Drs. Tony and Kim Scarlassara, owners of Northwoods Family Chiropractic, expanded by keeping Tony Scarlassara and Jake Zeugner at the Iron River office and sending Kim Scarlassara to run the new Crystal Falls office.

The Crystal Falls clinic offers not just chiropractic but also weight loss and laser liposuction, a program that uses laser light therapy for spot fat reductions.

“We are trying to focus entirely on the wellness and health of the patient as a whole,” clinic director Kim Scarlassara said. “Really trying to make sure that we can keep them biomechanically sound as well as nutritionally sound, too.”

The Scarlassaras understand that weight influences how the body feels.

The Northwoods Family Chiropractic of Iron River had a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week at its satellite clinic at 337 Superior Ave. in Crystal Falls. From left are Rocky Scarlassara, Kathi Sankey, owner/ clinic director Dr. Kim Scarlassara, owner Dr. Tony Scarlassara, Jordyn Blank and Erika Sauter.

“We started this with myself. I’ve lost about 95 pounds and Dr. Tony lost about 120 pounds through our program over four years ago, “ Kim Scarlassara said. “It’s one of those things that we know works and it is a nice, natural program. The biggest thing that we focus on is making sure that we have accountability for our patients and that I’m there on a weekly basis.”

The lifestyle program is based on supplementation and healthy eating habits. “I give you a plan based off of what you are looking at. We start a detox regime and determine what your body analysis is. We use our body composition scales and go off of lab work to figure out what is best for your body and the best way your body is going to lose, because everybody is a little different,” Kim Scarlassara said. “One plan doesn’t fit everybody, so it is very tailor-made to that individual.”

The clinic has a vibration station that helps to stimulate blood flow and they do foot scans to create orthotic inserts.

“We want to be able to figure out the rest of the biomechanics of the body. This helps us to look at the feet and see if stabilization is necessary. These are custom-made for an individual with different support structures and arches,” she said.

Family chiropractic care treats patients of all ages. Their child-friendly, alligator-shaped adjustment table helps to make the young ones more comfortable during their visits.

The clinic also houses a large athletic practice. “We take care of a lot of players at the Forest Park Schools. We come to their games and take care of them at no cost to them,” Kim Scarlassara said.

Both Scarlassaras grew up in Crystal Falls and graduated from Forest Park in 1991, then both attended Central Michigan University for their bachelor of science degree and both received their doctorate of chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

Tony Scarlassara also served in the U.S. Army and worked as a police officer before attending chiropractic school. Kim Scarlassara is an active member of the Michigan Chiropractic Association, the American Chiropractic Association and the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. The couple have two children — Gabe, a junior in high school, and Maddie, a junior at Central Michigan University.