Nature heals. The conclusion of many types of mental health practitioners is to increasingly recommend outdoor time in nature over medications to relieve stress and anxiety.  Stress and anxiety are significant culprits in many ailments- pain is worse with increases in either of these two troublesome conditions. At our chiropractic and acupuncture office here in Chapel Hill, NC, we incorporate natural themes throughout the facility to relax the mind and body. Dr. Oskardmay makes helpful suggestions to help you incorporate nature in your life, as well. Our goal to help you feel better naturally.

Chiropractic and acupuncture are natural health alternatives- they provide nature-based options to traditional medications and drug therapies. These hands-on therapies have fewer adverse side effects and provide practical, lasting relief for many conditions.  Dr. Oskardmay depends on skilled palpation and observation of the patient and thorough patient history evaluation to diagnose wherever possible.

Chiropractic perceives the flow of nerve energy through spinal subluxations- rocky impediments and teetering blockages that deprive downstream muscles, organs, and other tissues of nourishing energy. Dr. Oskardmay removes obstacles to healing via the chiropractic manual adjustment to restore nerve flow. As an acupuncturist and chiropractor in Chapel Hills, NC she uses massage techniques to relax and smooth taut muscles to relax the body-mind, reduce sympathetic flight-of-flight overload, and restore natural health.

Acupuncture treatment has many connections with nature, as well. Yin and yang are essential concepts that, generally, relate to the balance of all energies -hot and cold, fast and slow, hard and soft. Channels or meridians recognized by Chinese medicine acupuncture are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The balance and movement of corresponding energies along the meridians reflect regions of imbalance and stagnation, disease, and impairment. Being in nature builds yin, which reduces stress and strengthens the relaxation response. Dr. Oskardmay, like other acupuncturists, uses energetic channels to heal and incorporates natural themes to facilitate the process.

Beyond the outdoors, there are many local businesses with products that aid natural healing.  For instance, Weaver Street Market is a local Food Cooperative with organic foods and herbal remedies and ointments. Fleet Feet Active Feet in Carrboro is a local store that provides client foot evaluation for the best activewear shoe to enhance the outdoor experience. On a smaller scale, Carolina Cairn Company on Etsy sells handmade rock sculptures and other objects to incite relaxation and balance.

Wherever there is natural relaxation, there is a chance for healing. Choose your favorite natural respite to take the edge off; your mind and body will benefit. Call or email our chiropractic and acupuncture offices in Eastowne Hills of Chapel Hill for more information. Call Acupractic today.

Chiropractor Chapel Hill, NC

At Acupractic Natural Healing Center, the chiropractic and acupuncture offices of Dr. Lisa Oskardmay, we heal shoulder and neck pain at its source. A trained chiropractic physician with over 25 years of clinical experience, Dr. Oskardmay has helped thousands of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh residents reduce neck and shoulder pain naturally, without drugs and surgery. We do this as we focus care on the source of the problem. The spine surrounds and protects the spinal cord. When the vertebral column is misaligned and inflamed, the neck and back and distal innervated areas suffer. The shoulder and neck frequently experience pain together because of this connection. At Acupractic Natural Healing Center, the chiropractic and acupuncture offices of Dr. Lisa Oskardmay, we heal shoulder and neck pain at its source. A trained chiropractic physician with over 25 years of clinical experience, Dr. Oskardmay has helped thousands of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh residents reduce neck and shoulder pain naturally, without drugs and surgery.

There are seven spinal segments in the neck and eight cervical nerves. The following discussion relates to the sixth nerve that arises from just above the sixth vertebra. Damage and irritation of this region affect many people. The sixth nerve arising from the lower part of the cervical spine sends nerve input to several vital areas, especially the rotator cuff muscles and muscles of the distal arm. Damage of the sixth cervical nerve from spine subluxation can result in nerve impingement. Subluxation will affect the upper trunk of the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves coming from the lower neck to the shoulder, arms, and hands. The sixth cervical spinal nerve contributes fibers to peripheral nerves, including the long thoracic nerve, the medial and lateral pectoral nerves, the upper and lower scapular nerves, thoracodorsal nerve, medial cutaneous nerve, axillary nerve, and others.

Many people suffer from an impingement of this vital cervical spinal nerve segment due to its position in the delicate neck and overbending or twisting. Dr. Oskardmay understands the cause and implications of neck pain and is able to help with a combination of chiropractic adjustments, massage, and acupuncture.

