Skare Spine & Performance gets up and running in Rochester

Written by Renee Berg MBA, CPP

Nate Skare of Spring Valley wishes there’d been someone like him around when he was younger.

As a high school and college athlete, the 27-year-old had some “weird injuries,” he said, and having a specialist chiropractor as he is now would have been very helpful.

“I’ve never seen anyone who offered the care I offer,” the owner of Skare Spine & Performance in Rochester said. “I’m offering everything I would have liked to have had as an athlete.”

A Spring Valley native and graduate of Chatfield High School, Skare was a three-sport athlete in high school and went on to play college football at Upper Iowa University, graduating in 2018.

In May he graduated from chiropractic school at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, Minnesota, and immediately went on to open his own chiropractic firm.

He said business is starting to mount, and he’s exceeding his goals for new patients.

“It’s been going good,” Skare said. “Obviously starting from scratch, it’s slow to start but every week it’s been growing. I’m seeing the projected numbers I expected so that’s been good. My goal for May was 10 new patients and I had 12. And then for June my goal was 10 and I had 17.”

He offers far more than treatment for neck and back pain, which is what most chiropractors are known for, he said. His services are broader, and include standard treatments along with functional rehabilitation, soft tissue release, acupuncture and dry needling for those who need it.

Skare is located at 1615 Broadway Avenue, and is sandwiched between RC Nails and Tea Time in the strip mall that is also home to Glynner’s Pub. His office is 928 square feet.

Though he’s a new business owner, Skare said his experiences as an athlete pivoted him for success. “When I was playing sports, I was always trying to take ownership of my own career,” he said, “always trying to get better with camps, strength and conditioning.”

“It translates well to the business world,” he went on. “You get out of it what you put into it.”

Skare is working solo, but intends to hire an office manager in the coming year. He has already amassed a client roster of 45 and sees about 15 weekly. He plans to grow that to 75 a week.

Most chiropractors in the area are “standard adjustment and go,” he said. However, he seeks to make a name for himself by offering more services and longer appointments.

Two specialty areas he practices are dynamic neuromuscular stabilization and the McKenzie Method, which are unique and efficient approaches to chiropractic care.

“DNS allows Nate to improve function and decrease pain quickly, he said. “McKenzie is the quickest strike I have for pain. It’s also an assessment tool that’s been shown to be as reliable as an X-ray or MRI for diagnosing the source of the pain.”

When it comes to making a splash in the Rochester market, Skare said he is relying on social media to spread the word about his new business. He also joined the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and is trying to offer more talks like the one he has coming up at 125 Live.

Skare said he chose Rochester as his business location because he wanted to return to southeastern Minnesota and thinks our city has the best opportunity for growth.

“I offer unique care, and that’s going to help me stand out and help as many people as possible,” he said. He said he intends to “stick with the plan and keep working.”

He loves being able to help people and see a change in their pain, or in their lifestyle, after he treats them. Taking someone who is frustrated with their pain, or not being able to do what they want to do, and seeing them get back to their activities is a key job perk for him, Skare said.

He also enjoys helping athletes reach their goals and set new personal records.

Down the road, he’d like to grow and have a full staff of ten practitioners. “I want to be able to treat anything that walks in my door, basically,” Skare said.

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