How We Help YOU through the use of holistic and integrative therapies

Listed below are the different techniques and methods we practice in our office to promote your body's ability to function wholly and properly. Use the drop down list for more details on each topic and how they can help.

Our Practitioner’s Specialties

  • Dr. Kristin Shiver

    Specializing in Methylation, Applied Kinesiology, Allergy Testing, Chiropractic Care, Muscle Testing, Neuro-Emotional Technique (NET)

  • Dr. Dean Chance

    Specializing in Applied Kinesiology, Allergy Testing, Chiropractic Care, Muscle Testing, Neuro-Emotional Technique (NET), Webster Technique

  • Dr. Douglas Guilbault

    Specializing in ART (Active Release Therapy), Rehabilitation, Myofascial Release, Webster Technique, Cupping, Chiropractic Care

  • Shauna Nettles

    Methylation, Muscle Testing, Bioresonance Treatments

We provide care for the following:

Allergies (Environmental, Food Sensitivities)

Autoimmune Conditions

Digestive Issues

Dizziness and Vertigo

Pregnancy

Plantar Fasciitis

Auto Injuries

Headaches and Migraines

Fibromyalgia

Neurology

Pediatrics

Emotional Conditions

Sports Injuries

Sciatica

Hormones

Nutrition

THERAPIES WE PROVIDE

  • Active Release Technique, or ART, is a soft tissue massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. It focuses on breaking up adhesions that are causing pain.

    Many patients will feel results after only one visit and have their problem resolved by four sessions of ART!

    Common issues that ART can help with are:

    Back Pain, Carpal Tunnel, Hip Pain, Knee Pain, Sciatica, Strains/Sprains, Bursitis, Frozen Shoulder, Joint Pain, Migraines, Tennis Elbow

    Common occupations and activities that result in soft tissue injury:

    Athletes (both professional and amateur); Labor-intensive jobs (delivery drivers, mechanics, construction workers, etc.); Office workers or people who sit for most of their work day

    Oftentimes, individuals involved in auto accidents will also have soft tissue injury that can be relieved with this technique.

  • It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

  • What is BioScan SRT (Stress Reduction Testing)?

    BioScan is a safe, painless, non-invasive technology which combines the disciplines of Acupuncture, Biofeedback and Homeopathy with Laser Light technology to help the body return to a balanced state and heal itself.

    It works by scanning the body’s organ systems and functions for imbalances and stressors such as food sensitivities, pollens, toxins, chemicals, etc. and then provides an accurate and objective report.

    Additionally, the BioScan, with the help of cold laser light, can then alter the body’s negative response from negative to neutral so that symptoms are reduced or in some cases eliminated.

    What is the standard BioScan vs the extended?

    The standard scan includes 100 different body parts, 47 different allergen groups, and 24 meridians. It does include laser treatment of the imbalanced items found in the scan. Cost $60

    The Extended BioScan includes the standard Bioscan plus Bach flowers (emotions), heavy metals, mycotoxins, and microorganisms, (bacteria/viruses/parasites). Cost $90

    What is frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM)?

    Frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM) is a technique for treating pain by using low-level electrical current. The current is delivered to certain parts of your body in an attempt to relieve pain.

    A frequency is the rate at which a sound wave or electronic pulse is produced. This measurement is registered in hertz (Hz). During FSM treatment, various frequencies can be used to potentially reduce swelling (inflammation), repair tissue and reduce pain.

  • For many of our patients with more complex cases, our practitioners might require lab work or imaging to be done so that we can confirm a suspected diagnosis or better assist patients on their road to health and wellness. We often refer out to Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp when we need blood work done, but are more than happy to refer to a clinic that is in network with your insurance.

    MRI and X-ray imagining is another component to functional lab testing. Your practitioners will discuss this with you if they believe it may be necessary to obtain a more in depth look at a certain area that is causing you pain. For these labs we refer out to Highfield MRI, Titan MRI, Doctors Imaging Group, and Invision at North Florida hospital.

  • The latest research into our genetic makeup has given us great insight into the true causes of chronic diseases. Armed with this information, we can begin to help our bodies work optimally like they are supposed to. We do that by giving it support where we may be lacking nutrients due to genetic variants. This simple concept has dramatic effects on overall health.

    We achieve this by using specialized test vials and muscle testing to tell us which chemical pathways in your body are blocked in combination with your individual genetic make-up results from Ancestry.com. These nutrigenomic tests help us understand “why” we see certain symptoms by pinpointing the exact SNPs (altered genes) located on each individual pathway that undermine the body’s ability to perform certain health tasks.

    The Methylation Cycle is a group of biochemical pathways that manages or contributes to a wide range of crucial bodily functions, including: detoxification, immune function, maintaining DNA, energy production, mood balancing and controlling inflammation.

