After 39 years of providing pain relief for scores of patients, Dr. Hugh Armstrong is retiring.
Armstrong, who is originally from Midale and has spent the past 35 years practising in Estevan, announced through an advertisement in The Mercury that he's decided to retire and will be done work at the Royal Heights Chiropractic Centre Dec.16.
In an interview Monday, Armstrong said he has been considering retirement for the past couple of years, citing his health and a desire to be closer to his children and grandchildren as the principal reasons.
"My business is kind of a physical business and my elbows and wrists are starting to wear out on me," said Armstrong, who along with his wife Dee, is moving to Medicine Hat where they can be closer to their son Marshall and his family.
"It's not like I can sit and use my head all the time, I have to use my arms too."
Although he said the decision to retire was not an easy one, Armstrong felt it was time to move on to the next "adventure in life" and leaves with many fond memories of Estevan.
"It's been a fabulous time, Estevan has been very good to us. It was a good place to raise the kids. It was a good place to practice and we've had a wonderful time all the while we've been here. It's not easy to leave the town but it's time."
"We've had a terrific opportunity to practice here and have done very well. I am leaving it to two colleagues who I have basically been working for them for the past four or five years. I've just been the hired hand."
Armstrong's retirement brings an end to what has been an impressive career. He arrived in Estevan after spending four years in Minnedosa, Man. and began work with Dr. Ivar Kristianson in 1976 at a practice that was located on Fourth Street next door to city hall. After a stopover at the Wicklow Centre, he eventually settled at the Royal Heights Clinic.
In fact, Armstrong said the decision to develop the Royal Heights building, which would also include medical, dental and optometry practices as well as the second building that has been home to handful of restaurants and gas stations, was one of the highlights of his time in Estevan.
"The five of us - Dr. (Yosri) Wahba, Dr. (Doug) Blue, Dr. (Ray) Moser and Dr. (Lawrence) Burnard and myself - did this project. That was a big decision, took a lot of time and worked out very well in the end," said Armstrong, who also volunteered as a coach for girls' ringette and later hockey when many players began switching sports.
"That was one of the highlights. I've also had a real stable, solid patient base and some very good friends developed from that. And as long as I've been in it, you start second and third generations. I am seeing third generation people now and when you get to the point when you start seeing the third generation, that's when you start thinking maybe I have been here long enough. In our business, you are managing people with back pain, pain in their extremities or muscular-skeletal stuff. It's very prevalent and very common and as a result it's not like we are short of something to do and if we think we are doing a good we should be seeing repeat business and fortunately we have."
Along with seeing three generations of some families, Armstrong has also seen many changes and developments in the chiropractic field over his almost four decades in the business.
He noted one of the biggest changes has been how back pain is treated. At one time patients dealing with back issues were advised to lie around and do nothing until things got better whereas now they are prescribed an exercise program and therapy.
Changes in equipment and technology have also been major developments for chiropractors.
"When I started it was basically hands only, everything had to be done with your hands," said Armstrong who noted that a strong front office staff over the years has also been a major component of his success. "Then we started using more modalities and then there were new and greater fancy types of modalities for help. But the big thing in our business is staying up to date with the advances in back care. It's not so much using a lot of equipment, it's getting into a proper exercise program."
As for the future, Armstrong is excited about the move to Medicine Hat and being closer to his youngest son and his family. He and his wife will also have more free time to visit their children in the United States. His daughter Krista and her family reside in Newport News, Va. while his son Chad is based in New York City but has been travelling extensively as he continues to build a career as an opera singer.
He also hasn't completely closed the door on working as a chiropractor either. For the next year he will be filling in for chiropractors on holidays.
"I may even come back here for a couple weeks at a time. But I'll do the (locums) in Saskatchewan for a year and then after that we'll see what happens."
