Dr. Tony Ebel: Faith, Farm Roots, and 100 Episodes of the Experience Miracles Podcast
Episode 100, Experience Miracles Podcast | Host: Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP, Pediatric Chiropractor & Founder of PX Docs | Interviewer: Dr. Morgan, Podcast Producer & Associate Chiropractor at PX Docs | Published: May 2, 2025 | Duration: ~47 min
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Tony Ebel credits getting adjusted as a junior in college as the turning point that transformed him from a struggling student who couldn’t complete assignments to a nearly straight-A student, a firsthand example of what Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care can do for attention and focus.
- Dr. Tony can identify a child’s specific subluxation pattern from across a room, spotting head tilt (C2), shoulder asymmetry (T2), or pelvic torsion, because years of clinical training have tuned his eye to see nervous system dysfunction in how people carry and move their bodies.
- Growing up on an Iowa farm, Dr. Tony’s father taught him to drive past the fields every night saying, “You need to let the plants know you care, and let the weeds know you’re watching”, a philosophy Dr. Tony now applies directly to how he thinks about subluxations and patient care.
- Oliver Ebel, Dr. Tony’s son, spent time in the NICU and was given a series of difficult diagnoses, he is now a thriving teenager competing in cross-country track, a living example of what Dr. Tony calls the central lesson of the podcast: expect miracles.
- Dr. Tony’s approach during his son Oliver’s hardest health challenges was “50% praying and 50% researching”, actively asking God to reveal the path, the mentor, and the next action step, not just waiting for a spontaneous answer.
Who Is Dr. Tony Ebel? The Man Behind the Pediatric Chiropractic Mission
Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP is the founder of the PX Docs network and the host of the Experience Miracles podcast, which reached its 100th episode on May 2, 2025. He is a Certified Pediatric + Wellness Chiropractor with 15 years of clinical experience, a postgraduate instructor in collaboration with Life University’s Postgraduate Department, and the architect of the Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care framework used by over 700 trained practitioners across North America.
But behind the clinical framework and the platform is a farm kid from Iowa who struggled to focus in school, discovered chiropractic care as a college junior, and built an entire professional life around what he experienced firsthand: that when the nervous system works the way it was designed to, everything changes. His story, shaped by Iowa fields, his wife Christina, his kids, his faith, and his son Oliver’s healing, is the foundation the mission is built on.
This 100th episode flips the usual format. Instead of Dr. Tony teaching, podcast producer and associate chiropractor Dr. Morgan puts him in the hot seat, asking listener-submitted questions alongside a few curveballs of her own.
Flipping the Script: Welcome to Episode 100 [00:00 – 00:03]
Dr. Morgan: Hello everyone. Today is a very special episode of the Experience Miracles podcast because we are flipping the script and putting Dr. Tony in the hot seat. My name is Dr. Morgan and I am the producer of this podcast. Beyond that, I’ve also had the honor to be mentored by Dr. Tony and to work alongside him and the team at PX Docs.
It has been such a huge blessing to learn from him clinically. If you’ve listened to the podcast at all, you know he’s a true genius and also a genius at communicating chiropractic. Since my chair has literally been to his right side for about four years at the doctor’s table, I’ve had a front row seat to a whole lot of personality and a lot more laughs.
Today we are celebrating our 100th episode. We thought, what better way to mark this milestone than to let you get to know him, the man behind the miracles. We’re asking your questions, throwing him a few curveballs, and uncovering stories maybe I’ve never even heard before.
Dr. Tony: No, I mean, I said yes ahead of recording, but now that we’re actually recording, I am sympathetic dominant, vagus nerve suppressed, nervous right now. That’s my answer.
“I am sympathetic dominant, vagus nerve suppressed, nervous right now.”
Dr. Morgan: Do you think our listeners are going easy on you or throwing you some hard ones?
Dr. Tony: I think because I’ve been probably a bit too real life with my Iowa background and all the things, they’re going to throw me some hard ones and some funny ones. I’m ready for it slash not ready for it.
Meeting Christina, Comfort T-Shirts, and the Sensory Kid Within [00:03 – 00:06]
Dr. Morgan: Someone asked, how did you know Christina was the one?
