The son of two immigrant parents who taught him the importance of hard work, vision and the belief that nothing worth having comes easy- Dr. Ranjith Mahen owns and runs 2 successful multidisciplinary clinics in Ontario.
As the owner of 2 successful multidisciplinary clinics in the Durham region in Ontario (Durham Spinecare & Rehabilitation Centre), Dr. Ranjith Mahen says he’s been fortunate to care for more than 15,000 patients, helping them recover from injuries, chronic pain and improving their health naturally. He believes in the “one life” approach, giving back and having a massive impact on people.
When did you know you wanted to become a chiropractor and why?
I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor in my first year of undergrad at the University of Toronto. I was studying kinesiology at the time and was looking at various healthcare professions that emphasized health education, fitness and sports. Chiropractic seemed like such a great fit given my background in playing competitive sports and my interest in healthcare. A classmate of mine got me thinking about Chiropractic.
Back In 2006, many people didn’t really understand what Chiropractic was and it was very much a profession on the margins of healthcare. What made sense to me about Chiropractic was the emphasis on the biopsychosocial approach to healthcare. Chiropractors take a holistic approach to health and use many manual therapy techniques to address pain and function. The idea of helping people improve their health with my hands was really appealing. Another reason I chose Chiropractic was because of my mother, who suffered from chronic back pain since her 40’s. She had very limited success with traditional approaches. I knew there was more out there and this passion to help her and others gave me that extra push to pursue the field. After being accepted and anxiously waiting to start school in just 2 weeks, my mother passed away suddenly. It was the hardest thing for me as a 22-year-old. I accepted she was gone, I rolled up my sleeves and then devoted my life to being a student of this profession and finding ways to help others just like her.
What made you decide to open up your first clinic (instead of continuing to work for others)? How did you decide on opening up subsequent locations?
After graduating from Chiropractic, I worked as an Associate for a busy clinic making ends meet. After 9 months there, I decided to take the leap and start my own practice. I had used those 9 months to learn everything I needed to run a practice from the back-end admin work, billings, insurance, accounting and all day-to-day tasks of running a clinic. I was tired of making a fixed income and working crazy hours. I had a waiting list of patients and was marketing to bring more patients into the clinic. I knew it was better to start sooner than later and having the confidence I had built up in those 9 months really helped. After 5 years of practicing at my primary location, I opened my second practice. The need for the second location was based on the extra space needs and meeting the demands of our growing community.
