Newark Chiropractor
Dr. Jessica Cortellino, D.C.
UD graduate and Palmer Florida doctor who trained inside Pure Wellness and now practices in Newark.
Dr. Jessica Cortellino has served Pure Wellness patients since 2018 after chiropractic training at Palmer College in Florida and a preceptorship with the practice. She holds a B.S. in Health Behavior Science from the University of Delaware.
She uses Diversified, Gonstead, SOT, and Activator at the Newark clinic.
Patients describe a doctor who explains the plan and treats kids and adults with the same exam-driven model as the rest of the group.
Where Jessica practises
Jessica practises out of a single Pure Wellness office, which keeps your file, your imaging, and your treating doctor in one building rather than spread across the state.
What Jessica treats
The complaints with the most reps on this schedule are family wellness; personalized plans. Alongside those, Jessica handles the everyday spinal and extremity work any general chiropractic practice sees — the stiff neck that will not turn, the low back that seized lifting something ordinary, the shoulder that has quietly stopped reaching overhead. Each link below opens the statewide write-up for that condition: what actually causes it, what an exam looks for, and when chiropractic is the wrong answer.
How Jessica adjusts
“Chiropractic” is not one procedure. The methods below are the ones Jessica is trained in, and the exam decides which of them you get. If a forceful adjustment is wrong for your age, your bone density, or an acutely inflamed joint, there is a low-force option that reaches the same joint a different way — you should be told which one you are getting and why before anyone touches you.
Diversified
The most widely taught hands-on adjustment in chiropractic, and the method most people picture when they think of seeing a chiropractor.
What it feels like: A quick, shallow thrust delivered by hand to a specific joint. You often hear a pop — that is gas releasing from the joint capsule, not bones cracking — and the whole contact lasts a fraction of a second.
Used for: Restoring motion to a spinal or extremity joint that has stopped moving through its normal range. It is the default starting point for most low back, mid back, and neck complaints.
Gonstead
A precision system that spends far more time on analysis than on the adjustment itself.
What it feels like: Before anything is adjusted, the doctor reads your posture, palpates the spine, checks skin temperature along the spinal nerves, and reviews films. The adjustment that follows is a single specific contact, usually with you seated or lying on your side.
Used for: Patients who want to know exactly which segment is being treated and why, and cases where a general adjustment has not held.
Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT)
A low-force system that treats the pelvis and the base of the skull as two ends of one mechanical chain.
What it feels like: Padded wedges are placed under the pelvis and your own body weight does the work over several minutes. There is little or no thrusting.
Used for: Pelvic torsion, sacroiliac pain, headaches that trace back to pelvic mechanics, and patients who do not tolerate a forceful adjustment.
Activator Methods
Instrument adjusting using a small spring-loaded tool that delivers a measured, repeatable impulse.
What it feels like: A light tap. There is no twisting, no popping, and no sudden movement of your body — which is why it is often the first thing we offer to nervous patients.
Used for: Older patients, osteoporosis, acute inflamed joints, children, and anyone who tenses up at the thought of a manual adjustment.
Education
- Palmer College of Chiropractic, Florida — Doctor of Chiropractic
- University of Delaware — B.S. Health Behavior Science
- Preceptorship at Pure Wellness
Associations
- Licensed in Delaware
- National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
- Delaware Chiropractic Services Network
Patients
“I've been taking my daughter here for at least a year. She sees Dr. Jess and we love her.”
Booking with Dr. Jessica Cortellino, D.C.
Where does Dr. Jessica Cortellino practise?
Jessica sees patients at Pure Wellness Newark, 550 Stanton Christiana Rd Ste 302, Newark ((302) 365-5470). Appointments are booked through the clinic, not through a personal line.
What techniques does Dr. Jessica Cortellino use?
Diversified, Gonstead, SOT, Activator. Which one you get is decided by the exam — age, bone density, whether a disc is involved, and how much force you can comfortably tolerate all change the answer.
What does Jessica treat most often?
Family wellness; Personalized plans. Beyond those, Jessica sees the full range of spinal and extremity complaints that come into a general chiropractic practice.
How long is a first visit with Dr. Jessica Cortellino?
Plan on 60 to 90 minutes. That covers history, orthopedic and neurological testing, measured range of motion, and a conversation about what the findings mean before any treatment starts. Follow-up visits are considerably shorter.
Does Jessica take my insurance?
Pure Wellness works with most major plans and will verify your specific benefits before your first appointment so there are no surprises. Send your details through the insurance verification form or call (302) 365-5470 and the front desk will check it for you.
Can I see Jessica for an auto accident or work injury?
Yes. Injury cases are documented to the standard that insurers and attorneys require, which means measured findings and scheduled re-examinations rather than a generic treatment note. Mention the crash or the incident when you book so the first visit is scheduled with enough time.