Tiffany Davis knew she wanted to be a chiropractor after she got her first adjustment.

She and her brother, Cody Kirkpatrick, were in a car accident in 2003, which was a big reason they started seeing a chiropractor. After school, both knew they wanted to come back home and work with Dr. Faye Bollingberg at Bollingberg Chiropractic Center who helped them over the years.

“She’s taken good care of our backs for years,” Davis said.

“Now we’re returning the favor to the community,” Kirkpatrick added.

Davis and Kirkpatrick are two of three doctors at the center, along with Bollingberg who has more than 20 years of experience. Davis has worked for the center for about three years, and Kirkpatrick joined the center last November. The siblings grew up in Dexter, and although they both moved away for college and then chiropractic school at Northwestern Health Sciences University, they decided to return to their hometown roots. The two also had prior experience with Bollingberg.

“We both saw Dr. Bollingberg when we were young and now we’re here,” Davis said.

While the two share a passion for chiropractics, they do have separate specialties. Kirkpatrick enjoys working with athletes and the rehabilitation portion of the job, while Davis enjoys focusing on the prenatal and pediatric side.

Neither limits themselves to the type of patient they see, though, and both enjoy what they do as a whole.

“It’s a different form of health care,” Davis said. “It’s a different way to help people and I like that it’s a more natural way.”

Kirkpatrick agreed.

“What I love about it — and what I think pretty much all chiropractors love — is that when someone comes in with their issue, it’s like you’re kind of troubleshooting their body,” he said.

“It’s like you’re solving a puzzle,” Davis added.

The siblings have found their place near the small town they grew up in and have no intentions of leaving.

“When we went to chiropractic school up in the cities it gave us kind of a glimpse of what the bigger city life was like, and that was definitely not for me,” Kirkpatrick said. “As soon as I got done up there I wanted to get back down to our country road and gravel roads.”

They grew up in a close-knit family and enjoy living close to home. Davis lives near Grand Meadow, within three minutes of her in-laws’ home and five minutes from her parents’ home, while Kirkpatrick recently bought a home in Adams, also close to both his family and his wife’s family.

“I think it would be really tough for me to have that kind of a separation from my family,” Davis said. “I like them to be nice and close.”

Kirkpatrick also has a 4-month-old daughter, and living close to family means the new grandparents can watch their granddaughter grow up.

The two have shown their family ties by working side by side every day at the practice. Kirkpatrick said many people have joked that they must be getting sick of each other, but both siblings said they have always gotten along great and sharing a profession hasn’t changed that.

“It’s been interesting because I got to experience it here without him for a little while, and it’s definitely kind of fun having him here,” Davis said. “You can bounce ideas off him and it’s just another resource you can use, which is nice.”

Davis joked that Bollingberg was brave to take on siblings, but said that it’s been fun.

Davis and Kirkpatrick agreed that having Bollingberg as a resource is invaluable. If they have any questions she is there to give advice or help them out. The practice is very busy, and both siblings agreed it’s nice to keep moving throughout the day.

Davis and Kirkpatrick agreed the learning never stops while working as a chiropractor. Davis advised future doctors to get ready for a lot of hard work.

“It’s a lot of hours and a lot of time, but when you’re done it’s amazing what you get to do every day,” she said.

Kirkpatrick said a big part of the job is assessing each patient and finding out what their goal is. Some want to run a marathon, while some simply want to go back to gardening or stop being in pain.

“It’s really just developing that relationship with the patient and letting them know that we’re here to help them feel better,” Kirkpatrick said.