Dr. Tony: We are going mushy right off the bat. Is there a neurological, nervous system answer I can get away with here? That was actually easy. It was the moment I saw her, just her smiling, her energy, how immediately connected we were. Our values in life, family was everything to us. We met on a Monday night of all times, our senior year of undergrad, and I just immediately couldn’t get enough of her. I might have been a bit much right out of the gates, but it turns out she felt the same about me. Yes, instantly, on a Monday night, within minutes, knew she was the one.
Dr. Morgan: You’re just the perfect match. You have the visionary, and then she’s like, let’s get it done.
Dr. Tony: That is exactly why we are busting out to the hundredth episode. If I don’t get things done, Christina knows, and there’s trouble to be had, as there should be.
Dr. Morgan: Someone asked: do you wear Experience Miracles shirts all the time because you don’t know how to dress?
Dr. Tony: Yes, absolutely. It’s just so much work to think about, is this outfit good? Would I look professional? My kids are never going to think I’m cool no matter what angle I take. And I don’t just wear Experience Miracles T-shirts. There’s Hope Dealers, there’s Experience Miracles. They’re all the same shirt with a slightly different message. People either think I’m a youth pastor or a pediatric chiropractor, and I think both are pretty rad for hope-dealing out into the world.
Dr. Morgan: Tell the audience about your love for scratchy sweaters and turtlenecks.
Dr. Tony: Never. That would be like wearing a bird, and I also despise birds. That would be like wearing a shirt made out of bird beaks. The sensory kid in me likes to be very comfortably, softly, and lightly dressed. I can’t even say the word turtleneck, it’s like you just stop breathing. You just don’t live.
How Chiropractic Transformed Dr. Tony’s Academic Life [00:06 – 00:09]
Dr. Morgan: They want to know: what’s the lowest grade you ever got on an exam? Undergrad or chiropractic school?
Dr. Tony: There’s a pre and a post answer to this. Before chiropractic, I didn’t get that good of grades because I couldn’t pay attention in class. I didn’t remember to turn assignments in. I have a pattern recognition brain, so I love standardized tests, final exams were always a breeze. But the other part of your grade is turning things in on time and completing projects. And so I had to marry into completing projects. I’m just kidding.
In chiropractic school, I started getting adjusted as a junior in undergrad. My junior year was the inflection point. My senior year grades were all A’s at Iowa State. Then at Palmer, I got one B-plus. Dr. Richard Burns, I love you. You are actually my favorite teacher slash I will never not hold this grudge. He taught our 10-credit adjusting class. He was the toughest professor I’ve ever had, and I know exactly why I missed it. I went into his office and tried to make my case for that extra point to get to an A, and he simply said, “You should have done the adjustment better.” And he was dead on right. So one B-plus in chiropractic school, and still not over it.
Dr. Morgan: Did you ever have imposter syndrome?
Dr. Tony: No. What I feel now is more pressure, that’s the word I’ve landed on after a lot of prayer and journaling. We are getting the message out to parents, and we’re working hard to train chiropractors to the highest level. There’s more responsibility in that. But imposter syndrome, no. God has blessed me with my father Steve Ebel, my mentors, my uncle Danny, everybody around me who was like: God made you this way. Don’t be more than you are, but don’t be less than you are either. Step into your responsibilities with humility, but also with conviction. I’ve always just been me.
Chiropractic Superpowers: Spotting Subluxations Everywhere [00:09 – 00:17]
Dr. Morgan: Approximately how far away can you spot a subluxation?
Dr. Tony: Miles. Just kidding, my eyesight in my thirties could have seen that far. But picking my kids up from Willow kids, what I used to call Sunday school, you can see a C2 because you can see head tilt, and the kid’s neuro-gate and coordination is a little wobbly and off. You can see shoulder asymmetry. That’s a T2. They’ve got pelvic torsion, and you’re looking at an asynchronous, subluxated gait. I’m watching Oliver’s track meet and looking at his teammates thinking, I could help that kid be way faster if I could adjust his TL junction. I see it everywhere.
