Meet the Doctor

Dr. Sean Manning

I had no way of knowing that the entire course of my life would change that summer day.

I was eighteen at the time and some friends and I were at a summer concert festival. Shortly after the concert began a riot broke out and I was pinned under a metal barricade. After spending most of that day in the ER I was sent home and told I had sprained my back. The next morning though the radiologist from the hospital called because I had in fact fractured my spine.

I spent the next six months in a brace wondering whether my life would ever be the same again.

At the advice of my cousin, a chiropractor out west, I started chiropractic care. I quickly started to regain strength and endurance and the stiffness that had developed because of the bracing dissipated. It wasn’t until I had been under care for a few months though that it occurred to me how other things, not related to my accident, were also changing.

As a kid I was always sick. I can still remember taking two medications every morning and every evening just so I could breath because my allergies were so severe. This was in addition to the allergy shots I had once or twice a month. Then I had two different inhalers to manage my asthma—not to mention the repeated courses of antibiotics for chronic sinus infections; I was a walking pharmacy.

Under chiropractic care all that changed. I stopped taking all my medications; I stopped the allergy shots; and I stopped having allergies and asthma! This was when I knew that I needed to be a chiropractor.

Several years later, as a chiropractic student, I found out that I was going to be a father and my life changed again. I knew from my studies how important it was for women to undergo chiropractic care during pregnancy and I also knew that it was critical to check a child as early in life as possible to ensure that they grew and developed properly, but at that point I did not have the training to provide adequate care for my growing family.

It was then that the next chapter of my life began. I read and studied everything I could about prenatal and pediatric chiropractic. This eventually led me to complete a total of three years in post-graduate studies earning both a Fellowship with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) and a Diplomate in Pediatrics with the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice. It’s a good thing I did because eventually I had a total of five children, all born at home naturally, and all receiving chiropractic care since the moment they were born.

After several years in practice it became apparent that there was a growing need for prenatal and pediatric chiropractic care. To improve accessibility from both the city and the suburbs I moved my practice to Oak Park, a near west suburb of Chicago, and in 2004 Well Adjusted World was established.

I initially gained distinction for my work with the Webster Technique to improve fetal position and in helping woman to have natural childbirth. As time went on my reputation for working with childhood conditions such as colic, nursing difficulties, ear infections, allergies and asthma started to develop. As a natural course of promoting family health and well-being the practice continued to grow and evolve and now you will find people in every stage of growth and development coming in for care.

It would be a number of years later before I learned that one of my children has a sensory processing disorder. This of course was all the motivation I needed to begin my next pursuit of training in functional neurology. In practice I find great reward in helping individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and sensory processing issues, as well as learning difficulties including ADD and ADHD.

I have discovered my passion for writing and teaching have contributed articles to various publications including Birthlink, Expectant Mother, and Pathways to Family Wellness.

Because of my unique training I have the honor and distinction of acting in many advisory roles. I am a regular contributor to the ICPA Clinical Forum, I serve on the Board of Advisors of the Northeastern Illinois Doula’s Association, and most recently I was appointed to the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice Board of Examiners.

As my career has evolved I have grown to appreciate the need for ongoing development and research. I am a distinguished member of the ICPA's Practice Based Research Network, and I am a peer reviewer for the Council on Chiropractic Practice Guidelines and Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research.

I am one of the fortunate few who absolutely love my chosen profession. For me I never “go to work.” I begin each day by reflecting on how truly fortunate I am to have been given the opportunity to serve others through chiropractic. Thank you for opportunity to serve you and your family

Meet the Staff

Kristine F.

Office Manager since May 2011 

A Virginian by birth, Kristine grew up in the suburb of Joliet and moved to Chicago to persue a career in theatre.  She received a BFA in Theatrical Design from Columbia College Chicago in 2003.  After moving around the city, Kristine settled in Berwyn in 2009 and joined Well Adjusted World as Office Manager in 2011.  This is her first experience with Chiropractic care, and she's amazed and excited at the positive impact she's witnessed in our patients' lives and her own.  Outside the office, Kristine still designs costumes for local theaters on a freelance basis.  In her free time(?), Kristine enjoys spending time with her husband restoring their historic Chicago bungalow, cooking fancy meals, and visiting friends and family in different parts of the country and close to home.