There once was a time when Dr. Bradford Cotten and Dr. Ron Register were just two young guys, growing up in Albany, spending their weekends together hunting and fishing on the rivers around southwest Georgia.  

Cotten’s father,  Dr. Bennett D. Cotten, Jr.  an orthopedic surgeon in their hometown, was also a constant role model in their lives; watching over them and setting an example of how quality medical care in a rural area of the state was important to a community.  

After graduating from college and spending time in medical sales, the guys would make a pact to go to   school to be chiropractors. Cotten’s father was a big part of the pact; joining in to help build their business and offer extra services that you don’t usually find in a chiropractic clinic.  

My dad had the vision,” Cotten explains. “He was going to come in and practice with us. The idea was to be unique in our services.” 

That idea was hatched in 2012. Unfortunately for the young soon-to-be doctors, Cotten’s father passed away in 2013.  

Cotten and Register regrouped and finished their educations and set off to make their patriarch’s vision become a reality in Albany. 

On April 24, the guys opened Southern Spine and Health in Albany.  They offer medical  convenient care, chiropractic care, physical therapy, massage therapy, medical weight loss, DOT and school physicals, allergy testing with immunotherapy and many other services.

The majority of clinics don’t have what we have,” Cotten says. “You can come in and we offer a host of services in house—it’s a one stop shop.  We offer a quick, convenient healthcare for the southwest Georgia community.

“It’s nice to have so many services under one roof where we as providers can collaborate with each other to better serve the patient’s needs. By having medical care and chiropractic care along with physical therapy and massage therapy as well as so many other services we can better serve each patient.”  

And both doctors say they don’t want patients to have to wait or drive around town for all these services.  And as their new practice grows, they want to offer even more medical services and open more locations to better serve the community. 

With us, you can get good quick, convenient care—we are located in a central part of town and we have short wait times. We want good quality care, but also efficient care.” 

Register agrees and says their main goal is “to bring more convenient services to southwest Georgia.” 

The business also represents a legacy they want to build upon in their hometown.  

We are living our dream,” Cotten says. “Before Dad passed away, he told us to get keep going. And,  now we’re back home and in a community we care about. We are looking forward to providing good  quality care to Southwest Georgia.”