    All of these processes help the body respond to environmental stressors, detoxify, adapt and rebuild. Therefore, lowered methylation function may contribute to many major chronic conditions, including: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, adult neurological conditions, autism, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, miscarriages/fertility problems, allergies, immune system problems, digestive problems, mood/psychiatric disorders, and aging.

    Methylation is involved in almost every bodily biochemical reaction, and occurs billions of times every second in our cells. That’s why figuring out where the cell can better perform its tasks contributes to health improvement and reduces symptoms.

    Results from Ancestry.com generally take 4-6 weeks to return. Once we have your “raw data” from these companies, we put that data through a “filter” and pull our information that can help us design a nutritional program specifically designed for you.

    The initial evaluation is approximately one hour and follow-up evaluations are 30 minutes. The evaluations are focused on nutrition only. A separate appointment should be made for adjustments or any other type of work. It is recommended to do follow-up evaluations once per month for 2-3 months and then most likely every 2-3 months thereafter. This frequency may go up or down depending on your stress factors, dietary changes, toxin exposure, etc.

    Methylation Session Pricing

    First session (one hour): $246.00 (includes analysis of genetic information)

    Follow-up sessions (half hour): $123.00

    The average person will test for 12-15 supporting supplements in the first session. In general, these will decrease in either number or dosage in the following visits. Each person is different, however, and these are merely estimations.

    Supplement Information

    If you already take supplements, please bring all of them with you to every visit. We will try our best to utilize the supplements you already have. After the first visit, keep your “active” supplements separate from your “inactive” supplements when you come in for your visits.

    After your first visit, only take the supplements that were determined in your session. Taking other supplements may change the effectiveness of the determined combination. If you need to test for another supplement in between the methylation visits, please bring all of your determined supplements together in a glass container. All supplements must be tested in combination with your determined supplements to know if they are helpful or not. (For full methylation follow-up visits, please bring in the determined supplements in their original bottles, separately.)

    How to Get the Genetic Information

    The first step is to go to Ancestry.com and choose “Ancestry DNA” -this does not require a membership. Follow the directions and wait to receive the results. Let your doctor know via e-mail below when you get your results in. At that time, we may have a new program in place to run your data through.

  • Affectionately called the “scrape thingy” by our patients, we use a form of manual therapy known as instrument assisted soft-tissue mobilization (IASTM) that is similar to the Graston technique. It is one of several manual therapy approaches that uses instruments with a specialized form of massage/scrapping the skin gently.

    The general goals of the therapy are to reduce the patient’s pain and increase function through a combination of:

    Breaking down the scar tissue and fascia restrictions that are usually associated with some form of trauma to the soft tissue (e.g., a strained muscle or a pulled ligament, tendon, or fascia).

    Reducing restrictions by stretching connective tissue in an attempt to rearrange the structure of the soft tissue being treated (e.g., muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments).

    Promoting a better healing environment for the injured soft tissue and increasing local circulation

    This technique is commonly used to address issues such as:

    TMJ Dysfunction

    Plantar Fasciitis

    Muscle Injury

    Frozen Shoulder

    Restricted Motion

    Whiplash

    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

    Headaches

    Tennis/Golfer’s Elbow

    Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

  • The hypothalamus ensures that the internal processes of your body are balanced and working as they should.

    HRT is a technique used to reset the Hypothalamus. This technique allows the Hypothalamus to regain control over the body’s essential functions. Look at the list below to see all that the Hypothalamus controls.

    Pituitary Gland

    Thyroid regulation

    Adrenal regulation

    Reproductive System regulation

    Autonomic System regulation

    Blood pressure regulation

    Heart rate

    Neurotransmitter regulation

    Mood and behavioral functions

    Body Temperature regulation

    Hunger and appetite

    Sleep cycles

  • The following information is from the official NET website and can be found by following this link: www.netmindbody.com/more-information/what-is-net

    “Neuro Emotional Technique is based on a proven combination of the latest scientific research and centuries-old techniques used in Eastern healing. By acknowledging the relationship between the body’s emotional health, environmental toxicity, nutritional balance, and structural integrity, appreciative patients around the world enjoy better health and well-being.

    How do emotions affect health?

    Emotions such as fear, anger, grief, and many others can negatively affect us long after the original event caused them. When our body fails to “let go” of these emotions we can find ourselves with unexplained aversions, self-sabotaging beliefs. phobias and many chronic physical problems. We use an approach called Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) to identify, and help you let go of, “stuck” emotional patterns.”

