By Mike McKenna
When most of us think about chiropractors we envision quick twists and loud popping noises. While some of us don’t mind the jarring alignments, others do.
Thankfully, there’s another way.
Dr. Maria Maricich offers a “light touch” style, known as Network Chiropractic.
“The method we use activates very specific neural pathways to the brain, so that the brain is actually making the shifts. We use the amount of pressure you’d be comfortable with on your eyeball, so it’s great for people who don’t like that startling pop,” Dr. Maria said from her offices in Ketchum above the Gail Severn Gallery.
Dr. Maria is best known locally as a “Ketchum kid” who became an Olympian. Dr. Maria was born and raised in the Wood River Valley. Her father, Herman Maricich, was the patriarch of skating and hockey in Sun Valley. He arrived in the 1930s to run the now legendary ice rink for Sun Valley Resort. His daughter, Maria, would go on to represent America as a downhill racer in the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo.
Dr. Maria retired from competitive ski racing when she was just 22. She then turned to a meditation technique she used to use in racing to help find her new path. It took a few months before she discovered the answer to the big question: What are you going to do with your life?
Dr. Maria originally had to go the library in Ketchum to look up what a chiropractor was, but she immediately knew it was the right profession for her when she found this description: “chiropractic removes the interference so the body can heal itself.”
“We all accumulate stresses. It’s part of the aging process. What we do is to help shift the body out of stress response and into healing,” said Dr. Maria, who took pre-med at CSI in Twin Falls for two years before completing her doctorate in Georgia.
Dr. Maria began practicing in Idaho in 1991 and the former Olympian is now known best locally as the “Wellness Doctor.”
In addition to chiropractic work, Dr. Maria and her team offer functional medicine. “The goal is to enhance the body’s ability to heal itself,” she said.
Dr. Maria’s team includes Dr. Tomomi Ikawa, who hails from Japan and specializes in light touch chiropractic, and Hailey Sutton, who also grew up here and coordinates programing for clients.
They offer a variety of services, from functional neurology to metabolic assessment to sports medicine, lab and allergy testing as well as offering a large variety of high-quality supplements. They help with everything from brain health, to injury recovery, to weight loss, as well as simply guiding clients to stay as healthy as possible.
“We are all highly motivated by pain and crisis, but we don’t need to wait for those things to happen to do good things for ourselves,” Dr. Maria said. “We need to remember to be proactive about our health and take care of ourselves.”
For more information or to book an appointment, go to DrMariaMaricich.com or call (208) 726-6010.
