Meet a Local Business: Terrapin Chiropractic

One of my responsibilities as a member of the board of directors for the is to visit other locally owned independent businesses in the community. It has really expanded my vision of the community, and even as a lifelong resident of College Park, I've been learning a lot about the businesses here in town. I'm hoping to bring some of those experiences to the rest of the community with a series of (hopefully weekly) posts, introducing locally owned independent businesses in College Park to Patch readers.

Dr. Dan Kraus, of , was kind enough to volunteer to be the first business profiled for this series. I recently met with Dr. Dan at his north College Park office, to learn more about his practice. 

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Terrapin Chiropractic is that it looks a bit more like a gym than any doctor's office I had ever visited. Much of the office is filled with what looks like exercise equipment. Dr. Dan explained that the equipment is used during treatment for exercise and traction.

Many of Dr. Dan's patients find him because they are in pain, but he won't just treat the pain, and send a patient on his or her way. Instead he identifies and treats the underlying cause of the problem, using a combination of exercise, adjustments, and traction to improve spinal alignment.

Terrapin Chiropractic has x-ray equipment in the office, and every patient gets a series of spinal x-rays during the initial visit. After a series of care, Dr. Dan then re-shoots x-rays. That way he can actually show his patients that their spinal alignment has improved.

Dr. Dan grew up in Silver Spring, and went to the University of Maryland for his undergraduate degree. He has a Doctor of Chiropractic from Life College, in Marietta, Georgia, and he is currently one of only three chiropractors in Maryland to have advanced certification in chiropractic biophysics. 

When he was ready to start his own practice, Dr. Dan wanted it to be in College Park. He said that in his experience, the city has been small-business friendly, and the office lease prices in Hollywood have been reasonable.

Terrapin Chiropractic is located in the Hollywood shopping center, between and After School Karate Academy.

If you would like to see another locally owned independent business profiled in my blog, please let me know in the comments.