Hi there!
If we haven’t had the chance to meet, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Ian Lawson (the less attractive one in the picture here). The more attractive one is my wife, Naomi. This is the story of how Pinnacle Spine & Sports has grown to be who we are today.
Back in 2006, fresh-faced and a first year Masters of Chiro graduate, I commenced working in a clinic that, to be honest, taught me more about what not to do in business. Thrown in the deep end, I figured a lot of stuff out and vowed to one day run my own practice that would truly seek to serve people and give them the best care possible.
9 months later, that dream was becoming a reality (a little sooner than planned!)
After convincing Naomi that it would be a good idea to sign a 1 year lease on a shop in Concord West and giving it a crack (pardon the pun), we opened Canada Bay Chiropractic in November 2006, on Concord Road.
Back in those days it was just me wearing every hat – principal chiro, receptionist, cleaner, marketer, massage therapist, accountant and bookkeeper. Naomi was working as a physio in the neurological rehab department at Blacktown Hospital and loving every minute of it.
3 years later we took over the lease on the vacant shop next door, knocked a hole in the wall, gutted the place and rebuilt a new clinic – the Chiro, Health & Rehab Centre on Concord Road. This allowed us to expand to take on more practitioners, but more importantly, a wider range of practitioner types.
“We knew from day one that the allied health industry needed a bit of a shake up.”
We know, a physio married to a chiro, apparently we’re not meant to get along, right?!
Throughout our university careers, we would constantly learn about what the other profession did, as well as the one we were studying. Suffice to say, what was being taught about chiro in the physio degree wasn’t entirely accurate, and vice versa.
We knew that each profession, as with every health profession, had its strengths and weaknesses. The key was understanding how those strengths and weaknesses could work together to give the best possible outcomes for the patient.
After our 3rd child was born (we’ve since had #4), Naomi decided that it was time to hang up her hospital ID tag and head into private practice. She kicked off the physio department at the CHR Centre, and things have just grown from there!
A rebranding in 2017 saw us become Pinnacle Spine & Sports, still on Concord Road.
January 2022 saw the opportunity to move, and following an extensive demolition and re-fitting of a shop just 200m down the road, we moved in to our new home at 17 Victoria Ave in June 2022. And here we are today!
“We firmly believe that chiro, physio, massage, exercise rehab and other modalities work the best when delivered in tandem, as a collaborative approach that gives the patient the best of every technique.”
It is this philosophy that drives us. We don’t want to be just a physio clinic. Nor do we want to be just a chiro clinic. We want to offer a health care practice that is truly unique. One which works as a team approach to ensure you’re ending up in the hands of the right practitioners for your unique situation.
We’re a family owned clinic, and we see our patients and our team members as family too. We love getting to know everyone who walks through our doors, and what drives them to be the healthiest version of themselves that they can be – and we want to help them reach that.
Our very existence can be summed up, not by “what” we do or “who” we are, but by “why” we do what we do. Our why statement is simple:
What is our ‘why?’ – “To think and operate differently so we can help those in our communities discover and fulfil their potential.”
Our team of experts are here ready to help you fulfil your potential, to be your best, to Find Your Pinnacle.
We can’t wait to meet you and welcome you to our family.
Ian & Naomi Lawson | Pinnacle Spine & Sports Owners (and chiro still happily married to a physio)
