Chiropractor Chapel Hill, NC

At the chiropractic and acupuncture offices of Dr. Lisa Oskardmay, you can expect to receive treatment that helps the body function at its best. That’s in part due to Dr. Oskardmay’s emphasis on attending to the chain of events that happens following injury or illness to one area, impacting other body regions if left untreated. This so-called kinetic chain sequence occurs when a body part such as the shoulder is hip suffers an injury and connected body regions start hurting, such as the neck and hand or back and foot. We’ve all experienced this situation, and we may refer to it as compensation or `favoring` an area. Connected areas deserve equal treatment, however, to heal fully, and pain pills and bed rest may not solve the problem. At Acupratic Natural Healing Center, we recognize the connectedness of kinetic chain parts and take steps to influence healing in these areas.

For instance, hip pain frequently relates to the thigh, knee, and foot trouble. One reason for this is the shared nerve root distribution from the lower lumbar spine to each of these areas. When one area suffers, it sends wrong messages back to the lower lumbar spine, causing that region to disperse altered output to the rest of the lower extremity. Also, hip muscle disease can cause muscles elsewhere to misfire or even suffer inhibition in which they do not work as well. The result of hip pain can be problems such as plantar fasciitis in the feet or patellar tracking problems in the knee. Lateral thigh trigger points and muscle tightness is not uncommon. Additionally, back pain can result from hip trouble, and vice versa due to connected muscle nerve innervation. Chiropractic and acupuncture address these problems very well when there is trouble anywhere along the kinetic chain.

Another commonly witnessed set of factors is shoulder pain that ends up affecting the arm to hand or neck regions. The shoulder derives nerve input from the lower cervical spine and, when deranged, sends altered nerve messages back to this region. The hands, elbows, and arms receive nerve input from the same neck area and suffer from the modified information. Likewise, the shoulder muscles may ache inhibition and jot function as well upon injury of any type, causing imbalance regions downstream in the upper extremity. Trigger points between the shoulder blades, neck pain, even carpal tunnel syndrome, and elbow tenosynovitis are not uncommon following shoulder pain complaints. Dr. Oskardmay understands these connected regions and provides treatment to all connected areas, as needed.

At Acupractic, Dr. Oskardmay will examine and treat active chain regions to help heal the whole body and keep small problems from developing into more significant issues. Using treatments such as chiropractic adjustments to the spine and extremities, acupuncture to involved meridians or trigger points, and massage, she will help get to the source of pain and keep it from progressing. Contact us today to speak with an experienced Chiropractor Chapel Hill, NC residents recommend.

As we are born and travel down the birth canal, our bodies are awash in microbial helpers- bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa that are not of human DNA origin but that help us, nonetheless. Further, inoculation occurs when we kiss another being, roll around in the dirt, hug our pets, eat certain foods, to name a few. Microbes, good and bad, are all around us, and we need to sponsor the best ones to stay healthy. Most of our bacteria live in the large intestine, followed in number by dental plaque, then skin, saliva, small intestine, and stomach.  Each microbe has a function and helps us in specific ways.

For instance, some microbes that we get at birth make lipopolysaccharides stimulate a healthy immune system. Children lacking these microbes may develop allergies and other disorders in more significant numbers late in life. Some bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, are present in large amounts in children said to have sunnier dispositions. Certain strains of C. acnes influence acne and other skin problems. The presence of bacterium Veillonella refects a runner’s ability to recuperate from this exercise via its connection with lactate metabolism. These are just some of the fantastic ways our internal biome influences our health. It is vitally important to take care of this inner garden through healthful daily practices.

When we’re sick and take antibiotics, this knocks out not just the harmful invading bacteria but also the good ones who are responsible for keeping the harmful ones at bay. For this reason, it’s essential to make sure we follow the doctor’s advice on any antibiotics we need to take, and that we follow them up with probiotics to help restore proper microbiome integrity.

Our microbes communicate with each other and us and the outside world in several exciting ways. Using chemicals, they communicate through the bloodstream and nerves, and they send messages through the important vagus nerve from the gut to the brain. The enteric nervous system, so-called `second brain,` present in the stomach may be responsible for our gut reflex. Learn to harness the strength of your inner shield to improve your health into the new year and beyond.

