Chiropractic care for long-term visitors and snowbirds
/A lot of St. Thomas fills up with the same faces every winter. Snowbirds who leave the cold behind for a few months at a time. Boat owners and their guests down for charter season. Remote workers who base here from November through April because they can. If you are here long enough to need more than one visit, your care should look different from a single tourist appointment, and that is what this page is about.
Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness is in the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, just east of Charlotte Amalie. Dr. Keys is the Chair of the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners, a member of the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Society, and the International Chiropractors Association representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
What we treat in a season
The mix is broad. Older seasonal residents often bring the same arthritis, disc, or stenosis issues they manage at home, and the different mattress, more walking, and more stairs here can stir things up. See our seniors page and our degenerative disc disease page. Boat owners and charter guests carry the same low back and shoulder strain we see in working crew, just on their own schedule. See our boat and charter crew page. Anyone spending the season more active than usual, more hiking, more tennis, more time in the water, tends to bring us the same overuse patterns as our athletes and divers pages describe. See our athletes and sports injuries page and our divers and watersports page.
Starting care partway through a stay
The first visit is a full history and exam, and we ask what your chiropractor at home has told you, what has worked before, and what has not. Bring imaging or reports if you have them. The free review is for spinal MRIs. Bring your MRI disc to the office. Dr. Keys reads the images himself and goes over them with you in person. Medicare patients are not eligible for it. From there we build a plan around the weeks or months you actually have, not a generic schedule. Some patients need a short, closer-together stretch of visits to settle a flare, then taper to a maintenance visit every few weeks for the rest of the season.
How we treat it at Tradewinds
Dr. Keys adjusts using Gonstead, Diversified, extremity, flexion-distraction, and drop table techniques, chosen for the patient and the spine in front of him, not a single method for everyone. Digital x-rays are taken on site when the exam calls for them. Spinal rehabilitation and therapeutic exercise, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, and extracorporeal shockwave therapy for tendon pain are all part of the same visit list as any other patient. See our services page for the full list.
Coming back next season
If you were a patient last winter or last charter season, tell us when you call. We pick up from your last file instead of starting over, which usually means a faster first visit back. If you are new this season, that same file becomes the starting point for next year.
When you should see someone else
- Loss of bowel or bladder control, or numbness in the saddle area: emergency room
- New weakness in an arm or leg, or a leg that is giving way: emergency room
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, or sudden confusion: call 911
- Unexplained weight loss or back pain that wakes you at night: see your physician first
- A fracture, or a joint you cannot put weight on after a fall: emergency room
Go to the nearest hospital emergency room for any of the above. If the exam points to something outside chiropractic care, Dr. Keys refers to a physician, neurologist, or orthopedist rather than treating around it.
Paying for a season of care
We accept Medicare, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, and we bill your insurance for you. If your plan is not one of those, call (340) 690-4994 with your card and we will tell you before you book.
Self-pay rates are $120 for the initial exam, $40 for a chiropractic adjustment, and $20 for each therapy. We take HSA and FSA cards. For a longer course of care we can set up payment arrangements, and we accept CareCredit. Visitors and boat or ship crew can pay by card.
Getting seen
Call (340) 690-4994 or email info@tradewindschiropractic.com. We are in the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, USVI 00802. Hours are Mon, Wed, Thu: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm; Tue, Fri: 7:00 am to 2:00 pm; closed Sat and Sun. We take walk-ins and same-day appointments. We have more than 180 five-star Google reviews.
Questions patients ask
I spend the winter in St. Thomas. Can I get ongoing chiropractic care while I'm here?
Yes. Tell us your dates when you call and we will build a plan around them, whether that is a short run of visits to settle a flare or a standing appointment every few weeks for the season. Call (340) 690-4994.
Is there a chiropractor for charter season boat owners and guests in St. Thomas?
Yes. We see boat owners and their guests through the season for the same low back and shoulder strain that comes with a season aboard. See our boat and charter crew page for more on that.
Do you keep my file from one season to the next?
Yes. If you were a patient with us before, tell us at booking and we will pull your last file instead of starting from scratch, which usually makes the first visit of a new season quicker.
Can I use my mainland insurance while I'm here for the season?
If it is one of the plans we accept, yes. We accept Medicare, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, and we bill your insurance for you. If your plan is not one of those, call (340) 690-4994 with your card and we will tell you before you book. Self-pay rates are $120 for the initial exam, $40 for a chiropractic adjustment, and $20 for each therapy.