Irritation of the sixth cervical spinal nerve can affect the function of muscles innervated by the segment via the aforementioned peripheral nerves. For instance, the rotator cuff muscle teres minor allows external rotation of the shoulder, such as throwing a baseball.  The triceps muscle enables us to straighten the arm and extend it backward, such as reaching the car’s back seat. The deltoid muscle is involved in flexion of the shoulder joint and rotating the shoulder inward as in reaching overhead or forward. Loss of any of these motions can indicate irritation of the sixth cervical spinal nerve. Be sure to tell Dr. Oskardmay about any loss of muscle strength as this can mean a level of spinal misalignment she can help fix.

Spinal misalignment and subluxation occur from many causes- spinal injury, overuse, twisting too quickly, sitting in a bent posture, sleep postures, to name a few. Pain in the neck and back at the level of subluxation frequently associates with misalignment, although not always. Additionally, there may be altered sensation- pins and needles, numbness, aches, even sharp pain, along the dermatome and other aspects of the distribution of the affected nerve root. The sensory delivery of the sixth cervical spinal nerve root is the anterior shoulder; many people with irritation of the sixth cervical vertebra level experience altered sensation in that region, though not always. Also, pain stemming from the shoulder joint itself transmits via the sixth cervical nerve root.

A licensed chiropractic physician and acupuncturist, Dr. Oskardmay, uses gentle, effective treatment methods to restore the body to health. Trained in hands-on spinal mobilization and the Activator Technique, she puts your spinal health first and can help reduce pain caused by the spinal disorder and other problems. Additionally, she employs beneficial soft tissue massage and other modalities to enhance treatment goals.

Dr. Oskardmay has helped thousands of Triangle residents learn the cause of their shoulder and arm pain. Contact our office today to see how a chiropractor Chapel Hill, NC locals recommend can help you get back to health today.

Neck Pain Doctor In Chapel Hill, NC

Chiropractic physicians are neuromuscular specialists with emphasis on the spine and nerves. Dr. Oskardmay evaluates each patient’s spinal health as part of a regular treatment plan. She recognizes that each nerve arising from the neck and backbone has the potential to impact particular muscles and organs; each spinal vertebra also impacts posture and back pain. Using careful evaluate she determines where to perform treatment to relieve spinal subluxation and pain.

For instance, the nerve arising in the lower mid-neck region just above the fifth cervical vertebrae is called the fifth cervical spinal nerve. This nerve is part of several larger peripheral nerves that travel to muscles in the neck and shoulder. Misalignment or subluxation of the fifth cervical vertebra that puts pressure on this cervical spinal nerve can impede function of those muscles and cause changes in skin sensation related to the nerve. When you have neck pain or other symptoms such as shoulder irritation or headache, Dr. Lisa Oskardmay can help determine spinal level involvement and she can provide effective gentle treatment.

Peripheral nerves that receive input from the fifth cervical spinal nerve include the dorsal scapular nerve, the long thoracic nerve, the phrenic nerve, the upper trunk of the brachial plexus, and the musculocutaneous nerve. Muscles innervated by these nerves include: the middle scalene muscle that lifts the top ribs, the levator scapalue that elevates the shoulder blade, and the rhomboid muscles that hold the scapula toward the spine. Other muscles include the serratus anterior muscle which is a muscle that attaches the first eight ribs to the scapula, as well as the muscles on the anterior compartment of the arm that flex the arm such as the flexor carpi radialis and palmaris longus muscles, and that flex the wrist and fingers such as the flexor carpi ulnaris and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles. Importantly, the fifth cervical spinal nerve also contributes fibers to the phrenic nerve, involved with breathing.

Irritation of the mid-neck in the region of the fifth cervical spinal nerve has the capacity to affect many areas as described. When there is irritation to the mid-neck either from injury or chronic degeneration, the spinal nerve suffers, and connected muscles and ligament suffer, as well. Patients may notice symptoms such as headache, shoulder bursitis, and imbalance, back muscle tightness, neck pain, arm and hand weakness or problems with the fingers. Dr. Oskardmay treats problem areas using a combination of supportive techniques.

Dr. Oskardmay adjusts spinal misalignment using chiropractic mobilization techniques. Well trained in hands-on spinal adjustments and Activator technique, she will improve vertebral position and stability. Additionally, massage helps to relax tight muscles; Dr. Oskardmay provides therapeutic massage and other beneficial therapies such as cupping and acupuncture as needed, as well, in order to bring balance back to the system.

The fifth cervical spinal nerve is just one of the spinal segments that benefit from chiropractic care. Whenever you or a loved one suffers from pain and other health problem, contact a neck pain doctor in Chapel Hill, NC from Acupractic Natural Healing Center to help get to the root of the problem.