Neck stiffness and/or upper thoracic (upper back) pain is very common and can be caused by a number of different reasons. Sleeping on a pillow that’s too flat or too fluffy can cause neck stiffness or upper back pain. A car accident, even a minor fender bender, can cause neck stiffness or upper back pain. Spending too much time hunched…
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YWTL for Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain is one of the most common problems I see in my office. In my experience, if arthritis, ligament/tendon damage, and a torn rotator cuff is ruled out, shoulder pain is always a result of a misaligned C1, C2, and/or 1st rib. But can anything be done about it before, and until, you see a chiropractor? Actually, yes. A…
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DIY Gentle Cervical Home Rehab
If you’ve followed me on social media for a little while, you know that I talk about reversing the amount of flexion our bodies undertake on a daily basis, i.e. sitting hunched in front of a computer or staring down at the phone for long periods of time. I won’t get into ergonomics like I have in the past, but…
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Black History Month in Chiropractic
Black history in the chiropractic profession is a very obscure subject. 95% of what I’m sharing here, I only learned in the last two days. I found these tidbit both interesting and eye-opening. Hopefully you do, too. Enjoy! 1.) Harvey Lillard was an African American owner/operator of a janitorial business in the Ryan building in Davenport, IA where DD Palmer…
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Headaches & Why You Get Them
Everyone gets headaches at some time or another in their life—some more frequently than others, and some more intensely than others. Headaches are classified as primary or secondary. Examples of primary headaches are tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches. There are a lot of moving parts as to how and why primary headaches occur, but no one-size-fits-all reason that fits…
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How & Why A Specific Chiropractic Adjustment Can Lower High Blood Pressure
A 2007 study in the Journal of Human Hypertension proved that a specific chiropractic adjustment of the C1 vertebra (aka Atlas) lowered blood pressure significantly. In the 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 25 hypertensive patients received a specific upper cervical chiropractic adjustment via the NUCCA (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association) method and another 25 hypertensive patients received sham adjustments. The NUCCA…
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Dr. Gonstead Said it Best!
Want to know what kind of chiropractor I am? Want to know how I practice chiropractic? Want to know what kind of chiropractor I had already decided I wanted to be before I ever got into chiropractic school? The answer to all those questions is… The kind of chiropractor Dr. Gonstead described above. THIS is the chiropractor I am, this…
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Instant Gratification + Your Health = Bad Health
Get rich quick. 0% down, 100% financing. Lose 10 lbs in one weekend. Take a painkiller to dull that pain. Gain 20 lbs of muscle in one month. Get a gastric bypass to lose 100 lbs in four months. Get a liposuction with your c-section like all the movie stars. Our society is all about instant gratification. What’s in it…
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The Drill Instructor Named “Pain”
Pain is always honest, and brutally so. It demands attention, and if you don’t give it the attention it’s asking for, it will scream louder. And louder! AND LOUDER UNTIL YOU LISTEN!!! If you’re running, and you begin feeling a sharp pain at the side of your knee that travels around to underneath your kneecap, stop. More than likely, your…
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Chiropractor or Facilitator?
Every time someone gets up off the adjusting table, I hear things like “You fixed me!”, “You healed me!”, “You’re a miracle worker!”, and my personal favorite “You’re a magician!” But, none of that is true. Yes, I am a licensed chiropractor, but the truth of it is I’m just a facilitator. Each of us has an innate intelligence inside…