Contact us today to learn more about the Acupuncture Treatment in Chapel Hill, NC  from Acupractic.

Pain is a useful tool our body provides to keep us out of harm’s way and to deal with an injury. Nonetheless, once the incident has passed, many people continue to experience the disruptive sensation of pain despite its lack of usefulness. Why does the perception of pain linger for many, and how can we treat it without disabling and addictive drugs? The most recent January 2020 National Geographic Magazine explored this exciting topic, and I will briefly summarize their findings here. My goal is to help readers understand the pain and to seek nonharmful, adequate pain control treatment where possible. Acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic can help.

Pain is a full-body experience involving not only the region of injury but many other connected pathways. For instance, when you prick your finger, nociceptor neurons (pain receptors) fire and transmit the pan response along nerve axons in the arm through bony vertebrae into the spinal cord. Impulses ascend to the brain and delivered in succession to various parts of the brain: the somatosensory region identifies the source and intensity of the pain, the anterior cortex connects an emotional response to the illness such as anxiety or depression, and the prefrontal cortex blunts the pain experience. Input from the vagus nerve and the gut affects interpretation and response, too. Whole-body treatments such as we use at Acupractic Natural Healing Center seek to heel on many levels in large part because pain is so multifaceted.

The individual response to a painful stimulus varies due to the many pathways involved in the pain arch. Additionally, a person’s emotional temperament and their relationship to their healthcare provider influence their pain response and level of perceived discomfort. If a patient feels understood, they tend to feel better. Additionally, the gut-brain connection is increasingly recognized to have a tremendous impact on pain- what we eat, how we digest things, and the presence of certain bacteria in our digestive tract all affect pain.

Since their blessed discovery in the late 1800s, medications to block pain enabled sufferers relief from disabling pain. Many of the new pills, however, had their problematic side effects in part because they blocked normal body reactions. Long and even short term usage of pain medication have proven problematic to many with side effects such as GI distress, mental confusion, numbness, and addiction. While researchers seek new methods of pain control, doctors scratch their heads to understand the best route to take to help people in pain.

Discoveries include VR, or Virtual Reality wherein users are submerged in a virtual world to combat pain during surgical procedures and even on their own at home. Another technique called Deep Brain Stimulation involves the implantation of electrodes brain tissue areas responsible for pain response transmission. Results thus far are intriguing and may lead the way for better future pain treatment. Studies involving acupuncture, too, have shown the enormous potential of this ancient pain remedy.

Pain is complex- it is not just `in our heads`, and each of us deserves adequate, empowering pain control. At Acupractic, Dr. Oskardmay strives to understand the source of your pain and help your body reduce it using alternative methods, including massage, chiropractic, acupuncture treatment. She has helped thousands of Triangle Residents since 1995 control their pain naturally.

As we enter the new year, each of us thinks about how we can improve on the last year. Some people make New Year Resolutions, most frequently related to health and feeling better. Weight loss is a common goal, but many people fail to lose weight and keep it off, despite their best intentions. At Acupractic Natural Healing Center, we can help you improve your health using weight loss methods such as diet, exercise, balanced nerve input to digestive organs and even ear acupuncture. Weight loss doesn’t have to be a yo-yo experience or even confusing, and it can be a healthy goal for the new year that can be kept.

There are many diet plans available and they can be confusing. For instance, KetoDiet promises weight loss from eating a lot of fat and protein, while the Vegan Diet defines healthy eating without animal products. There’s the Intermittent Fasting Diet plan which seems at odds with the `Eat Three Meals A Day with snacks in between` method of eating most of us were raised with. Other diets that seem to contradict each other include the Paleo Diet, Low-Carb, Low-Fat, DASH diet, Calorie-Restriction Diet, to name a few. When you encounter a new diet plan that interests you, be sure to discuss it with Dr. Oskardmay at your next visit to see how she can help you make sense of any confusing parts. As a licensed chiropractic trained in nutrition, biochemistry and muscle physiology, she understands the factors associated with weight loss. Additionally, she understands that different ways of eating appeal to each of us in alternate ways and our relationship with food is personal.