    The ‘physiology’ of emotional response

    Although the concept of dealing with emotions and stress has long been associated with talk-it-out psychotherapy, counseling, and other therapeutic modalities, NET specifically works with the ‘physiology’ of emotional/stress responses. Extensive scientific research over the past several decades has verified that an emotional/stress expression is a complex reactive pattern of changes in response to a stimulus. This includes changes in neuronal chemistry and neurological, vascular, and muscular tone. The type and intensity of the reaction may occur in response to a specific person or event and may involve widespread physiological changes, such as increased heart rate and inhibition of peristalsis.

    NET does not treat ‘emotions’

    The goal is to identify and correct physical aberrations (subluxation or meridian imbalance) and not the emotions. In fact, emotions do not need to be corrected. Darwin expounded on emotions in a non-psychological way, supporting the concept that emotions are normal and healthy phenomena found in humans and animals. In an unhealthy organism, however, emotions can cause psychosomatic and somatopsychic problems. In short, NET deals with those weakened physiological states that have ultimately made the body vulnerable to the formation of what NET has defined as a Neuro Emotional Complex (NEC).

    Definition of a Neuro Emotional Complex (NEC)

    An NEC is defined as a subjective maladaptation syndrome adopted by the human organism in response to a real or perceived threat to any aspect of its survival. A primary goal of NET is to identify and resolve NECs either via the associated vertebral subluxation(s) or active pulse point(s).

    The individual’s unique NEC includes:

    1. Specific subluxation or sequence of subluxations

    2. Specific emotion [Note: All NECs have an emotion incorporated in the complex, but not all emotional expressions are incorporated in NECs]

    3. Conditioned response (a predisposition for stimulus generalization and a resistance to extinction)

    4. Meridian imbalance and active pulse point, with a specific meridian access point

    5. Facilitated (strong) or inhibited (weak) muscle response

    6. Cathected and often recallable memory picture of a past significant emotional event Note: All remembered events related to an NEC are always considered to be ‘Emotional Reality’, as they may or may not correspond with actual or historical reality.]

    7. Vulnerability to repetition compulsion, and re-stimulation /re-aggravation causing cyclical reinforcement

    NET does not treat emotions, but rather it addresses the physical complex in which an emotion and a related subluxation are component parts.

    NET is not counseling

    The term ‘emotional’ can conjure up images of clinical counseling, which NET, in fact, does not employ. Although counseling in chiropractic, osteopathic, acupuncture, etc., offices is legal in most (if not all) states in the USA, it is not used in the NET procedure. NET is distinguished from psychotherapy in that it is not a therapy directed to the psyche. It does not employ counseling, nor does it advise behavioral changes. It does not have a goal of insight for the patient. It is not a ‘talk-it-out’ cure. It does not teach anything, and it does not show one how to learn from one’s life experiences.

    Neurological basis of NET

    Contemporary neuroscience has demonstrated that emotion and our stress responses are largely related to a physiological response in our body. Particularly important is the work of award-winning neuroscientist Candace Pert, PhD, who demonstrated that neuropeptides form the molecular basis of emotion. Neuropeptides are found in all parts of the body and most notably clustered in the posterior horn of the spinal cord. Pert, et. al. also noted that, functionally, the limbic system extends down into the posterior horn of the spinal cord.

    On a more macroscopic level, the findings of widely acclaimed and award-winning neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux, PhD, demonstrated emotion to be first experienced in the old mammalian brain (or limbic system) and only secondarily in the neocortex. Ledoux’s research demonstrates emotion-induced rapid sub-cortical pathways travel to the thalamus and amygdala first and, only after that, to the cortex.

    Neuroscientist Paul MacLean, MD, developed the “Triune Brain” model, separating the brain into reptilian, old mammalian, and neocortical brains. In general, psychotherapy and counseling predominately work with the neocortex (the thinking brain) with such therapeutic approaches as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In contrast, NET works predominately with the old mammalian brain (the feeling brain), which is essentially the limbic system and its associated meridian-related emotional responses.

    From its roots: A chiropractic basis of NET

    D. D. Palmer stated in 1895, “The determining causes of disease are Traumatism, Poison, & Autosuggestion.” Although his language now sounds archaic, the meaning is clear. Additionally, it should be noted that in the 1920s, the Chiropractic Psychopathic Sanitarium (later known as Forest Park Sanitarium) and Clearview Sanitarium were established in Davenport, Iowa, dedicated to the treatment of emotional disorders through the sole intervention of spinal adjustments. For further historical perspective on chiropractic’s role in the emotional aspect of health care, see the book, Mental Health and Chiropractic: A Multidisciplinary Approach, by Herman Schwartz, published in 1973.

    Dr. George Goodheart (the Founder of Applied Kinesiology) and many others have repeatedly observed that recurring spinal subluxations may be associated with other more primary causes, which may be remote from the specific subluxation. They observed that this may include derangement of another joint (spinal or extra-spinal), soft-tissue scar and other abnormal function, nutritional imbalances of many types, and aberrant emotional overlay. This aligns with the original observations and descriptions of chiropractic by D. D. Palmer, the Founder of Chiropractic.

