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A native of Chicago, Dr. Chrystal worked for years as a personal trainer before, during and after his undergraduate education. He earned, graduating with honors, a B.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology from Arizona State University. A seeming natural fit, he then attended and graduated with honors from Southern California University of Health Sciences, earning his first doctoral degree and the title of Doctor of Chiropractic. Wanting to incorporate more specialized therapies for his patients, Dr. Chrystal decided to further his education by then going to medical school in Arizona. He graduated with high marks from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and with this degree earned the title of Naturopathic Medical Doctor.

Dr. Chrystal focuses on sports medicine and pain management. He has a passion for preventative medicine and cares for patients of all ages. Dr. Chrystal uses the latest research and tools to help direct his patients to greater health, mobility and wellness. A major portion of Dr. Chrystal’s practice focuses on Minimally Invasive Musculo-Skeletal Reconstruction, utilizing the latest methods in Prolotherapy, Platelet Rich Plasma, Trigger Point Therapy, Chiropractic and Naturopathic Physical Medicine. Dr. Chrystal feels the key to success with these and all therapies, is to optimize patient comfort and tailoring the treatments to the individual.

Prolotherapy is a natural, minimally invasive approach to treating sports injuries, acute trauma, degenerative joint conditions and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Non-steroidal injections are done in the areas of pain that kick start the patient’s own body’s ability to heal. Local anesthetics are used to minimize discomfort and most conditions will respond immediately. The goal with prolotherapy is to rapidly initiate the patient’s body’s ability to heal itself. A substance (classically dextrose- made from corn sugar) is injected into the area of pain. This substance acts as a "red flag" in your body and tells your immune system to send helpers into the area to clean things up. As it does this, your body will also lay new collagen (the protein responsible for tissue strength and integrity) in the areas treated. Focuses of treatment usually revolve around the ligaments (connect bones to bones and form joints) and tendons (connect muscles to bones) of the affected area. By strengthening the areas previously specified, we can create a stable, healthier, happier and pain-free body.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is performed in the exact same fashion as described above. Instead of a chemical/osmotic proliferant (such as dextrose), your own blood is used. Blood is drawn much the same way it would be done when you get it drawn for lab tests. The blood is then spun down in a special centrifuge that isolates and concentrates the platelets. The platelets inside your blood are what are responsible for healing when you get a cut. The platelets contain tons of healing products such as adherence factors, growth factors and even stem cell attractants that all play a vital role in healing. This treatment is becoming increasingly more popular and results can be achieved even faster than prolotherapy alone in many cases.

Trigger Point Therapy is used to target areas of muscular/myofascial pain. Trigger points are "knots" within the muscle belly that refer pain to other areas of the body. Trigger points can result from ligamentous laxity, chronic stress, poor posture and nutritional deficiencies. Trigger points can cause everything from headaches to low back pain. Trigger points are treated by injections of local anesthetics and/or homeopathics, specific massage techniques and other physical modalities such as stretching. Trigger points are often a symptom of an underlying structural problem such as ligamentous laxity, or postural syndromes. Once these problems are corrected, the trigger points will usually resolve, however as they are a major source of pain for people, treatment can provide great relief while more long term corrections are made.

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