Dr. Don Nakaya Nielsen is a visionary who pioneered the chiropractic profession into Thailand back in the 1990’s. Dr Don was a world champion kickboxer who fought out of Japan and came to Bangkok to train in Muay Thai under his Japanese management team. After living and training in various Muay Thai camps, Dr Don discovered that the chiropractic profession had not yet been established in Thailand.
Dr Don attended Whittier College on a football athletic scholarship and was a pre-medical major. After experiencing chiropractic care for himself due to a low back injury, Don decided to become a chiropractor and graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, CA in 1986.
Dr. Don’s Center for Natural Health was successfully inaugurated in March of 1993, after spending lots of time, effort and money to find a way to get the chiropractic profession established in Thailand. Dr Don became the first chiropractor in Thailand to set up chiropractic as a legitimate business venture. There had been several doctors before who came to Thailand to treat patients as an extended vacation, but Dr Don was the first one to be issued a work permit as a chiropractor. He initially joined the mobile medical units with Paolo Memorial Hospital under the supervision of the late Dr Udom Thongborisute. The mobile medical units supplied doctors, dentists, and nurses to help the underprivelidged people in the remote upcountry areas who had no access to regular health care. He treated up to 300+ patients per day on the charity tours.
In addition to treating many patients at his office, Dr Don is also one of Thailand’s leading authorities on natural health/alternative healing and has been featured on many TV shows, radio programs, and articles in many different Thai magazines and newspapers. Numerous politicians, celebrities, and well known business people are among Dr Don’s patients. It is very interesting to note that many revered Buddhist monks became chiropractic patients, due to the natural healing methods and lack of drugs/surgeries, the monks firmly believe that natural healing is better than using chemicals and cutting away body parts to stay healthy. Chiropractic is based on the principle that uninterrupted nerve flow, or energy flow is an important part of making the body healthy. The monks agree that this is a smarter way to health and that is why they choose the natural way over drugs and surgery.
In July of 2007 the first chiropractic testing was held in Bangkok. This is one of the first steps to allow chiropractic to become a legal profession in Thailand. There has been a announcement issued by the Ministry of Public Health that allows chiropractic to be legal healing profession in Thailand. After being arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license and running a hospital without a permit and having his case go all the way to the Thai Supreme Court, Dr Don hopes now these days are a thing of the past as the Ministry of Public Health has finally accepted chiropractic as a legal profession in Thailand.