Combining both her chiropractic and naturopathic expertise, Andrea Emde aims to provide a holistic approach to ensuring her patients are healthy.  

“You can have all the fancy stuff, but if your basic health is struggling, you can’t go anywhere,” Emde, a licensed physician, said. “Health is the ultimate wealth.” 

Originally from Northern Washington, Emde opened Base Vitality, off U.S. 93 in North Kalispell, on April 1. The daughter of a chiropractor and a massage therapist, Emde said she grew up with a holistic view of health, which inspired her to pursue a career helping others using an all-encompassing approach.  

“It’s about getting better and feeling healthy,” Emde said. “It makes a difference.”   

Emde went to Washington State University to get her undergraduate degree in biology and then went on to pursue her naturopathic doctor degree from Bastyr University. During that program, she fell in love with chiropractic. 

She decided that once she finished her naturopathic degree, she would earn her doctor of chiropractic degree, which she did at the University of Western States.  

After finishing her education in 2020 and moving to the Flathead Valley in 2021 to pursue her career, she worked for another chiropractor for four years, but always knew that she wanted to start her own practice.  

“I wanted to be able to integrate both of the degrees, to be able to practice the way I wanted,” Emde said. “And with Base Vitality I can do that.” 

Emde chose the name Base Vitality to highlight the importance of the work she does. To do the things people want to do, to improve athletically or structurally, requires base health. A healthy body can go on to do more.  

“I wanted [the name] to trigger self-reflection... you have to establish your baseline health to reach your potential,” she said.  

That’s her favorite thing about her job, she said, helping people reach a point where they can do more. It’s rewarding when a patient comes in, bent over in pain, and leaves with a new jump in their step. She hears success stories of people doing the things that they couldn’t do while they were in pain, like holding a grandchild or going on a hike.  

On the chiropractic side, Emde offers full spinal chiropractic care, including extremities. On the naturopathic side, Emde specializes in hormone optimization and injections for chronic joint pain.  

From arthritis injections to allergy testing to hormone optimization to nutritional counseling to B12 injections, Emde’s naturopathic side of her practice is expansive to best treat an individual. At the core of Base Vitality, Emde said, is individualized care.  

By assessing the patient as a whole, Emde can address the main concern but also help clients live a life pain free.  

“We do all of this by offering an evidence-based approach to chiropractic care by utilizing chiropractic manipulation, soft-tissue techniques, therapeutic rehabilitation, and a variety of chiropractic services to help achieve your health goals,” Emde said. 

The clinic has one exam room, but plans are to one day expand to include space where multiple practitioners of different skills could come in to create a one-stop shop for all things holistic health care.  

For more information, visit basevitality.com or call 406-220-5058.  The clinic is located at 103 Ponderosa Lane in Kalispell.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected]. 

    Base Vitality, located off of U.S. 93, offers a holistic approach to care. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)