MONROE, CT — Joanne Amendola remembers when her late husband, Alphonse, took their nine-year-old son, Alan, with him to his chiropractor appointments at Dr. James Allen’s office in Milford.
“He would come home and say he wanted to be a chiropractor,” Amendola said of Alan. “My husband and I had a laugh.”
The boy would massage his mother’s and sister’s necks and pretend to crack their backs. Alan Joseph Amendola said he loved the fact that his father’s doctor had Allen in his name too.
Alan Amendola went on to pursue a chiropractic career. He was an associate chiropractor at a practice in Monroe for two years, before opening his own, Amendola Family Chiropractic & Wellness in suite 10 on the second floor at Gaslight Square, 500 Monroe Turnpike in Monroe.
On Saturday, he celebrated the one-year-anniversary of the opening of his practice. Monroe Chamber of Commerce members and First Selectman Ken Kellogg held a belated ribbon cutting ceremony, welcoming him to town. Family and friends were also in attendance.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Joanne said of her son. “He’s good at what he does.”
“I’m just so proud of him,” said Amendola’s sister, Mariam Mesturini of Wallingford. “He’s worked really hard for this. I can’t put into words how proud I am of him. I love him so much.”
A long road to success
Robert Ember was among the guests at Dr. Alan Amendola’s ribbon cutting ceremony. Amendola, who grew up in Trumbull, had worked for Ember at Family Auto Body Inc. in Bridgeport for 12 years, while saving money for school.
“I did everything,” Amendola recalled. “I painted. I washed. I towed.”
He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in biology from Southern Connecticut University, before enrolling in the University of Bridgeport’s Chiropractic School in the fall of 2016. Amendola graduated in the spring of 2020.
After gaining two years experience in the field as an associate chiropractor, he opened his own practice on August 5, 2022. Jacquelyn Trotta, who worked with Amendola at the other practice, is his office manager.
“It’s amazing,” she said of the first year. “I always knew opening his own practice would be a great decision. He really cares about his patients.”
“The first year has been better than expected,” Amendola said. “We have been able to make people of the town of Monroe feel better and are getting more referrals. We pride ourselves on making our patients feel better. Our long term goal is for them not to be here.”
“To sustain their healing,” Trotta added.
Amendola Family Chiropractic & Wellness has three exam rooms and another room is used by Trotta for her own business, Vibe Crystals & Wellness, where she offers Reiki massage and sells wholistic wellness crystals.
In addition to his practice, Amendola is a full-time professor of chiropractic at the University of Bridgeport, which he says allows him to stay on top of the latest developments and techniques.
Amendola said he likes “the fact that” chiropractic is a “minimally invasive treatment”.
“We make people feel better just by putting our hands on them,” he said. “The best feeling is being told on their way out that our patients feel better and they’re happy they found us.”
Dr. Amendola said patients should call his office at 203-590-3407 for appointments. For information, visit the Amendola Family Chiropractic & Wellness website, Facebook or Instagram pages.
