Laurie Buob, M.S., D.C., FASA, of Austin Family and Sports Chiropractic, P.A., decided to become a doctor at age 34. 

She had a master’s in exercise physiology and was working at Canyon Ranch as an exercise physiologist/fitness instructor, but she wasn’t satisfied with what she could do for her clients.

Canyon Ranch is an exclusive destination health resort where people go to change their fitness and dietary lifestyles.

“I really loved helping people change their health practices, but injuries often limited progress of my clients and took them back to their old habits,” Buob says. “I wanted to be able to give more comprehensive care.”

As a chiropractor, Buob continues to increase her knowledge to provide just that. She is certified in the FAKTR®, Active Release (ART)® and Graston® techniques, which allow her to treat not just the joints, but also the muscles and tendons.

“Your muscles are attached to your bones with tendons, so if you have pain, it is most often a combination of therapy that will resolve the injury,” says Buob, who is currently on course to become a certified chiropractic sports physician. 

Nominated in Austin’s Top 10 Fittest in 2010 by Austin Fit Magazine, Buob’s personal fitness has been instrumental in her success.

“As a tri-athlete of 15 years, I have suffered numerous injuries that allow me to identify with my patients,” she says. “No one wants to stop training and go backwards in their fitness goals, so I provide my patients with a diagnosis, treatment and at-home care program to accelerate their healing.” 

Sometimes that means modifying their workout routine and allowing the body to heal itself. “That does not mean passive care,” she says of her belief that the body heals itself. “It is a combination of treatment to get more blood flow to the injured area, possibly stretching or releasing tight areas that may be contributing to the injury, exercises to strengthen weak areas and acupuncture to stimulate the immune system.”

Buob decided most recently to become a certified medical acupuncturist in order to continue her holistic approach to healing. 

Buob doesn’t believe in generic treatment plans. Many chiropractors decide on the first visit that the patient will come in for X number of visits so many times a week for so many weeks – or in other words, they book their schedule and build their business around that concept. 

Buob works with all patients individually, identifying their individual injuries and their individual and unique life constraints to develop a plan that works for them. She lets her patients decide how aggressively she will treat the injury.

“Dr. Laurie is not like other chiropractors or physical therapists. She is like a combination of the two, and spends time with you,” says a patient who spent eight years and thousands of dollars trying to heal from a running injury before finally getting relief with Buob. “You never get an assistant, and she always listens and adapts what she is doing to get you better faster.

“She emails me, texts me or calls me to keep a dialogue on my progress. When do you ever get that from your G.P. or orthopedic?”

Buob also enjoys helping women with their unique health concerns. “I have patients [who] come in with neck pain and then tell me about how they are not sleeping because of menopausal symptoms,” she says. “Or they want to continue their exercise routine while pregnant, but their low-back pain is limiting their activity.” 

Pregnant women can’t take ibuprofen, and they don’t sleep well, so they get aches and pains. Both chiropractic care and acupuncture can help them with their symptoms. Buob also treats PMS, headaches and allergies, along with strains, sprains, disk herniations and other mechanical injuries.

Her office has state-of-the-art equipment to reduce inflammation, increase blood flow, re-polarize nerves, provide spinal decompression, break up scar tissue and adhesions and help strengthen/stretch muscles. A patient appointment may be an hour-and-a-half with her integrated treatment approach.

Another way Buob stands out is letting patients know when their injury is not something she can treat. “I sent a patient last week to a neurologist when I suspected a neurological/autoimmune basis for her symptoms,” she says. 

By continuously increasing her knowledge and adapting her care, Buob aims to treat the root cause, not just symptoms, and teach patients to prevent further injuries. She wants her patients to get better while staying fit, and she will use all of her tools to get them there. 

As her motto states, she truly wants her patients to “hurt less and play more.”

To learn more about Dr. Laurie Buob, visit www.austinfamilyandsportschiropractic.com, or call 512-258-4425.