    The mechanism of resolution of chronic subluxations via NET

    Raymond Nimmo, DC, made a significant contribution to the chiropractic profession when he made the now obvious observation that bones don’t move muscles, but rather, muscles move bones. George Goodheart, DC, among his many significant contributions, laboriously correlated the primary muscles of the body with the major meridians used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has embraced a mind/body model for more than 1,500 years. The early evolution of NET focused on the muscles, which normally hold the vertebrae in their proper relationships with each other. This focus was later extended to other joints as well.

    While the NET technique itself does not sequentially follow the explanation below, the currently understood mechanisms by which NET works are as follows:

    1. The presenting (or secondary) subluxation is associated with a muscle or muscles with aberrant tone.

    2. The muscle(s) is (are) associated with a meridian (via Goodheart).

    3. The meridian (via Five Element Law in Traditional Chinese Medicine) correlates to a group of emotions.

    4. The emotion is traced via meridian access points or neurologic relationships to the primary subluxation(s).

    5. These primary subluxations have a noxious influence on the meridians and muscles, which influence the presenting (secondary) subluxations.

    6. These primary subluxations are then corrected with the result of a newly restored balancing effect on the meridians and muscles and the elimination of (secondary) subluxations.

    7. Resolution of a Neuro Emotional Complex (NEC) can occur by restoring homeostasis and allowing for the normal extinction of a conditioned emotional response.

    Because NET is a true mind/body or body/mind approach, it fully acknowledges the physical complement of the resistance of the body to NEC formation (in a healthy organism) and the process of NEC resolution.

    NET is focused on achieving homeostasis of the human organism. Its method of correction is through the spine or acupuncture point(s). As part of its diagnostic methodology the patient, at times, explores their neuro-emotional case history to assist in the uncovering of the presence of an NEC. Once discovered, the correction is applied. Because psychotherapy is concerned with the cognitive appreciation of the emotional process, any case history that reveals a need for psychotherapy is discussed with the patient, and an appropriate referral can be made.”

  • Chiropractic involves treating the person as a whole by assisting the body to heal naturally. It has long been known that healthy, nutritious diets coupled with rest, exercise and spinal adjustments are an integral part of preventative health care.

    In order to function to its optimum capacity, the body needs to absorb essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, minerals, proteins and various vitamins. These ensure healthy digestion, metabolizing and excreting which, in turn, leads to homeostasis. This refers to the body’s ability to regulate its inner environment to ensure stability as it responds to changes in the external environment. Poor diets that include foods rich in sugars and fats can contribute to other health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. While chiropractors prescribe natural, drug-free treatments their focus remains on the body’s ability to heal itself. With factors such as diet, exercise, rest and hereditary issues affecting optimum body functioning, chiropractors will consider a patient’s medical history, past injuries, present symptoms, and postural analysis. Further physical, neurological and orthopedic examinations may be included and, dependent on the findings, patients may be referred to other health practitioners for additional consultation.

    Nutritional therapy has evolved as a need for such specialist treatment grows from the persistent nutritional deficiencies that are commonplace in the world today. Stressful environments and a lack of essential nutrients in the daily diet demand additional support to aid the body in preventative health care.

  • Pregnant women can safely receive chiropractic care. In fact, chiropractic treatments can promote a healthy, stress-free pregnancy by alleviating joint pain, muscle aches and nausea.

    During pregnancy, there are several physiological and endocrinological changes that occur in preparation for creating the environment for the developing baby.

    The following changes can result in a misaligned spine or joints:

    Protruding abdomen and increased back curve

    Pelvic changes

    Postural adaptions

    Establishing pelvic balance and alignment is another reason to obtain chiropractic care during pregnancy. When the pelvis is misaligned, it may reduce the amount of room available for developing the baby. This restriction is called intrauterine constraint.

    A misaligned pelvis may also make it difficult for the baby to get into the best possible position for delivery. This can affect the mother’s ability to have a natural, non-invasive birth. Breech and posterior positions can interfere with the natural ease of labor and lead to interventions such as c-sections.

    The nervous system is the master communication system to all the body systems including the reproductive system. Keeping the spine aligned helps the entire body work more effectively.

    Webster Technique

    According to the ICPA, the Webster technique is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/SI joint dysfunction. In so doing neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated.

    The theoretical and clinical framework of the Webster Technique in the care of pregnant women is that sacral subluxation may contribute to difficult labor for the mother (i.e., dystocia).

    Inadequate uterine function, pelvic contraction, and baby mal-presentation cause dystocia. The correction of sacral subluxation may have a positive effect on all these causes of dystocia.