Dr. Morgan: You just don’t see the world the same. You see it because you want to get rid of it for that child, to optimize their potential. If I can remove that subluxation for you, you could have this much more out of life.
Dr. Tony: Totally.
“There is no conversation with me where chiropractic will not be woven in.”
Dr. Morgan: Approximately how long does it take you to start talking about pediatric chiropractic when you’re out in public?
Dr. Tony: Zero seconds. I don’t even try. If I roll up to another dad and they’re talking about golf or the stock market, I haven’t watched the news in an eternity, so it’s hard for me to have those conversations. But I can weave chiropractic into anything. I can say, “You’re in finance. Your brain has to work. You need a superpower. Imagine if you were getting adjusted, how much that would optimize your potential.” There is no conversation with me where chiropractic will not be woven in.
Dr. Morgan: If you could adjust any person in the world, past or present, who would it be?
Dr. Tony: Kirby Puckett, he was my childhood baseball idol. A short, let’s just say husky fella who played for my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. Before I wanted to become a chiropractor, I wanted to be a major league baseball player. Kirby retired, got sick, and we lost him way too early. I would have loved to adjust Kirby and still have him here with us. And right now, without any shadow of a doubt, I would love to adjust RFK Junior. That’s just a mathematical equation in my head, who has the ability to impact and influence the most lives? I don’t see the politics. I just see the potential for good and the lens of impact.
Farm Philosophy: Iowa Roots and Lessons That Shaped Patient Care [00:17 – 00:31]
Dr. Morgan: Do you have a favorite farm story, or a favorite FFA story?
Dr. Tony: When you’re in a tractor doing field work, there’s no AM radio, no Discman, you can’t use it in a tractor because you’re bumping all the time. So you’re sitting with nothing but your thoughts for hours. And you’re on this highly expensive piece of equipment that could run over a telephone pole.
My dad would give me these charades from a quarter mile away, drawing pictures in the dirt, flashing his hands, because you couldn’t hear him. The tractor I spent the most time in was called the Screaming Eagle. My mom’s nickname for it. Too loud to hear anything.
My favorite story: my dad is standing a quarter mile away, I’m screaming toward him with the plow, and he’s trying to give me this loop to go around the telephone pole. I’m waving my hands like, that’s a bad idea, I can’t navigate that at this speed. He got me so overwhelmed and confused that I smacked that plow full speed right into the telephone pole. There were some choice words from my dad, and I was like, words would have helped first. You could have just said stop and talked this out. But he was always very confident in his hand signals.
The other one that I’ve taught to the doc team: my dad was a man of few words, pure brilliance and so committed to his craft and his family. We grew up in beans and corn. Bean fields grow weeds. Weeds are subluxation in this story, because weeds choke out the plants, which are what you need to produce.
He would drive all of our fields every single night and I was like, why do we have to do this? They’re just plants. They’re going to be fine. He would say, “You need to let the plants, the good things you’re trying to produce, know you care. And you need to let the weeds know you’re watching.”
“You need to let the plants know you care. And you need to let the weeds know you’re watching.”
Before chemicals, before Roundup, my job was bean walking, walking up and down the fields to pull weeds by hand. He would just point out a weed from a quarter mile away. He didn’t get off the three-wheeler to go pull it. He brought me along for the free manual labor. And that’s subluxations. I’ve got to let our patients know we care. We’re always watching. And we’ve got to let toxins and subluxations know we’re watching too.
Dr. Morgan: When and where do you get your best ideas?
Dr. Tony: Without a doubt, the lawnmower. God blessed us with this 20-and-a-half-acre property, 15 minutes from the clinic. I refuse to let a service mow, probably the dumbest thing mathematically with four kids and everything else going on, but it takes me five or six hours. On the lawnmower, there’s no Slack, no emails, no Instagram messages. I just feel most connected to God and most connected to ideas about what we could do to make life better for millions of kids. Christina always jokes that she can tell when a download came because I’ll just be sitting still in the middle of the lawn and the mower stops. I try not to take my phone, but I take a notebook and write things down. Being out there, mowing, cleaning the barn, cleaning the pasture, that’s where all the best ideas come from.
