Expedition Chiropractic: A Family-Run Alternative to Traditional Medicine
Hi, I’m Dr. Steven Barger, and I founded Expedition Chiropractic with a vision to transform how people approach their health. For over five years now, my family-run practice in Port St. Lucie, Florida has been serving the Treasure Coast community with specialized Gonstead chiropractic care—and our mission has remained clear: help people heal by addressing the root cause of their issues, not just the symptoms.
When I first opened Expedition Chiropractic, it was just my wife and me working side by side. She handled the front office, and I focused on patient care. Recently, she stepped back to care for our newborn son, which has been such a joyful and exciting change for our family. While the team dynamic has evolved, our commitment to every patient who walks through our doors hasn’t changed one bit.
What sets us apart isn’t just the Gonstead technique—which is one of the most precise and thorough chiropractic methods out there—but the way we care. Many of my patients come to me after feeling frustrated and overlooked by the conventional medical system. They’ve dealt with chronic pain, migraines, fatigue, sleep problems, autoimmune issues, and more, only to be told their labs are “normal” or handed yet another prescription that masks their symptoms. I hear it all the time: “No one’s ever explained this to me before.” That’s where we come in.
I focus on the nervous system—your body’s control center. If something’s interfering with its function, your health will suffer. Instead of chasing symptoms with temporary fixes, I look for spinal misalignments that may be disrupting the flow of nerve signals. Once those misalignments are corrected, the body can start to heal itself naturally. It’s not magic—it’s just how the body was designed to work when given the chance.
One of the most rewarding parts of this practice is the personal relationships I get to build. Because we’re a smaller office, I really get to know my patients. I take time to listen, to understand their health goals, and to craft care plans tailored specifically to them. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all place. And because we keep things intentionally personal, we’ve grown primarily through word-of-mouth. Happy patients refer their friends and family, and that trust means everything to me.
Outside the office, I do my best to live what I teach. I stay active with golf, enjoy traveling when I can, and most importantly, I love spending time with my family. Being a husband and now a dad has added a whole new layer of purpose to what I do. I want to be at my best—not just for my family, but for every patient I serve.
If you’re in Port St. Lucie or anywhere on the Treasure Coast and you’re looking for real answers—not just another prescription—Expedition Chiropractic is here for you. Let’s get to the root of your problem and help your body do what it was made to do: heal.
How Utilizing the Gonstead Technique Transforms Chiropractic Care
As a chiropractor, I’m often asked what makes the Gonstead technique different from other chiropractic methods. My answer is simple: precision. At Expedition Chiropractic, we believe that healing starts with getting to the root of the problem—not just treating symptoms. That’s why I use the Gonstead technique, a specialized method developed by Dr. Clarence Gonstead that focuses on identifying and correcting specific spinal misalignments, known as subluxations. These misalignments can interfere with the nervous system and lead to a wide range of issues—from back and neck pain to digestive problems, headaches, and even sleep disturbances.
What sets the Gonstead method apart is its meticulous approach. Instead of taking a generalized "crack everything and see what happens" strategy, I operate more like a spinal detective. While some chiropractors use a broad, shotgun-style approach, I prefer to be a sniper—targeting only the areas that truly need correction. That precision allows me to help patients see real, measurable improvements, often in just a handful of visits. In fact, many of my patients feel noticeable relief within the first month of care.
The Gonstead system is built on five key components that help me analyze exactly where the problem lies. First, I use visualization, observing the spine for signs of inflammation, asymmetry, or postural issues. I also pay close attention to the way you walk or stand—movement patterns can tell me a lot about what's going on with your pelvis and spine.
Next is instrumentation, where I use a tool called a Delta-T or nervoscope. This non-invasive device detects temperature changes along the spine, helping me pinpoint areas of inflammation and nervous system irritation. It’s a small but powerful tool that helps me know where to focus during your visit.
Palpation comes next—this means I physically feel the spine, both at rest and in motion. I’m checking for swelling, tight muscles, and joints that aren’t moving the way they should. This hands-on assessment is key to identifying which vertebrae are truly stuck or misaligned.
Perhaps one of the most important tools in the Gonstead toolbox is X-ray analysis. I never guess when it comes to your spine. Detailed, full-spine X-rays give me a clear view of your spinal structure, allowing me to spot previous injuries, degeneration, and structural issues like reversed curves or spondylolisthesis. These insights are critical in determining the safest and most effective way to adjust your spine.
