Longtime Chapel Hill chiropractor Chas Gaertner leaves town

The chiropractor is in, and he has your back — just from a new location.

Dr. Chas Gaertner, owner of North Carolina Chiropractic, reopened his practice Wednesday from a new location in Carrboro. Formerly located in downtown Chapel Hill, N.C. Chiropractic has been in business exactly 20 years as of Wednesday.

“I’ve been doing this so long that I’m treating college kids who I had as patients when they were babies — it’s strange to think that I’ve had my practice for 20 years,” he said.

Chas Gaertner’s office offers a distinct fusion of chiropractic technique and massage therapy, a factor he said likely contributed to the eight INDY awards N.C. Chiropractic has taken home since it opened in 1995.

Chas Gaertner said the move resulted from a couple of different factors, largely related to simplicity and practicality. In addition to being more cost effective, the new location is closer to where Chas Gaertner lives with his wife and two children in Carrboro.

He said Carrboro also offers a community of people and businesses he didn’t experience in Chapel Hill — all of the small business owners on East Weaver Street, where N.C. Chiropractic is located, frequent each other’s establishments, from pet care to physical therapy.

“I look out the window and I see patients walking past because I’m working right beside the people I treat,” he said.

“Carrboro has become what Chapel Hill wishes it could be. It’s an ideal space for a small business like mine because of the community — the evolving business community is just incredible.”

Elaine Gaertner, Chas Gaertner’s wife, said Carrboro provides a different atmosphere than Chapel Hill, one that better fits N.C. Chiropractic.

“Chapel Hill is very bustling. There’s always a lot of things happening, and it’s very exciting — Carrboro is more serene, more peaceful,” she said.

“The town is very full, but it’s more of a community feeling rather than a transient feeling. It’s the difference between an urban feel and a village feel.”

Since N.C. Chiropractic opened 20 years ago, Chas Gaertner said he has treated almost 9,000 patients, many of them UNC students. He described many of his patients as healthy people who want to be healthier, such as yoga enthusiasts and athletes who eat well, exercise and have a healthy skepticism of medication.

“It’s the repetitive stress that takes a toll — running, for example — and causes people to use their bodies in a certain way and wake up in pain,” he said. “I take them on and help in a drugless way.”

Linda Kampel, a Chapel Hill resident and patient of Gaertner’s for the past seven years, said she’s thrilled about the move, since it’ll bring the chiropractor closer to her home.

“One of the things we like a lot is that he spends a lot of time with us — whatever time you need, he’ll spend enough time going over everything and making sure you feel comfortable and welcome,” she said.

Elaine Gaertner said she and her husband have received positive feedback about the move and are excited for the opportunities the new location could bring.

“It feels very homey for us to be here and have our home, our whole life and business here — we really love Chapel Hill — we just felt like we belonged more in Carrboro.”

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