Core Values, Parenting Philosophy, and the Three H’s [00:31 – 00:38]
Dr. Morgan: What is one important lesson you really want your kids to learn and embody?
Dr. Tony: I probably have a sweet spot of a few things. It comes down to the H’s: hardworking, humble, and helpful. If you can just be helpful, always noticing that person needs help, let me help, helpful without expectation of return, helping for the sake of helping. That takes hard work. You’ve got to be willing to always just get up and do something extra for somebody.
And then: God called us to impact down here. You’re here because God chose you for a purpose. There is something inside of you that he put there uniquely and infinitely, you got a full dose of it. You’re unique in your design to God, and you have this superpower. That superpower isn’t to make a ton of money. It’s to impact as many people as possible, share as much good, share his word, share his good news, and do his good work down here. And by the way, that is the best life, being in service to others and impacting others’ lives. We are all designed by God to be in this way. You do that for them, they want to give back tenfold. You are building yourself a wonderful life by making sure you’re not putting yourself first.
The teenage years, everybody says those are going to be terrible. I think it’s like a health principle: what if the teenage years are just designed to be different than the toddler years, but your relationship stays awesome and connected and purposeful and close and loving and silly and goofy and caring? I ask my kids every day before I drop them off to go through an Ebel core value and give me an example of how they could use it during the day. They roll their eyes at me massively. They’ll thank me one day.
Dr. Morgan: When kids are sick, when they’re struggling, they don’t get to live out their purpose, they don’t even get to live out their day-to-day. To see those kids transform, use that pain, and become a light in the world, you can literally see the light come back into their eyes.
Dr. Tony: That is just the coolest thing to see. When we allow the body to work the way it was designed to, everything is possible. And we’ve got to put that on a hill.
Rapid Fire: Palomas, Donkeys, and Medieval Shows [00:38 – 00:42]
Dr. Morgan: Beer or Paloma on a relaxing weekend?
Dr. Tony: Paloma. I’m too old for beer anymore.
Dr. Morgan: Summer or winter?
Dr. Tony: Summer.
Dr. Morgan: Morning person or night owl?
Dr. Tony: Morning, morning, morning, morning, morning.
Dr. Morgan: Casey’s taco pizza or smash burgers?
Dr. Tony: Casey’s taco pizza. It’s legend. If you’re not from the Midwest and you don’t know that you can get the greatest pizza ever from a gas station, experience it once in your life. That man knows what he’s talking about.
Dr. Morgan: Donkeys or goats?
Dr. Tony: Donkeys. They’re so sweet but yet stubborn. They just have this edge, if you don’t do what I tell you, I’m going to kick you right in the head. I like that. Good challenge. Two of them: Clementine and Molly. My homies.
Dr. Morgan: Reading books or listening to podcasts?
Dr. Tony: Reading books. Still reading. I can highlight it, take notes, draw on the margins. I have never been able to read a fiction book. I’ll stop in the airport and overpay for some John Grisham and read two pages before I’m like, I know you just made this up and it’s not even that good. I have enough stories in my own head. I can make stuff true.
Dr. Morgan: What are your favorite phrases or movie quotes?
Dr. Tony: “The only way to know is to go.” I’m not a big debater. I can’t stand sitting around debating a decision. The only way you ever know if something’s going to work is to just get it done. Let’s stop talking. Let’s do. Let’s get after it. And “whole ass.” We refuse to half-ass anything. If you’re going to get something from us, you’re going to get full effort. Also, Party on, Wayne.
Dr. Morgan: And, pretzel adjustment or ice cream scoop?
Dr. Tony: Ice cream scoop. Doing the thoracic. Clear those out right away. T2.
Oliver’s Story: Learning to Actually Expect Miracles [00:42 – 00:47]
Dr. Morgan: You’ve talked about your miracle man, Oliver, NICU, supposed to have all these diagnoses, but now a thriving teenager kicking butt on the cross-country field. What has Oliver’s story taught you about life and healing?
