You Can Recover from a Stroke by Dr. Greg Symko

Gregory Symko, D.C., D.A.B.C.N. in his own words:

Dr. Gregory Symko, DC

Dr. Gregory Symko, DC has a medical practice at 747 Main St, Concord, Massachusetts. He specializes in chiropractic, and has over 35 years of experience in the field of medicine. Dr. Symko graduated from Logan College Of Chiropractic with his medical degree in 1980. He is affiliated with numerous hospitals in the Concord area including Emerson Hospital and more. Dr. Symko is accepting new patients at his medical office and practice location is: 747 Main St, Concord, MA. He is available for appointments, preventative care, medical care as well as ongoing patient care.

Primary specialty: Chiropractic in Concord, MA

“The reason I decided to become a chiropractor more than 20 years ago one is because it was a chiropractor who helped my severe back pain and headaches when I was in my early 20s.  I became board certified in Chiropractic Neurology in 1991.

At that time I had a private practice that included a rehabilitation center with all the bells and whistles and the practice was doing well.  But in 1999 I had a stroke that left me completely bedridden.

The cerebellar stroke destroyed my sense of balance and I fell many times each day.  I found it impossible to focus my eyes on anything because of the condition known as rotary nystagmus.  I had partial paralysis and intense pain in my left arm, right leg and the right side of my face pain.  One of my vocal cords was also partially paralyzed.

“Recovering from my own stroke, I gained a personal understanding of the neurological challenges patients encounter and what therapies were most effective. That’s when Brain Based Therapy became part of my treatment plan.”

I had to sell my practice for a song but I started down the road to recovery.  After the standard rehab protocols, I began my own rehab by making the parts of my body that didn’t work well move.  By doing so, I was retraining my brain.

It took me 3 long, painful years until I could get back to some type of work.  I was neither strong enough, nor had the balance to return to chiropractic so I worked for some pharmaceutical companies in their drug safety departments.   It was interesting work, but I learned even more than I already knew about the detrimental effects some drugs can have on the body.

One day as I was building a tree house for my children, I realized I hadn’t fallen in a long while and if I could build a tree house, I could go back to being a chiropractor.

Six months later I was back. It had been 7 years and it was very strange to get back to the profession that I loved, but it felt good – like putting on a favorite pair of jeans.

Had I not had the stroke, I most likely would not have struggled and learned all the therapies I needed to do for myself in order to recover.  Because of my stroke, I gained understanding of how and why those things I did on my own had worked.  Then I was exposed to new neurological research that affirmed the type of work I did and even went beyond it.  That’s when Brain Based Therapy became part of my treatment plan.”

Source: Functional Neurology
of Middlesex County