Isdale Chiropractic: Serving and Caring for Central Texans Since 1949
Story and Photography by Lisa Davidson
Love of patients and love of the community are why the Isdale family has provided chiropractic care to Central Texans since 1949.
“We just love what we do,” said Jeanne Isdale, business manager and widow of Sidney Isdale, who opened the chiropractic business in downtown Killeen 70 years ago. “If you don’t love what you are doing, you don’t belong here because you’ve got to love what you are doing to give your best to the people that come in and need your help.”
Sidney Isdale was born in DeQuincy, Louisiana, in 1927. After seeing his mother in constant pain for most of her life, he decided to attend Texas Chiropractic College in San Antonio before opening his clinic in Killeen.
Dr. Sid, as he was known, grew the business and didn’t stop working until he died in 2005. “He never wanted to retire and he didn’t,” Jeanne says. “My husband absolutely loved being a chiropractor and treating patients.”
Today, four of his five sons continue his legacy of providing chiropractic care in Bell County. Isdale Chiropractic has offices in Killeen, Harker Heights and Temple.
“Seeing as a little kid what kind of blessing he has been in people’s lives just inspired us,” says Shawn Isdale, the youngest of the brothers. “We were never forced in that direction, it was always just a natural path to take.”
Better known as Dr. Shawn, he’s part of a five-generation Isdale family tradition in which each member has the same initials: S.E.I.
Dr. Shawn and his brothers were not the only ones inspired by their father. There have been 18 chiropractors in the Isdale family, including uncles, nephews and sisters-in-law.
While chiropractors are known for treating headaches and back pain, patients are now realizing the benefits of chiropractic care for overall health.
“The spine needs to have motion to stay healthy and when a joint gets out of alignment, it loses mobility and it can cause malfunction which can cause nerve irritation which can cause symptoms,” Dr. Shawn says. “We use different techniques depending on what the patient needs. We locate the joint fixation and gently mobilize it and make it function again.”
Treatment length and therapy process differ from patient to patient. Depending on injuries and problems, treatments can be short- or long-term.
“Each one of us has a functioning nervous system at different levels,” Dr. Shawn says. “Our goal in chiropractic is to get each person’s nervous system functioning at the optimum.”
The Isdale family has served the local military community for years — even when chiropractic care was not covered by insurance.
“They didn’t want to take drugs to mask the pain, they wanted to come in here and start to work on the problem,” Dr. Shawn says.
While many insurance companies cover the cost of chiropractic care, some patients still have to pay out of pocket. For many it is worth the cost. “We see miracles happening here all the time that we take for granted because we see it so often,” Dr. Shawn says. “We could have a whole closet of canes and walkers.”
In the past 70 years, the Isdale family has witnessed many events in Central Texas, including one of its darkest moments. Dr. Shawn and his mother were both on scene during the Luby’s Cafeteria shooting in 1991.
“I don’t think you can run and hide,” Dr. Shawn said. “This is home.”
Despite the tragedy, Jeanne sees the Killeen-Fort Hood community as the perfect place to live. “This is the most wonderful place in the world,” she says. “As much hate as there is in the world today, you don’t find that here. … Our military community has really made us who we are.”