Dr. Tony: I think, to actually expect it. I don’t know that I’ve ever said that before or thought that before, but that’s the season I’m in. This is how the nervous system works, but it’s also how God works. Oliver knows he’s a miracle. He doesn’t take it lightly, but he also doesn’t get consumed by it. It’s just him. It’s just his life. It’s just what he knows.
I just want so many more families to know that. I just want so many more families to expect that. When you expect it, you get excited for it. You go toward it. And you get to experience it. That’s our podcast, the Experience Miracles podcast. That’s this platform.
“You can take the toughest of kids and families and they can bend through all of it, but if you say the right words and make the right adjustments, they are programmed and designed by God to move back toward health.”
I remember when Oliver was sick. Christina and I were a locked-in force to get our baby out of that NICU. And if I’m being honest, it was probably 50% praying and 50% researching and studying, 50% figuring out what I could do to help, and 50% just praying for God to reveal the path. Show me the podcast. Reveal the book. Tell me who to call. Praying for the path, not just the answers. Praying for the action steps, not just the spontaneous “here you go.” That’s how we pray. Hey God, I know you called us to it. We’ll do the work. We’ll take the action. But could you shine the light? Could you reveal the path? Could you send me the mentor? Could you send me the doctor? That’s always been our prayer.
Dr. Morgan: Faith plus action equals miracles.
Dr. Tony: Yes. Obviously, miracles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Tony Ebel and what got him into pediatric chiropractic?
Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP is the founder of PX Docs and host of the Experience Miracles Podcast. He grew up on a farm in Iowa, struggled with attention and completing assignments in school, and got his first chiropractic adjustment as a college junior, which he credits as the turning point in his focus, grades, and ultimately his career path. He went on to train at Palmer Chiropractic College and now leads a network of over 700 Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care practitioners in North America.
Did Dr. Tony Ebel struggle in school as a kid?
Yes. Before getting adjusted in college, Dr. Tony had difficulty paying attention in class and often forgot to turn assignments in. He describes having a pattern recognition brain that made standardized tests easy but routine work hard. After his first chiropractic adjustment as a junior at Iowa State, his grades transformed, he finished his senior year with all A’s and earned near-perfect marks at Palmer. He considers his own story direct proof of what Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care can do for focus and nervous system function.
What happened to Dr. Tony’s son Oliver?
Oliver Ebel spent time in the NICU after birth and was given a series of difficult diagnoses. Rather than accept those diagnoses as permanent, Dr. Tony and his wife Christina committed to 50% prayer and 50% research, asking God to reveal the right practitioners, books, and action steps. Oliver is now a healthy, thriving teenager who competes in cross-country track. His story is the lived foundation behind the podcast’s core message: expect miracles.
What does Dr. Tony believe about children’s ability to heal?
Dr. Tony’s central belief, shaped by Oliver’s story and 15 years of clinical experience, is that children are “programmed and designed by God to move back toward health” when their nervous system receives the right support. He teaches parents to stop accepting chronic struggle as inevitable and instead expect healing. The goal of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care is to remove the nervous system interference (subluxation) that blocks a child’s built-in capacity to heal and regulate.
How does Dr. Tony Ebel approach difficult challenges with family or patients?
Dr. Tony describes his approach during Oliver’s health crisis as “50% praying and 50% researching”, not waiting for a spontaneous miracle, but actively asking God to reveal the next path, mentor, or action step. He carries that same framework into how he talks about hard cases in practice. He summarizes it in a phrase that has become central to the podcast: faith plus action equals miracles.
Where can I find a PX Docs practitioner near me?
You can search for a certified Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care provider trained in Dr. Tony’s protocols through the PX Docs Directory. Practitioners in the network have completed Dr. Tony’s postgraduate certification program through Life University’s Postgraduate Department.
Resources & Related Content
- The Perfect Storm Framework, Dr. Tony’s core explanation of how prenatal stress, birth trauma, and early toxin exposure create nervous system dysfunction
- Birth Trauma and Neurological Development, How delivery interventions affect the upper cervical spine and brainstem
- Find a PX Docs Office Near You, PX Docs Directory
- Next Episode: RFK Jr., Autism Controversy, and the Real Science of Healing – PX Docs