In addition to food choices, other factors exist that affect body weight. Exercise, posture and body inflammation affect metabolism and weight loss, as does mood and even the time of day one eats. Dr. Oskardmay can help you make the most of these influences. Exercise, for instance, impacts body weight in several ways- the balance between muscle and fat in our body requires maintenance and influences pain, posture, and metabolism. It is important to exercise to be able to attend to daily physical needs and improve health while not over-exercising which can create more disabling inflammation and disrupt body mechanics.

Body posture affects weight loss because it affects respiration and the ability to transform food into energy. Additionally, posture affects spinal pain and nerve flow to vital digestive organs. For instance, nerves midback travel to the stomach, pancreas, and spleen, affecting the digestive abilities of these organs. Nerves from the low back influence the large intestine and other organs of elimination which help us get rid of waste products. As a spine specialist, Dr. Oskardmay can help reduce back pain and help restore good nerve flow to all organs involved in digestion.

Weight loss and good weight maintenance is an achievable goal that deserves attention in the new year and beyond. During your next healthcare visit at our office, be sure to inquire how we can help you lose weight and move into the new year healthier and smarter.

To learn more about Acupuncture Treatment in Chapel Hill, NC, contact us at Acupractic today.

Acupuncture treatment utilizes needle and massage stimulation of body channels that course the system and reach deep inside to effect change. Discovered many years ago and used to treat pain and disease for centuries, acupuncture channel treatment supports genuine self-care. These channels carry all forms of body energies associated with body care: blood, lymph, hormones, nerve impulses, and other energies known and as yet unknown.

Just as none of us yet knows precisely how the body heals itself following an injury or gene mutation or mental pause, each of us depends on the body’s latent, silent and relentless curing of our many ills. We are blissfully unaware of the healing tasks and maintenance occurring within us every minute of every day. When problems arise, however, we may need help to re-invigorate these healing energies. Blockage to our natural forces commonly occurs from injury, chronic posture challenges, food imbalance, overuse, or other forms of stress. Acupuncture works to detect where stagnation of healing qi exists so that measures taken can improve qi flow.

For instance, if you have shoulder pain, one channel blockage frequently involved is that of the metal meridian. Comprised of yin lung and yang large intestine energies, the lung channel affects not only the radial (thumb side) portion of the shoulder, arm, and hand; but also potentially the lung and large intestine organs themselves. Acupuncture treatment designed to motivate healing resources along the metal channel paths heals on all levels and helps keep the lungs and large intestines healthy as well as the shoulders pain-free.

Alternately, a different person with shoulder pain may find that it is due to an imbalance in the fire channel. Associated with yin heart and yang small intestine energies, metal channel imbalance may portray ache or inflammation along the ulnar (pinky side) of the shoulder arms hand complex along with issues like sleep disturbance, mineral absorption problems or heart pain.

There are five main elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, and corresponding yin and yang energies associated with each that affect the upper and lower extremities in unique ways. Additionally, there are other correspondences and natural laws related to the meridians that make it easy for a Licensed Acupuncturist such as Dr. Lisa Oskardmay to identify sources of imbalance and means to correct.

Dr. Lisa Oskardmay starts each visit with a health history, inspection, and examination because this evaluation provides information as to which meridian may be blocked and in need of balance. Be sure to inform Dr. Lisa of any health challenges you currently experience at your initial exam and each follow- up treatment. If you have questions about how acupuncture can help you heal on many levels or to schedule an appointment, contact us at Acupractic today.

Patients who come to our chiropractic and acupuncture office benefit from regular spine examination and treatment. Largely the realm of chiropractic physicians who are spine specialists, vertebral evaluation is a vital concern for all. The spine serves as our posture bearer, is the attachment for most posture muscles, and houses the spinal cord, which is a continuation of our brain. Misalignment of vertebrae poses significant health risks ranging from unstable posture to muscle imbalance, nerve flow impingement, body aches, and pain. Sometimes we are aware that problems exist because of back pain, and we can seek care, but vertebral problems frequently lay dormant. At our office, Dr. Lisa Oskardmay evaluates spinal health at every visit. Be sure to include chiropractic care in your healthcare regimen.

