The World Needs More Healers

Dr. Bruhl Left His Practice to Provide Care in Under-served Countries

“The best thing a chiropractor can do when they feel burned out by people not getting what chiropractic is, or dealing with insurance, is to provide care in an under-served country. People in under-resourced countries are so appreciative.”

In 2011, Warren Bruhl, D.C. (West, ‘86), sold his practice after 25 years. He was burned out and thought chiropractic was behind him. Then he joined his mother, a missionary, on trips that would change his life: first to the Dominican Republic, and then to Kenya.

“That’s when I realized I wasn’t done,” says Dr. Bruhl. “It’s easy to get stuck in a routine unless you’re willing to go out and see the world in a new way. It taught me that I want to serve and provide this care. This must be how B.J. felt.”

Dr. Bruhl was one of the first doctors of chiropractic to provide care in Kenya. His first adjustment was done in front of an audience, because they’d never seen an adjustment done before. His first patient was a 16-year-old girl who suffered from frequent headaches following a fall from a motorcycle. The medical doctor working alongside Dr. Bruhl wanted to give the patient aspirin and Tylenol, but Dr. Bruhl refused, recognizing that she needed an adjustment. However, it was against the culture for a male to put his hands on a young, married woman. The medical doctor explained to the patient and her husband what Dr. Bruhl was going to do. The girl felt immediate relief from the adjustment and spread the word to everyone she knew.

Newly inspired, Dr. Bruhl has since become the executive director of the non-profit Dreamweaver International located four hours from Nairobi. The organization is building the first multi-disciplinary hospital in Kenya, and it will offer chiropractic, emergency medicine, dentistry, mental health, infectious disease treatment and osteopathy. They hope to attract doctors from the United States to work alongside African doctors.

“Since my first mission trip in 2012, the awareness of chiropractic has grown tremendously in Kenya. There are 7.5 billion people in the world, and this experience has taught me that the world needs more chiropractors.”

In the 125 years since the founding of the chiropractic profession, students have traveled from more than 75 countries to study at the Fountainhead and have gone on to practice in 60 countries around the world. Through these students, the original work of D.D. Palmer has had a global impact.

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