Finally, I incorporate your case history—your personal story, symptoms, and medical background—into the overall picture. By combining what you’re feeling with what I find during the exam, I can create a treatment plan that’s tailored specifically to you.
Your Back Pain Has a Story, Expedition Chiropractic is Here to Decode It
As a chiropractor, one of the most rewarding parts of my job is helping people truly understand what’s going on in their bodies—and how we can help them heal naturally. In a recent episode of the Expedition Chiropractic Podcast, I had the opportunity to dive into the science behind chiropractic care and explain why so many people come to us looking for lasting relief from back pain, neck pain, and headaches.
These are three of the most common complaints we see, and they’re often caused by underlying issues that aren’t always obvious. When I explain this to patients, I like to use analogies that make things easier to visualize. One of my favorites is describing spinal discs as “very hard jelly donuts.” These discs, located between your vertebrae, have a tough outer layer and a softer, gel-like interior. When one of those discs bulges or herniates, it can press on nearby nerves and lead to tingling, radiating pain, or numbness—often traveling down the legs or arms depending on the location.
What’s important to understand is that the source of the pain isn’t always where the pain shows up. For example, a misaligned pelvis can cause issues that show up in the lower back, and dysfunction in the thoracic spine can create pain that radiates into the shoulders or chest. As a Gonstead chiropractor, I focus on identifying these biomechanical dysfunctions—the real culprits behind the symptoms—so we can correct them and give your body the best chance to heal.
Back pain can show up in many different ways. Some patients experience sharp pain when sitting or standing, others deal with hip pain that radiates down the leg, and many suffer from sciatic nerve compression—what most people describe as that annoying “pain in the butt.” Each of these scenarios requires a customized approach. Acute cases may need more intensive care in the beginning, while chronic conditions often respond better to a longer-term plan that allows time for the body to adapt and stabilize.
Headaches are another big issue we help with. I see a lot of patients dealing with persistent head pain, and chiropractic care can make a huge difference. I like to distinguish between occipital headaches, which start at the base of the skull and often stem from the thoracic spine, and frontal headaches, which usually originate from misalignments in the atlas—the top vertebra in the neck. By pinpointing the type of headache and its timing, we can offer targeted care that actually addresses the root of the problem.
I often tell my patients that taking pain meds without fixing the underlying issue is like putting tape over your car’s check engine light. It might cover up the warning sign, but the problem is still there. Your body doesn’t have a deficiency in painkillers—it has a disruption in function. My goal is to restore that function through precise, effective chiropractic adjustments so your body can do what it was designed to do: heal itself.
If you're dealing with chronic pain and want a solution that goes deeper than symptom management, chiropractic care might be exactly what you need. Let’s work together to get to the root cause and get you back to living your life fully.
Nervous System Balance: How Chiropractic Adjustments Affect Your Entire Body
Most people walk into my office because they’re in pain—back pain, neck pain, headaches. But what often surprises them is how much more chiropractic care can do. As a Gonstead chiropractor, my job isn’t just to get you out of pain. It’s to help your body function at its absolute best by optimizing the nervous system. And when that system is working the way it should, the results can affect every part of your health—not just your spine.
Let me explain a bit about how this works. Your nervous system has two main branches: the sympathetic system (your fight-or-flight response) and the parasympathetic system (your rest-and-digest mode). Think of them like the gas and brake pedals in your car. You need both to function, and they need to be in balance. But when stress, trauma, or spinal misalignments disrupt that balance, all kinds of health issues can arise—things most people don’t think to link back to the spine.
That’s where Gonstead chiropractic comes in. Unlike techniques that apply broad, general adjustments, I take a very specific, targeted approach. After analyzing X-rays, thermography, and motion studies, I often adjust just one or two vertebrae. That precision is the key. The middle of your spine (thoracic and upper lumbar) primarily influences your sympathetic responses, while the neck and pelvis have stronger ties to the parasympathetic system. If someone comes in with anxiety—a classic sign of an overactive sympathetic nervous system—I focus on calming that part down. If someone’s dealing with Bell’s palsy or low energy, which suggest parasympathetic imbalance, the approach is entirely different.
One of the most common non-pain issues I help people with is digestion. Take heartburn, for example. Most people don’t realize there are two types. If it hits right after eating, it’s often due to too much stomach acid, which signals sympathetic overdrive. But if it wakes you up a few hours after eating, that’s usually a sign of too little stomach acid—a parasympathetic issue. With the right adjustment to the right part of the spine, I can help restore the proper function without relying on daily medication. The same goes for issues like constipation or bloating. Often, the nervous system just needs a reset.
