At our October seminar on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, we were thrilled when a New Hampshire Chiropractor offered to present about his own experience treating local patients with this heritable connective tissue disorder. This month, our feature is Dr. Matthew Hotz.

Matthew Hotz, DC is a graduate of Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota. He has offices in Lee and Kingston, New Hampshire and has been in practice for 26 years. Dr. Hotz uses diversified adjusting along with Nimmo trigger point therapy, using both instrument and manual adjusting. He is especially passionate about the treatment of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and pregnancy and postpartum care, as well as working with runners to maximize athletic performance. He empowers patients to take responsibility for their care by teaching proper exercise technique and at home care to get better faster.

Dr. Hotz’s mother-in-law was a  teacher with the Boston Ballet, and through spending time with their chiropractor, he developed an interest in helping dancers with the particular stress that comes with their art. It was through correlating patterns found among dancers and gymnasts that led to an interest in helping those with EDS.

In his seminar presentation, Dr. Hotz expressed the importance of listening to patients who present with a variety of health complaints, as is often the case with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Seemingly unconnected symptoms that present a diagnostic challenge may actually be the result of a connective tissue disorder.

In his work with EDS patients, Dr. Hotz has found it helpful to focus on carefully building strength and training proprioception. He also recommends the Zebra Club app, which is an app specifically designed to guide people with hypermobility-related chronic pain through safe exercise and rehabilitation.

Meet Dr. Eric O’Connell! We are proud to have Dr. O’Connell as a member of our NHCA Board of Directors.

Eric O’Connell, DC, CCSP, ICCSP, CSCS is the owner and sports chiropractor at Progressive Spine & Rehab Center in Manchester, NH. There, he specializes in non-surgical spinal care and rehabilitation for athletes, as well as everyday people. His emphasis is on evaluating an injury and related structures for the source of discomfort, along with deficiencies which may have led to the injury taking place. His approach is focused not only on rapid relief, but also educating patients so they can fully return to daily activities without future incident.

Dr. O’Connell grew up in “Downstate” New York, an area about 70 miles north of NYC. There he participated in soccer, golf, hockey, and various action sports including skateboarding, BMX biking, mountain biking, skiing, and snowboarding. This variety of sports gave Dr. O’Connell an appreciation of what it takes to recover from and prevent all types of injuries.

Dr. O’Connell attended Springfield College, earning a BS in Applied Exercise Science in 2006. During his undergraduate, he earned the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) distinction from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He then worked as a health and wellness coordinator in the corporate wellness field. There he helped employees of an employees maintain and gain better health through diet and exercise training.  It was during this time Dr. O’Connell knew he could do more to help people and decided to attend chiropractic school at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange Florida. He graduated in 2011 as the Clinical Excellence award winner of his class.  During grad school he was president of the Sports Council for 2 years, where he helped to establish relationships for the club (and school) with the purpose of providing chiropractic care at local athletic events. His efforts resulted in relationships with the LPGA International golf course, and Daytona Motor Speedway among other smaller events and organizations. Additionally, during grad school, Dr O’Connell participated in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu earning 3-stripe purple bent and used his CSCS to train professional and amateur MMA fighters in preparation of fights and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions. Dr. O’Connell’s residency was at the Rhode Island Spine Center with Dr. Donald Murphy, a founding member of the PSP certification and developer of the now know CRIPS Protocols. The residency exposed Dr. O’Connell to evidence guided, multi-disciplinary approach to spine care, a model he still practices today.

Since graduating Dr. O’Connell participated in a yearlong course earning his Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP) distinction and International CCSP. He has used his advanced certifications to provide sports chiropractic care for a wide array of sporting events including many local 5k and other endurance races. He was the team chiropractor for the NH Charge Football team for 3 seasons and most recently volunteered as physio staff at the Nitro Circus Tour stop here in Manchester in 2019 and 2022. Dr. O’Connell sits as a general board member for the New Hampshire Chiropractic Association and is an ethics committee member for the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians.

During his free time Dr. O’Connell enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He is often found enjoying NH outdoors with hiking, biking, swimming and generally exploring all that NH has to offer.  Dr. O’Connell has rediscovered his joy for rock climbing, climbing mostly indoors at Vertical Dreams in Manchester. 

Meet Dr. Tamara Lovelace! We are proud to have Dr. Lovelace as a member of our NHCA Board of Directors.

Tamara Lovelace, DC, DACBSP, ICCSP, CKTP is a Chiropractic Sports Doctor and the Clinical Director at Seacoast Spine & Sports Injuries Clinic. The Seacoast Spine & Sports Injuries Clinic offers a premium service in Portsmouth NH, Kittery Maine and the Seacoast region for patients looking for treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of a sports injury or musculoskeletal complaint.

Dr. Lovelace grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta. She graduated summa cum laude as the valedictorian from Western States Chiropractic College (now the University of Western States) in 2001, and completed an intensive three-year residency program in radiology and diagnostic imaging in 2004. In 2011, Dr. Lovelace completed a program in advanced sports medicine that gives her the designation of Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP).

Dr. Lovelace is deeply involved within the chiropractic community. In addition to her position on the NHCA Board of Directors, she is the President of the New England Sports Medicine Council, as well as an active member of the American Chiropractic Association, the ACA Sports Council, the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians, the Oregon Chiropractic Association, and the Vermont Chiropractic Association.

