by vicakbb | Apr 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
Have you ever fallen down? Fallen out of a tree? Been hit in the head or face with a hard object? Run into another person?
Have you ever been in an auto accident? Motorcycle accident? Bicycle accident? Quad accident?
Have you ever been knocked out? Knocked “silly”? Had your bell rung? Lost consciousness for a few seconds or even longer?
These types of accidents (and many more!) often result in an extreme shaking of the head, often violent, known as a “concussion.” The symptoms of a concussion have been known for some time. They are: headache, disorientation, amnesia, poor balance, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, memory loss, fatigue, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light or sound, slurred speech, and loss of concentration.
Concussion detection is all the rage now, especially with regards to sports. Athletes both old and young are being pre-tested and checked and tested again and again for possible damage. The problem, unfortunately, is not just short-term because it has been discovered that injured brain tissue degenerates over time and may begin its degeneration months, years, or even decades after the last impacts occurred.
In the movie, “Concussion”, Will Smith played the part of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the doctor who finally documented the long-term traumatic effects of professional football. The name Dr. Omalu gave to this type of trauma is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE.
The symptoms of CTE are memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, suicidal thoughts, and progressive dementia.
So…who am I and why am I writing this paper on concussions? My name is Dr. Joel Vickers, and I am a Doctor of Chiropractic who specializes in Applied Kinesiology (AK). It would be helpful if you also read my article, “Muscle Weakness From Trauma” to better understand what I am about to tell you regarding concussions and concussion therapies.
At best, our ability to detect a concussion has been shortened to five years after the final concussive event. However, there are no “cures” or “fixes” for concussions in the medical establishment. There are no new “therapies” or “exercises” that can offset the damage that has been done. Those who have gone to “concussion clinics” have left mildly hopeful and yet worried what the future may hold.
It may surprise you that there is hope for concussive events, and it may be found in a combination of Applied Kinesiology muscle balancing with proper nutritional support tailored to the individual’s needs.
Applied Kinesiologists have, for decades, been turning on and balancing muscles that have been weakened from traumas of all types. They also have been realigning the bones that have shifted out of position due to trauma. This includes the muscles and bones of the head and neck.
When the muscles of the head and neck are traumatized and subsequently weakened following trauma, this causes an imbalance within these muscles that can cause blood flow to and from the brain to be inhibited. As well, lymphatic drainage is minimized and waste products begin to build up in and around the brain tissue. This causes the normal healing time to be dramatically slower…or it doesn’t take place at all! We see the same long-term results in auto accident victims with many of the same symptoms as concussion patients.
Just as important, proper nutritional support assists the body in the healing process, which can take place fully when the muscles and bones are fully functioning and in their proper alignment.
If you or someone you know has undergone trauma to their head and neck with one or more of the concussion symptoms listed above, send them to me, Dr. Vickers at Vickers AK Chiropractic and let me help their body heal properly and quickly! Call now at (616) 738-1200.
by vicakbb | Apr 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
Hi! My name is Dr. Joel Vickers. I am a Doctor of Chiropractic and I specialize in a diagnostic technique known as Applied Kinesiology.
Many people aren’t familiar with the history of Chiropractic and don’t know that this profession was originally founded in 1896…after helping a person with hearing loss! In the early 1900’s, people flocked to Chiropractors to get help with their ulcers, heart and lung problems, bowel disorders, blood sugar issues, etc.
With the advent of “modern medicine”, less people are turning to Chiropractors for help with their organ dysfunction. However, it is well-documented that subluxations of the spine (misaligned vertebrae) which Chiropractors correct, can stretch or pinch nerves that cause nervous interference and subsequent organ dysfunction.
Every organ in your body is related to one or more muscles. This is called the “muscle-organ relationship”. If an organ is diseased or doesn’t function as it should, the muscles that are related to that organ reflexively may be weakened. Conversely, your muscles also help to move lymph out of the organs they’re related to and if you have a muscle that’s been weakened due to trauma then it cannot assist the organ with lymphatic drainage. A few examples of the muscle-organ relationship are:
Stomach Pectoralis Major Chest, Back
Gall Bladder Popliteus muscle Knee
Heart Subscapularis muscle Shoulder, Arm
Lungs Deltoid muscle Shoulder, Arm
Thymus Gland Infraspinatus muscle Shoulder, Arm
Adrenal Glands Sartorius muscle Back, Knee
Relating the muscle-organ relationship to the above organs and their related muscles, it is easy to see how a person with ulcers might have chest or upper back pain; a gall bladder problem may cause knee pain; a heart attack might cause chest pain; or an adrenal weakness could cause low back or knee pain.
An Applied Kinesiologist’s therapies include techniques that can help with a variety of organ dysfunctions. There are various reflex points that Applied Kinesiologists can use that, when stimulated, can help an organ heal itself faster. A few examples are:
-Reflex points that help increase blood flow to an organ. This increased blood flow increases the speed at which the nutrients move into an organ. This is important since restricted blood flow to an organ makes it more difficult to heal it quickly, regardless of your nutritional status. (Think “clogged water pipes”)
-Reflex points that help with lymphatic drainage from an organ. This includes waste products from the cells of the organ. This is important since lymphatic back-up makes it more difficult for the good stuff (the nutrition you eat) to enter the cells to heal them. (Think “clogged drain”)
It is important to understand that these types of therapies work best if the patient is following a diet that is conducive to healing. Those who are already in a nutrition program here at this facility are perfect candidates for Applied Kinesiology diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that support these types of programs.