Sleep is another big one. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up with racing thoughts, that’s often a sign of nervous system imbalance. The upper cervical spine—especially the atlas and occiput—is where I focus in these cases. These are parasympathetic areas, and gentle adjustments here can help settle the mind. I’ve seen patients who haven’t had a full night’s sleep in years finally wake up feeling rested. Sometimes we support these adjustments with natural supplements like magnesium, especially if stress hormones (catecholamines) are too high at night.
Even heart palpitations that only show up at night can be linked to spinal misalignments. The key is understanding that your spine isn’t just a stack of bones—it’s the protective channel for your nervous system, which controls everything from digestion to emotional regulation.
So the next time you think chiropractic is just for back pain, remember that we’re working on something much bigger: the communication highway between your brain and your body. When that’s functioning at 100%, your health can improve in ways you never expected.
If you’ve been struggling with chronic issues like poor sleep, digestive problems, or anxiety, I encourage you to think differently about your care. You might be amazed at what the right chiropractic adjustment can do—especially when it’s focused, specific, and rooted in the science of the nervous system.
Kids and Chiropractic: A Natural Path to Wellness
As a Gonstead chiropractor here in Port St. Lucie, one of the most common questions I get is, "Can chiropractic care really help kids?" And my answer is always: absolutely. In fact, children often benefit from chiropractic care even more quickly than adults because they haven’t built up years of stress and compensation patterns in their bodies. From the moment they’re born, kids experience physical stresses that can interfere with their development—and chiropractic care can help restore balance, naturally.
Let’s start with newborns. Birth, even under the best conditions, can be physically traumatic. A baby’s spine, especially the upper cervical area, can become misaligned during delivery. One condition I often see is torticollis—where babies only want to turn their head to one side. This can interfere with breastfeeding and lead to muscle imbalances. With extremely gentle adjustments (I’m talking about no more pressure than you’d use to check a ripe avocado), we can help realign the atlas vertebra and release tension. Many parents are amazed when their baby starts turning their head both ways and nursing more comfortably after just a visit or two.
Another common concern in infants is colic—those heartbreaking hours of inconsolable crying. What I’ve found is that many colicky babies have digestive tension or spinal misalignments that are affecting their nervous system. After a simple adjustment, it’s not unusual for a baby to have a bowel movement right there in the office—and parents often tell me their baby finally sleeps peacefully that night.
As children grow into toddlers, ear infections often become the next big challenge. Kids’ eustachian tubes are more horizontal than adults’, making it easy for fluid to get trapped. If there’s any interference in the upper neck, drainage becomes even harder, leading to repeated infections. Rather than jumping straight to antibiotics or surgery, I work to correct the spinal misalignments so the body can drain and heal naturally. It’s safe, effective, and has helped many families avoid the cycle of constant illness.
I also get concerned when a parent tells me their child has suddenly stopped walking or seems reluctant to try activities they used to enjoy. These regressions in milestones can signal nervous system interference, often related to the spine. Timely adjustments can help restore proper function so kids can get back on track developmentally. When these issues are caught early, we can avoid long-term compensation that might lead to posture issues, scoliosis, or even chronic pain down the road.
Speaking of scoliosis, the pre-teen and early teen years are critical. Between ages 8 to 13—especially during growth spurts—curves in the spine can form rapidly. Regular chiropractic check-ups during this time allow us to detect scoliosis early, when it’s most manageable. Even if a curve can’t be fully corrected, we can often prevent it from getting worse and causing long-term issues with mobility or pain.
For older kids and teens, I often work with families navigating behavioral challenges, emotional dysregulation, or even focus problems. An overactive sympathetic nervous system—our fight-or-flight response—can make it hard for kids to concentrate, sleep, or manage stress. Chiropractic adjustments help balance the nervous system and promote more regulated responses. I’ve seen incredible changes when we get to the root of the issue rather than masking it with medications.
I typically recommend monthly wellness visits for children, especially during their first 18 months when growth and milestones happen fast. As kids get older and their systems stabilize, we can space those visits out. My goal is to support natural healing, monitor progress, and help parents stay ahead of issues before they escalate. With proactive chiropractic care, we’re not just treating symptoms—we’re building a strong foundation for lifelong wellness.