Dr. Lovelace has worked with professional action sports athletes since 2005 and as the Director of Athlete Medical and Rehabilitation or the Acting Medical Director for the Dew Tour since 2008. She is one of the Team Doctors for Team USAs BMX Supercross Team and Team USA’s Bobsled & Skeleton Teams, and she has worked at the US Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Lake Placid, NY helping the nation’s athletes get ready for both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In February, Dr. Lovelace supported US athletes at the Beijing Olympics as part of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s medical delegation. She has provided chiropractic services to the Wiggles’ and American Idol Tours, and volunteered her expertise at sporting events, such as the US Figure Skating Championships, the Nationwide PGA Tour, the US Fencing Championships, and the Jim Danner and Nike Pre-National Cross Country Meets, in addition to volunteering her time and efforts at many other events. On occasion, Dr. Lovelace has worked with the Portland Timbers MLS team, providing chiropractic services to the players in preparation for their practices and games. Since settling in New England, she has joined the Prospect Mountain Timberwolves and the Kingswood Knights as their team doctor.

Dr. Lovelace is an athlete, herself. An accomplished classically trained ballerina, she trained and performed with professional dance companies, such as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet BC, the National Ballet of Canada, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.  Since then she has been involved in competitive paddle sports, including outrigger canoe and dragon boat racing.  She has been a member of several elite teams that have received top level designations in both national and international competitions, and has represented the United States at the Club Crew World Championships in 2006 and 2008. Dr. Lovelace also finds joy and recreation in running and participating in a challenging Pilates practice.

Dr. Lovelace aims to use her chiropractic and sports medicine training, along with her athletic experiences and biomechanical knowledge of the human body, to help her patients reach their full athletic potential and improve their quality of life. She recognizes the amazing difference chiropractic has made in helping her to attain her optimal performance in her own athletic endeavors and she intends to help others to do the same.  She uses a variety of techniques to assist her in this endeavor, including chiropractic manipulative therapy, physical therapy modalities, Graston Technique, soft tissue massage, Kinesiotaping and kinesiology taping, nutritional support, and rehabilitative exercises. Dr Lovelace has completed training and certification examinations in the evaluation and management of concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries. 

Meet NHCA members Drs. Bryan Natusch and Amber Mclelland from Upper Valley Chiropractic in Lebanon, NH. They have been serving the people of the Upper Valley for 18 years!

About Upper Valley Chiropractic 

In addition to Drs. Bryan Natusch and Amber Mclelland, the team at Upper Valley Chiropractic also consists of Molly Pepin, DC, Courtney McLelland – office manager, and Liza Ladd – Tech Assistant. They work together to make patients of all ages feel welcomed, safe, and part of a great community and family within the office.

Upper Valley Chiropractic sees pregnant women, newborn babies, kids, athletes, and people of all ages. Their focus of care is all about the brain and body connection, resetting stress patterns, and finding balanced function in a chaotic world. Much of their care uses techniques of “asking the body or innate wisdom” for the areas and types of adjustments needed. This can be conventional manual adjusting, instrument adjusting, pressure, positional patterns, functional neurology, energetic, visceral adjusting, or even emotional adjustments. These approaches are developed from their training in techniques like KST, SOT, ICPA infant adjusting, Webster’s, AK, Diversified, Thompson, ENAT, Natural Force Healing, TS Line evaluation, etc. To support the brain and body resets started by the adjustments, they use therapies like PEMF, light therapy, FSM, BrainTap, Earthing, Softwave, breathwork education, Rezzimax vibration, laser, and more. Lifestyle education and whole food nutrition are extremely important to them and as their own journey develops, they incorporate this into care recommendations at the office as well.

About Bryan & Amber 

Bryan and Amber moved to Lebanon, NH from Davenport, Iowa and Toledo, Ohio in 2004. Amber got started in NH covering for and then working in McLain Chiro in Lebanon. Bryan started at Parent Chiropractic in Londonderry. These were great opportunities and got them started in the development of their now thriving practice. They have 2 children, Rhys – 12 and Peyta – 9, who were both born at home. Bryan’s father is a chiropractor, which is where he started his journey of learning natural healing methods. He grew up in northern New Jersey and was an athlete in soccer, tennis, and skiing. The outdoors are his soul-fuel, and he loves paddle boarding and mountain biking in the summer, and skiing, fat biking, and kite-skiing in the winter.

Amber is also a successful author and writes fiction series with more than 30 books published and available on Amazon under the name Amber Lynn Natusch. Amber grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and moved to Ohio when she was in high school. She attended the University of Toledo with the goal of becoming a physical therapist, but by graduation she was already on a new career path. Amber was a dancer, and she developed a debilitating knee injury while dancing. The injury became so bad she couldn’t run and she couldn’t teach dance. She begrudgingly went to a chiropractor. To her surprise, the chiropractic experience was such a positive one that Amber decided to become a chiropractor herself. She enrolled in Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. It was there that she learned the importance of healthy nerve function, made some amazing friends, and met Bryan while playing soccer. Amber has always wanted to work with pregnant women and children, but she feels even more passionate about it since becoming a mom. She has seen through raising their own children how vibrant and healthy kids can be when raised in a natural and organic environment. She’s a natural at tuning into and speaking the language of babies, and loves spending much of her time in the office working with this population. She loves connecting to nature with time on the beach in Scarborough, gardening, and watching over their backyard chickens. She trains in Muay Thai and has a mean knee and a very sharp elbows.