The elbow and wrist share nerve innervation from the lower neck; when there are pain and subluxation of the inferior cervical spine, the wrist and elbow frequently suffer. Additionally, muscles covering the back affect shoulder range of motion because the trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles attach to the shoulder and back. When there is a problem in these back muscles it will affect the shoulder, elbow and wrist complex. Dr. Oskardmay adjusts each of these body areas on each visit because of this important connection. Full body adjustment helps to relieve pain and keep it from coming back.

Nerves from the lower cervical spine travel to the shoulder, arm, and hands, carrying muscle and sensory information back and forth. Irritation in the neck from conditions like arthritis or neck injury affects the ability of these cervical nerves to function and precious nerve transmission suffers. Problems in distal regions such as the shoulder, elbow, and wrist can suffer. Dr. Oskardmay uses the chiropractic adjustment to restore vertebral positioning and reduce neck pain, positively affecting distal joints. Problems such as carpal tunnel, tennis elbow and stenosing tenosynovitis benefit from improved nerve transmission from the neck to those areas.

Additionally, at each visit, Dr. Oskardmay will determine if the back muscles or other spine regions have contributed to the shoulder-elbow-wrist complex pain. The upper back, especially, is a rich source of irritation and can contribute to wrist elbow pain because the muscles of the upper back are main shoulder movers. Tightness and pain in the muscle between the shoulder blades, for instance, affect the ability of these muscles to do their job; this affects elbow and wrist pain. Dr. Oskardmay adjusts these vital areas and soothes the muscles with muscles, physical therapy, and acupuncture when needed.

The eight small carpal bones comprising the wrist can be a source of wrist pain, as well. These bones confer tremendous flexibility and fitness to the wrist but can be the source of tremendous irritation when any one of them is injured. Wrist bone injury can come from too much typing or writing, doing downward dog in yoga, or numerous other activities that involve the wrist. Injury to the elbow can occur from tennis or other motions that impact the joint; even sleeping posture can affect the elbow joint. Dr. Oskardmay will assess these joints to determine if they are the source of the problem and use extremity adjustment techniques to restore proper motion. She will massage and apply physical therapy to soothe irritation in connected muscles, as well, helping to heal on many levels.

When you have wrist and elbow pain, be sure to let Dr. Oskardmay know because she can help. Pain and irritation anywhere in the body affect all areas and you deserve to be pain-free and function at your physical and mental best.

To learn more about chiropractic and Acupuncture Treatment in Chapel Hill, NC, contact Acupractic Natural Healing today.

When you come in for a consultation at the healthcare offices of Dr. Lisa Oskardmay, one question she may ask you is, ‘how does your home feel?’. Do your surroundings promote creativity and warmth, or do you live with too much clutter, noise, and drama to allow for these critical components of good mental and physical health?  We strive to bring clarity and fullness to your healthcare experience at Acupractic Natural Healing Center, and it is vital to recognize and acknowledge the impact of your surroundings to achieve this.

There are several decorator methods people use to make their spaces work better for them. For instance, Feng shui is the art of home and office decoration to influence the flow of qi. The goal of this ancient art is to promote the free flow of qi, quite the same purpose as acupuncture treatment and chiropractic spine balancing. It may be empowering to the reader to learn and accept the benefits of Feng Shui’s most fundamental principles as they strive to improve their health and stay healthy. One need not hire expensive feng shui expert decorators or employ foreign decorative motifs such as dragons and Bagua mirrors to achieve the goals of essential room balance. Changes may be subtle, but the harmony they instill will be palpable.

Whatever organization method you choose, start with thoughtfulness and the removal of unnecessary energy pools.   At the entrance to each building or room, you want to consider, think about the purpose of that space- do you want to instill warmth and comfort, protection and stability, or creativity and vibrancy? You can use color to impart that primary goal, such as wall color or floor rugs or even wall hangings. Soothing colors such as muted brown, yellow, pink, or green can promote comfort, whereas deep blue or forest green may instill trust. Clashing tones or bright colors can invigorate the senses. Specific color choices affect the feeling you get when you encounter them, so use that.

Clutter is the enemy of energy movement and should be dispensed with at every opportunity. Look around to identify where piles of stuck energy exist in your surroundings-is the entrance to your home or office cluttered with debris? Do you have a bunch of papers on your dining room table? Piles of laundry in disarray on your floor? Dirty dishes in the sink? Are your cabinets cluttered with unidentifiable items? Is your car a mess? Pick one area at a time to unclutter to free up mental energy. You may want to engage the help of a friend or organizer or even a feng shui consultant to help you. Goodwill, 1800GOTJUNK, and Habitat for Humanity can also help to remove more substantial items.

Another critical component of space balance is furniture placement. People are more comfortable when they sit or work with solid surfaces behind them. Try to place chairs and workstations in such a way to support this so that doors and even large windows are not behind them. Also, angle chairs so that people can talk comfortably but not be directly opposed to each other.

Good health starts in your mind. Your intention and thoughtfulness inspire improvements in many ways. Recognize the impact your surroundings have on your mental and physical health and use change to promote balanced, uncluttered harmonious surroundings to see that in yourself.

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.