If you suspect your organs could use a “boost” in their healing process, come see me, Dr. Joel Vickers, at Vickers AK Chiropractic and I will help your body heal your organs as quickly as possible! Call now at (616) 738-1200.
by vicakbb | Apr 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
Scoliosis is a curve in the spine that normally shouldn’t be there. If it occurred at birth it is called “congenital scoliosis” and it is due to your genetic makeup. If it happened later in life, it is called “idiopathic scoliosis” which means its cause is unknown.
My name is Dr. Joel Vickers and I specialize in Applied Kinesiology. I use “AK” as my primary diagnostic tool to correct muscles that have been turned off via trauma. Because muscles move bones and hold them in their proper alignment, AK is a unique diagnostic system to help correct muscular imbalances that can cause misalignments of any one of the 204 bones of the human body. For example, these misalignments may produce curvatures and rotations of the spine, which can affect one or more vertebrae.
In idiopathic scoliosis, AK treatments can really make a structural difference in these patients. They usually have had some jolts, jars, or falls in their life resulting in muscular imbalances. (Think gymnasts, cheerleaders, soccer players, etc.) Not all muscles attach to the spine and hold it in its proper alignment, but those that do, (when weakened through trauma) will allow the spine to move away from them. Thus, looking at someone’s back, a curve to the left usually means muscles on the right side are in a weakened state and are allowing the vertebrae to move away from them. In most cases of idiopathic scoliosis, the abnormal curves in their spines can be corrected.
In congenital scoliosis, the curvatures in their spines are basically set for life and cannot be changed. However, the owners of said spines can still have muscles turned off via trauma. In other words, not all back pain of a patient with scoliosis is caused simply because they have the diagnosis of scoliosis. Patients with congenital scoliosis may also slip, fall, get in auto accidents, have sporting injuries, etc. and they need their muscles turned back on just like the rest of humanity.
I can help with scoliosis…regardless of the diagnosis. Call Vickers AK Chiropractic at (616) 738-1200, and let me stabilize or totally correct your spinal curvatures!
by vicakbb | Apr 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
How many times have you heard someone say that!
Every joint in the body has muscles that cross the joints that (hopefully) are balanced enough to keep them aligned. There are 650 muscles that move 200 bones and hold these bones in their proper alignment. By “proper alignment” I mean they are aligned in such a way that the ends of the bones, i.e., the joints, fit perfectly together.
What happens if they’re not lined up the way your genes dictate that they should be aligned? These misalignments cause pain because they have become inflamed! “Arthros” is a Greek word that means “joint” and “-itis” is a suffix that means “inflammation of”. In other words…
YOU HAVE ARTHRITIS IN YOUR KNEE!
Do your joints need long-term support in the form of tape, straps and harnesses? Do your joints need anti-inflammatory drugs and steroid shots to dull the pain you are experiencing? Though helpful, these are all short-term fixes to a problem that requires specific treatments. And if left this way, with no muscle balancing done for your knees, you may eventually need your knee replaced!
Hi! My name is Dr. Joel Vickers. I specialize in Applied Kinesiology, which means…I turn muscles on that have been weakened through trauma! Jolts, jars, falls, and accidents of all kinds can overstretch and turn these muscles off. There are twenty therapeutic techniques I can use to turn on and balance these muscles that have been turned off. Once properly turned on, they should stay turned on for life…or until you traumatize and weaken the muscles again, in which case you will need to come in and get them turned on again.
Call Vickers AK Chiropractic at (616) 738-1200 and let me help your knees function the way you need them to function!
by vicakbb | Apr 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
A good part of my practice is spent helping restore normal biomechanical function to those persons who have made the decision to push their bodies athletically. Sports such as soccer, rugby, lacrosse, basketball and football come to mind when one thinks of sports that include high-force impacts to the body. Less impactful (but equally injured) are the athletes who lift weights, play baseball or softball, ski, bowl, play tennis, run or throw in track events and run cross country.
These include (but are not limited to): elementary age school children who have injured themselves on the playground during recess, high school athletes who want to perform better than their peers, college athletes who would like a shot at professional sports, middle-age athletes who compete in local and national recreational leagues, to the elderly who want to exercise because they know it is healthy and that it can extend their life as well as their quality of life.
Typical injuries I see in my practice are:
-head and neck injuries, including concussions
-shoulder, wrist, and forearm injuries
-upper, middle, and lower back injuries
-knee and ankle injuries
My name is Dr. Joel Vickers and I specialize in a diagnostic technique known as Applied Kinesiology (or “AK”). Through AK diagnostic techniques, I am able to determine which muscles have been turned off via trauma…and then I turn them back on. This is completely different from the care rendered by athletic trainers and physical therapists. Call Vickers AK Chiropractic at (616) 738-1200 and make an appointment with me so I can help you move past your athletic injuries to reach your true potential as an athlete.
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