What is Hands of Hope?

Hands of Hope is a holistic chiropractic center, located outside downtown Fredericksburg. We offer many natural therapies to assist individuals to heal and express optimal health, both in mind and body. We offer chiropractic care, massage therapy, individual counseling, marriage counseling, teen counseling - individually and group, life coaching, nutritional coaching, homeopathy and PEMF therapy. We pride ourselves in delivering exceptional care to our patients in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, and all surrounding areas!

Our practitioners are passionate about the therapies they offer and love to help people. We do our best to assist you on your journey wherever you are - in acute or chronic pain and needing healing, leading an active lifestyle and needing maintenance, wanting to be your healthiest version and continue living with wellness as a lifestyle. Wherever you are, we want to help.

At our center, everyone is welcomed. We all have a story and everyone’s experience is unique. Healing at our center is specific to you and your needs. We help address healing on all levels: physical, chemical, mental and emotional. Our practitioners genuinely want to know who you are and how we can help. Life is filled with challenges and obstacles, ups and downs, good times and bad times, and we have a team here at Hands of Hope with a passion for helping you through it.

Dr. J.P. Yurgel Fredericksburg Chiropractor

Dr. JP’s Story

I discovered chiropractic at the age of 23, while living in Los Angeles, California. I had a high diving incident where I dove off a 10-foot platform and hit the water wrong. I immediately felt my lower back twist and compress with pressure. I heard the sound of bones grinding against one another. I remember being under water and looking up at the surface, wondering if I had the strength to make it back up… or if that was the end. Luckily, I made it to the surface, but I could hardly move. I was laid up on a couch for three days, could barely walk and could not lift my right foot higher than 2 inches off the ground. On my third day of horrible pain, someone suggested I see a chiropractor. I had never been to a chiropractor before, but at that point, I was desperate. I had already tried muscle relaxers and pain pills, but these only numbed and masked the pain. They did not correct the underlying problem. I made my way to Halo Chiropractic in Hollywood, California where I met Dr. Iris Williams, D.C. She explained to me that the misalignment of my L5 vertebra was causing the muscle weakness and numbness in my right leg. After a thorough examination she gave me an adjustment, and I immediately felt relief! The pain was not completely gone, but while it had been a 10/10 pain, it was now decreased to a 4/10 pain. After three adjustments in the first week, I could kick my leg all the way up to my head again! On my follow up visits, Dr. Iris explained to me what chiropractic is and how it is not only about pain and symptoms. Chiropractic is great for helping resolve symptoms like I had, but over time, I came to realize that chiropractic is so much more...

More than just Healthcare

Chiropractic is about wellness. It is about creating the conditions for your body to be its healthiest. How so? Chiropractors detect, analyze and correct subluxations that cause dis-ease in your body. Dis-ease, not disease! Dis-ease is when your body has nerve interference from either physical trauma or mental/chemical/emotional stress. This manifests as a subluxation. A subluxation is an actual misalignment of your vertebra which causes nerve dysfunction. This causes imbalance in your body and may affect your muscles, organs, tissues, your mental state as well as your emotional state. When you get adjusted, everyone has their own personal experience. People describe feeling relief from physical pressure, relief from physical pain, a lightness to their body like a weight has been lifted off of them, mental clarity, a sense of calm, feeling more energetic, being happy. Although everyone’s experience is different, one thing for sure is that after having their subluxations adjusted, their body has increased nerve function for clearer communication between the brain and body. This is how the body can achieve optimal health.

The power that created the body, heals the body. Chiropractic is a natural way for the body to heal and function at its best. Doctors of chiropractic correct subluxations within the spine and allow the body to do its innate healing. When you get a cut on your finger, do you command your cells and tissues to close to heal the wound? You can sit there until you’re blue in the face telling your finger to heal the wound and nothing will happen. So how do you heal? Your body has an innate intelligence and the ability to heal itself. The power that made the body, heals the body... When you were conceived, no one told the sperm and egg what to do. It’s that same power that created you from two cells that has the same ability to heal you from the inside out. So, how does chiropractic fit in with your body's innate ability to heal? Chiropractic removes interferences, caused by the traumas and stressors we experience. What many people don't realize is that these traumas and stressors are disrupting your body's healing ability, causing dysfunction. With the interference removed, the body can do its miracle of healing, by itself - naturally and without medicine.

Chiropractic Care — even for the smallest of us

I have adjusted people of all backgrounds and all ages. Believe it or not, the youngest person I have ever adjusted was only 2 hours old! People who are not familiar with chiropractic may not understand why an infant would need an adjustment. It is actually vital that infants be checked shortly after birth because the birthing process, no matter how smooth and effortless, can still cause a lot of pressure, twisting and torsion on the baby’s body. Due to this, their tiny spine, which is still cartilage and not yet bone, misaligns easily. The problem with this is that when the vertebrae of the spine misaligns, it affects the nerve function in the body. The nerves in the human body travel down the spine and deliver messages from the brain to all the organs, muscles, tissues and cells in the body. When the spine is misaligned, the nerves may have dysfunction which may cause problems for the child such as difficulty holding a normal temperature, improper breathing rate, discomfort, not being able to latch to breastfeed, not sleeping, constipation etc. After receiving an adjustment, the interference is removed so the brain can communicate better with the nerves allowing the body to function optimally. This helps the baby to develop and grow in a healthy way. So, if you haven’t been adjusted since birth, you are long overdue for an adjustment.

Why I love being a chiropractor here in Fredericksburg, VA

Everyone can benefit from chiropractic. Infants to elderly. I have even adjusted dogs, cats and horses. Animals have a brain, spinal cord and nerves just like humans, and just like humans, animals encounter similar stressors in life. One of the downright coolest things you could ever experience is seeing a horse getting adjusted! If you have never been around horses, it is common knowledge that horses can be skittish or spooked by abrupt movements. Early on, when you learn about horses and start taking riding lessons, the trainer teaches you how to behave around them. Always walk around them and use calm smooth movements when petting or grooming them. Make sure the horse knows where you are either by sight or by touching them as you walk around them. All of these things help the horse to trust you and feel safe around you.

That being said, a chiropractic adjustment on a horse is NOT slow or calm! It is fast, abrupt, and has a lot of momentum and force behind it! So, when you see a horse get adjusted, it’s surprising how they respond. Since animals cannot talk like us and tell us what they are feeling, you see their response in their behavior. These giant creatures that are hardwired to spook easily will remain calm and relaxed as they get adjusted because they know that what the chiropractor is doing is actually good for them. Horses are large creatures and you would think that delivering an adjustment would be very challenging. However, when a horse understands what is going on, they will not only allow you to adjust them but will bend their neck in the direction you need it to move for the doctor to adjust them. And after the quick yet focused adjustment occurs, the horse is still calm and looks at you with big eyes as if saying “Thank you!”

As you can probably tell, I truly love what I do. Chiropractic is really cool. I get the opportunity to work with people of all ages, as well as animals. It is natural, like a handshake or a hug. If you or anyone you know is interested and thinking about chiropractic as a career, I am happy to speak with you and answer any questions you may have! I also let prospective students shadow. I’ve had students hang out in the office and observe me adjusting people.

I hope after reading this, you will want to experience our chiropractic care and some of the other amazing therapies we offer at Hands of Hope for yourself and for your loved ones. Thank you for visiting our site and we all at Hands of Hope look forward to meeting you and working with you in expressing health, wellness and living a life filled with joy!

-Dr. JP