Exploring Non-Spinal Joint Pain: A Chiropractor's Perspective on Healing
Joint pain is something I see every day in my practice—it affects millions of Americans and can dramatically limit daily activities and overall quality of life. While surgery or medication might seem like the default solutions, I believe in exploring effective, non-invasive alternatives through chiropractic care. Most people think of chiropractors as “back doctors,” but the truth is, our work extends far beyond the spine.
Yes, the spine is essential—it protects the nervous system, which controls every function in your body. But chiropractic care also addresses issues in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and feet. One of the most common misconceptions I encounter is about shoulder pain. People often assume it’s a torn rotator cuff, but pain in that area might stem from the spine, the shoulder blade, or even how the joint is moving. My job is to trace the pain back to its origin—not just treat where it hurts.
Tennis elbow is another condition I treat frequently, and very few of my patients are actual tennis players. It often results from repetitive daily motions—carrying groceries, lifting suitcases, or even gripping a coffee mug. Carpal tunnel syndrome, another widespread issue, is typically blamed on the wrists, but when symptoms present on both sides, the real cause often lies in the spine. A thorough chiropractic assessment uncovers these hidden sources.
Foot and knee issues are just as telling. Take plantar fasciitis: it’s painful, persistent, and frustrating, but through a combination of adjustments, therapeutic exercises, and even simple home remedies like ice water baths, I’ve helped many patients find relief. Knee pain can be equally tricky. I’ve had patients come in thinking their issue was localized, only to discover that it originated in their lower back. In every case, I assess not only where the pain is, but where it’s coming from—and whether it involves ligaments, nerves, or alignment.
I also emphasize prevention. For athletes or anyone living an active lifestyle, early intervention is key. When your joints move the way they’re supposed to—neither too stiff nor too loose—you’re less likely to suffer injury. Whether the problem is a locked joint that needs mobilization or a hypermobile one that needs strengthening, chiropractic care helps keep your body in balance before pain ever sets in.
I encourage everyone, athlete or not, to think beyond the symptoms and ask: where is the pain really coming from? That’s the question I work to answer every day in my practice.
Vertigo Relief: How Your Spine Affects Dizziness
Dizziness and balance problems are far more common than people realize, and as a chiropractor, I’ve seen firsthand how disruptive these symptoms can be. Vertigo—the spinning sensation that seems to come out of nowhere—can range from brief and annoying to intense and life-altering. What many people don’t realize is that chiropractic care can play a key role in addressing the root causes of vertigo and restoring stability to the body.
One of the most frequent conditions I treat is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). These episodes, which often last only seconds, are typically triggered by simple head movements—rolling over in bed, looking up, or turning too quickly. What’s happening inside the body is fascinating: tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear become dislodged and interfere with your body’s internal GPS, sending confusing signals to the brain. Your eyes say one thing, your body says another, and the result is vertigo. While BPPV often resolves on its own, some cases linger—or return again and again.
In my practice, one of the most important things I evaluate is the alignment of the atlas, the top vertebra in your spine. Misalignments here are common and can affect the vagus nerve, which plays a major role in balance and equilibrium. When the atlas is off, even slightly, it can cause symptoms like dizziness, nausea, or a constant feeling of instability. I’ve had patients feel immediate relief after a single adjustment—often before they even leave the office.
Chiropractic treatment doesn’t stop at the spine. Balance issues are often rooted in faulty proprioception—your brain’s ability to sense where your body is in space. This function relies heavily on the upper cervical spine and ankles, which are packed with sensory receptors. That’s why I frequently include ankle stability and mobility work in my care plans, especially for older adults concerned about falling. Good balance isn’t just about not feeling dizzy—it’s about how well your nervous system coordinates every step, turn, and reaction.
I also look beyond structural alignment. Many vertigo sufferers have underlying inflammation that heightens their symptoms. Diet plays a significant role here. I’ve seen patients whose symptoms were worsened by hidden food sensitivities like gluten or environmental factors such as mold. That’s why I emphasize a whole-body approach —incorporating spinal adjustments, functional movement, nutritional guidance, and testing for environmental triggers when necessary. When we treat the person, not just the symptoms, we open the door to lasting results.
Vertigo can make you feel like your world is spinning out of control—physically and emotionally. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re struggling with dizziness or chronic balance problems, don’t assume your only option is medication or waiting it out. There may be a deeper cause—and chiropractic care might just be the missing piece.
3233 SW Port St Lucie Blvd
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953