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One on One with Dr. Sam Norgaard, DC

Hi! My name is Dr. Sam Norgaard and I was raised here in Naperville, and I played football and rugby at Neuqua Valley. My story at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center started in 2014, when I pulled my hamstring while I was training during my senior football season. My trainers suggested I go see Jason who just opened up his office down the hall from their gym inside what was Player’s Indoor Sports.

Dr. Sam Norgaard
After about an hour, I was walking around a lot easier and went back to playing. That was my first experience with chiropractic and with Jason. I later graduated from Neuqua and went to pursue my undergraduate degree in Biology at Central College in Pella, IA while also playing linebacker for their football team. I was considering going to physical therapy school after graduation. In my sophomore season, another twist of fate steered me to Action, I broke my thumb in a game and needed surgery, and of course rehab. After the course of PT was complete, I was still feeling some wrist and thumb stiffness and pain, and one of my coaches suggested I go and see the local chiropractor to see what she could do.

She worked her magic, and after that I seriously started to consider chiropractic as an option. After I graduated undergrad, I then attended Palmer College of Chiropractic. I quickly realized that this was what I was looking for and then started to vision what life would be like after graduation. I reached out to Dr. Durnas on one Christmas break and asked what he did at school and asked for some advice. He recommended I study ART (Active Release Technique) and if I liked it I could intern with him for the last semester of school. In addition to ART, I got certified in Flexion-Distraction and Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy. I graduated Magna Cum Laude in October of 2021, and joined Action Chiropractic in November.
Working with Dr. Durnas and the team here at Action Chiropractic has allowed me to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge, not only in terms of patient care, but also about the ins and outs of business, insurance, work/life balance, and many other things.
When I am not seeing patients in the office, I am out in the community visiting local gyms and businesses with a portable table, giving people a firsthand experience of what chiropractic is and how it works. These volunteer opportunities allow for good networking and help to establish the Action brand in the community. Next time you’re out and about and see the blue Action Chiropractic banner, stop by and see what we can do for you!
Dr. Norgaard’s first exposure to chiropractic was when he was a high school football player at Neuqua Valley in Naperville, Illinois. Nagging injuries led him to Action Chiropractic and Dr. Durnas. He was amazed with the results he got and knew that the treatments provided at Action Chiropractic were the best way to address his ailments.
After high school, Dr. Norgaard left Naperville and attended Central College in Pella, Iowa. While at Central, he majored in biology and played football, further piquing his interest in sports injuries and how to treat them. When he wasn’t in the classroom or on the football field, Dr. Norgaard spent his time volunteering at hospitals, and at various clinics. This is when he really developed a passion for helping people get better.
His experiences as an athlete, chiropractic patient, and volunteer shaped his decision to become a chiropractor.
After graduating from Central, Dr. Norgaard continued his education at Palmer College of Chiropractic.
While at Palmer, Dr. Norgaard took several extracurricular courses focusing on spinal diagnosis and therapy, soft tissue care, and diagnosis and treatment of the extremities. He completed a 4-month internship with Dr. Durnas at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center and further developed his skills as a physician.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Palmer in October of 2021 and received the Academic Excellence Award.
After graduation, Dr. Norgaard joined the team at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center. He currently resides in the Naperville area with his wife, Shannon, son, Parker, and dog, Alby.
“I chose to become a chiropractor because I was helped by chiropractic. I was in such discomfort it took me over 3 minutes to put on my socks. After seeing a chiropractor, and regaining the ability to tie my shoes, I realized that taking loads of NSAIDs did not address the fact that there was something causing the pain. The more I learned about it, I found that Chiropractic doesn’t just hide symptoms, like I was trying to do with pills, it fixes the origin of the problem.”
Dr. Durnas graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology and Bachelors of Arts degree in Chemistry. After graduation he worked in research and development for 3 years and dabbled in powerlifting and professional wrestling. That’s what lead him to chiropractic school. While at Palmer College of Chiropractic, he focused on learning how to best help the athlete. He took several extracurricular courses on how to address soft tissue injuries, how to adjust extremities, and how to better manage sports injuries. He graduated in June of 2012, where we were the Palmer Clinical Excellence Award winner and a keynote speaker at commencement.
In 2019, Dr. Durnas earned his Diplomate from the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP)®. He is only the 427th chiropractor in history to earn this designation, and only the 6th recipient in the history of Illinois. He completed over 300 hours of classroom and online courses focusing on in depth on the diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries, concussions, and emergency procedures, and had over 100 on the field hours with athletes that ranged from cross fitters, professional and high school football players, professional BMX and Motocross riders, triathletes, and runners. Dr. Durnas passed a 6-part practical exam and a 250 question Board exam and contributed a case study involving nerve damage in a professional athlete following a hit to the shoulder.