A standard medical examination may not include spinal palpation or Xray or even discussion of posture. Despite the dire consequences of problems in the critical backbone, people who do not receive regular chiropractic care miss out on proper spine evaluation and treatment. Small issues in the spine- spinal misalignment and the start of degeneration mask as a backache that frequently gets ignored or covered up with pain pills. The implications of this cover-up are vast, ranging from nerve flow impediment to posture and muscle imbalance. Pain pills also pose issues such as constipation, liver-kidney congestion, and stupor. Everyone needs good spine care to reduce their risk of falling, and early preventive care is always best. The annual chiropractic posture and spine check-up is the best way to do this.

At our office, patients can choose to come in for a yearly check-up, or they can decide to come in more frequently. At each visit, patients are asked to complete intake forms and describe their current areas of pain and health concern. We use a line called a visual analog scale to help determine pain level, which can reflect how much awareness of pain affects daily life. Dr. Oskardmay inspects posture and spine and extremity range of motion to detect areas of imbalance and abnormal function. She touches or palpates the spine and other body areas to determine regions of sensitivity, structural distortion, and muscle-ligament hypertonicity and laxity. The initial examination takes about 20″. She will recommend treatment for areas of subluxation to correct for misalignment if warranted.

Treatment options for vertebral subluxation include chiropractic adjustment, massage, and other physical modalities. Our Chiropractor in Chapel Hill, NC, Dr. Oskardmay employs gentle chiropractic adjusting methods such as the Activator Technique and can use more traditional techniques such as diversified methods depending on patient preference and condition.

Contact Acupractic Natural Healing Center today to schedule your next physical exam, including spine to check-up. Your backbone supports you and deserves the best care available. We are here for you.

Bone spurs result from chronic osteoarthritis at body joints. Common locations include the spine and the feet. Back pain and foot pain from bone spurs have serious health implications that benefit from acupuncture treatment. At our clinic, Dr. Oskardmay uses a combination of treatments to help reduce inflammation and pain naturally and help restore balance and better health on many levels.

When you contact Acupractic Natural Healing Center to schedule your first appointment, we have you complete intake forms describing problem areas. If you have bone spurs, foot, or back pain, be sure to include this information on the information sheet. Dr. Oskardmay starts every patient encounter with the examination; bone spurs, however chronic, deserve attention, so be sure to inform Dr. Lisa about these. Many people assume that because they’ve had bone spurs for a long time that nothing can be done for them. However, Acupuncture and massage can help reduce inflammation naturally and restore posture and mobility from the feet up.

Osteoarthritis refers to the degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone. The result of chronic inflammation, this painful condition typically starts in middle age and can progressively worsen if untreated. Treatment can include anti-inflammatories, moderate exercise, weight loss, and other stress-reduction measures. Dr. Oskardmay can help you determine which treatment methods are best suited for you. Over time, the bony erosion that accompanies long term joint inflammation causes the bony outgrowths we call bone spurs. We can generally see bone spurs with x-ray or other imaging techniques; palpation and patient history suggest their presence.

Bone spurs can deform joints and irritate nearby structures such as nerves, ligaments, and other attachments. Joint deformity changes the appearance of the body and results in flexibility. Resulting ligament and cartilage destruction destabilize regions affected, affecting balance and strength. Early detection of the accompanying issues is helpful, and Dr. Lisa can help you work on these concerns using health coaching, exercise, and nutrition. Additionally, she can use Acupuncture to direct healing energy to body areas and reduce stress and inflammation naturally.

While treatment at Acupractic will not eliminate bone spurs, using Acupuncture and other techniques, Dr. Lisa can work to reduce their impact on body posture and functioning. Acupuncture treatment can help reduce pain naturally, which can help reduce dependence on pain medications and other drugs, many of which have negative side-effects such as sensory distortion, which increase the risk of falling and reduce overall body awareness.

The goal of acupuncture treatment is to improve the flow of energy in the body and mind. Ask Dr. Oskardmay about how Acupuncture can help you or a loved one reduce the pain and instability caused by bone spurs, or how treatment can help reduce inflammation and body stress.