How Tradewinds Chiropractic Started in St. Thomas After Irma and Maria
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Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness opened in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in April 2018, in the recovery after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dr. Bradley Keys, DC, founded the practice and has run it from the same address, the VI Medical Foundation Building on Estate Thomas, ever since. This page is the fuller version of that story, for anyone who wants to know more than the one line on the about page.
St. Thomas in 2017
Irma and Maria hit the territory within two weeks of each other in September 2017. Roofs came off. Power was out for months in parts of the island. Boats were stacked on shorelines. Supply barges that normally brought parts, equipment and materials to St. Thomas slowed down along with everything else moving through the Caribbean that fall.
Dr. Keys was already here for it. He has practiced on St. Thomas since 2015 and was on the island through Irma and Maria. He did not arrive after the storms to start a business. He went through them, and through the months after them, alongside the rest of St. Thomas.
Opening a practice while the island rebuilt
Dr. Keys opened Tradewinds in April 2018, about seven months after the storms, while the island was still in the middle of rebuilding. He started the practice himself, with no co-founder. Opening a new health practice into that was not the easy version of starting a business.
The patients who walked in that first year were, in a lot of cases, doing their own version of the same work Tradewinds was doing: rebuilding something that had been knocked down. Roofers and framers with backs that gave out mid-repair. Boat owners and crew straining to get vessels back in the water. Residents hauling debris and generators long after the news cameras had moved on. A chiropractic practice that opened into that timing ended up seeing a fair amount of storm-recovery strain in its early patients, on top of the usual mix of back pain, neck pain and sciatica.
The practice has stayed in the same building since, which is unusual for a small clinic in a place where commercial space turns over often. What has changed is the scale: Tradewinds has grown into a practice with more than 180 five-star Google reviews and a patient base that spans residents, boat and charter crew, and visitors passing through for a week, a charter season, or longer. In those years Dr. Keys also took on roles beyond his own patient care. He joined the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners as a member in 2022 and became its Chair in 2026. 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. See who Dr. Keys is for more on that side of the practice.
What this means if you are choosing a chiropractor today
A practice that opened during the rebuild after the hardest stretch of recent island history, and is still at the same address more than eight years later, has been tested by something harder than a slow month. That is not a treatment claim. It is a fact about staying power, in a place where a lot of small businesses did not make it through 2017 and 2018 at all. If you are weighing chiropractors in St. Thomas, how long a practice has actually been open, and whether it stayed open through the hard years, is a reasonable thing to ask any of them. See how to choose a chiropractor in the USVI for the fuller list of what to ask.
None of that history changes how a visit runs today. A visit at Tradewinds still starts with a history and a hands-on exam, and if a case needs more than chiropractic care can offer, Dr. Keys says so and refers out. See when back pain is an emergency if you are dealing with something that sounds more urgent than a routine visit.
Getting seen
Call (340) 690-4994 to book. We take walk-ins and same-day appointments. Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness is at the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, USVI 00802, just east of Charlotte Amalie and a short drive from the Havensight cruise port and Yacht Haven Grande. 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. New patient forms are at new patient forms and checklist. Tradewinds Chiropractic has more than 180 five-star Google reviews.
Questions patients ask
When was Tradewinds Chiropractic founded?
Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness opened in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in April 2018, about seven months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2017.
Was Tradewinds Chiropractic founded after Hurricane Irma?
Yes. Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit in September 2017, and Dr. Bradley Keys opened the practice in April 2018, while the island was rebuilding. He had practiced on St. Thomas since 2015 and was on the island through both storms.
How long has Tradewinds Chiropractic been in the same location?
Since it opened in April 2018. The practice has been at the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, the whole time.
Who founded Tradewinds Chiropractic?
Dr. Bradley Keys, DC, founded Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness himself, with no co-founder, and still practices there. He also chairs the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
How has Tradewinds Chiropractic grown since it opened?
It has grown from a new practice opening during the island's recovery to one with more than 180 five-star Google reviews and patients across residents, boat and charter crew, and visitors to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
