adjustment.

"I walked out of there absolutely free of pain and full movement and I thought that he was magic. So my first impression was just magical. I'm like, 'This guy's a magician,'" Gough said.

As an adult, Gough says on her business website, that a bad surgery, she suffered from two bulging discs and paralysis in her left leg that were worse than her initial injury. Chiropractic care was the only treatment that relieved her pain.

"I have severe joint disease, but I snowboard, I mountain bike, I ride a bike. I can do pretty much whatever I want to do as long as I stay in an aligned state. If it gets out of alignment, I'm done," Gough said.

Because she has personal knowledge of these issues internally, Gough said it helps her teach patients through her own experience.

As a flight attendant, Gough said she would often see people board the plane who were experiencing pain, so she became an advocate of chiropractic care, recommending it to many of her customers because of what she had gone through personally.

It wasn't until her mid-30s that Gough decided to pursue her chiropractic degree. The airline she had been working for was in decline, so she began flying on the weekends and taking night classes during the week. She wasn't planning on leaving the airline, but wanted to be ready in case that became necessary. In 1991, the airline folded and she was almost done with her pre-med courses.

"I'd finished pretty much everything at that point. I had one more course to finish in organic chemistry, which I did at the chiropractic college. I just never missed a beat, it was fantastic, the timing was absolutely perfect," Gough said.

Graduating as a non-traditional student at the age of 41 and moving across the country to build a new business, Gough believes her experience shows that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

"You might want to accomplish something that might not be at the right time, but if you don't try you'll never know if you'll succeed with it or not and if you fail then what the heck, you go on to your next accomplishment," Gough said.

For Gough, building her business in Sisters has been a fantastic experience. She said her patients are like members of her family.

"It's wonderful. The people here are fantastic. Everyone that comes in is like a family member. You connect with people; this room out here has been sometimes like a family gathering," Gough said.

For more information about Dr. Inice Gough and Three Sisters Chiropractic, visit www.threesisterschiropractic.com.