Glendale, AZ Health and Fitness

More than two decades of experience has taught Dr. Robert Balcar the secret to creating a pleasant dental visit—being in tune with what patients want. This is demonstrated as soon as patients walk into Peoria Family Dentistry’s lobby, where they’re greeted by a massage chair and office iPad that streams Netflix and HBO movies. Once ensconced in treatment chairs, their nerves are chased away by an empathic staff that offers distraction methods, such as tugging the lip or removing detachable noses, to minimize the pain of shots. Whether performing a general checkup or cosmetic overhaul, the staff explains every step of the procedure and keeps patients comfortable with blankets, neck pillows, and headphones.

At 16, Jenna Syverson could barely lift a glass of water. Her hopes for a collegiate swimming career were also dimming, all because of a shoulder injury that caused intense pain. Her physical therapist, chiropractor, and massage therapist were all flummoxed, but after one session of Rolfing, she was back in the pool with no pain. She continued treatment, swam through her degree in exercise science at the University of New Mexico, and wasted no time enrolling at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration just two weeks after graduation.

Today, she helps others shuffle off pain with Rolfing, a massage modality that focuses on restoring alignment. During first sessions, she assesses each clients’ past and present health, as well as their goals. Patients perform simple balance tests that involve standing, sitting, and dancing the charleston on a treadmill so she can observes patterns of movement that reveal inner misalignments. This guides her bodywork, which focuses on manipulating the fascia to ease nerve inflammation, free restricted tissues, and encourage unimpeded movement.

Sonoran Wellness Center's husband-and-wife chiropractic team Robert and Rebecca Kleckner blend chiropractic care, needle- or electric-stimulation-based acupuncture, and massage therapy to point patients on the path toward wellness. Doctor of Chiropractic Robert, a Guam native and Navy veteran who served during Operation Desert Shield, also uses his masters degree in biochemistry and extensive background in nutrition to boost overall wellness, and Doctor of Chiropractic Rebecca, a certified practitioner of the Webster Technique and a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, specializes in adjustments for pregnant women and kids. At the office, the chiropractic duo's three young children can occasionally be seen giving each other spinal adjustments and studying for the MCAT.

"A soothing, comfortable atmosphere is very important," says Dr. Manoj Sharma in a video on his website. It’s a sentiment he took to heart when designing his office, where walls painted in calming earth tones surround comfortable dental chairs. The comfort extends to his use of advanced technology, such as the ViziLite—which illuminates healthy tissue in a white light and shows cancerous tissue as dark during cancer screenings. Aside from improving smiles with whitening treatments and crowns, Dr. Sharma also helps prevent snoring with Snore Guard, a custom mouthpiece that keeps airways open and soft tissue from vibrating at levels that attract bears.