Charge Health and Chiropractic

11/10/2025

Fog --> Focus

Brain work today, lets get right into it!

After trauma to the head, most people are told to rest and wait it out. Rest matters, but waiting is not a plan. The injured brain is inflamed, energy hungry, and struggling to communicate from cell to cell. Food and targeted supplements can help shift that environment so healing actually happens. That is true for concussion recovery and for everyday brain performance in people who have never been concussed.

Decades ago, fasting researchers noticed something odd. When glucose was low, the brain could still run clearly on ketones, a backup fuel our liver makes from fat. More recent lab and clinical work has shown that the main ketone, beta-hydroxybutyrate, is not just fuel. It also signals the brain to reduce inflammation and upregulate growth factors that support plasticity and repair.

A couple months ago, a patient came in after a concussion with classic symptoms. Headaches. Brain fog. Short fuse. We kept the plan simple and consistent. Short bouts of visual training to reactivate the brain’s timing. PEMF Treatment directly to the head chair to help calm inflammation. Nutrition shifted toward a ketogenic pattern with more healthy fats and fewer fast carbs. We added a higher-than-typical dose of fish-oil omega-3s. Also immediately, the headaches faded, the fog lifted, and he and his family members noticed a positive change in mood. That kind of turnaround is not guaranteed, but it is common when we address the brain’s fuel and its inflammatory load while we retrain the circuits.

Here is what the current research says in plain English.

Omega-3s are raw materials for brain cell membranes and for resolving inflammation. EPA and DHA get built into neuronal membranes, improve fluidity, and support signaling. Reviews in TBI show omega-3s help moderate neuroinflammation and tissue loss, which is the biochemical ground the brain needs to relearn and stabilize.

Dosing probably needs to be higher than most people expect. For metabolic and cardiovascular indications, authoritative bodies have long used two to four grams per day of combined EPA and DHA under clinician supervision. That range often moves blood markers and is consistent with how we dose in brain-recovery contexts, with attention to meds that affect bleeding risk.

In concussion-specific work, pediatric trials have tested high-dose DHA and found the approach feasible and safe, though larger trials are still needed to confirm faster symptom resolution. A recent information paper for the Military Health System notes mixed findings at more modest doses, which tells us dose and timing matter.

Ketones change the brain’s energy and signaling. In the hours and days after TBI, glucose handling in the brain can be impaired. Ketones provide an alternative fuel that bypasses some of those bottlenecks and also act as signaling molecules that turn on antioxidant and neurotrophic pathways.

Movement is a medicine here too. Once symptoms allow, carefully dosed aerobic work below the symptom threshold speeds recovery. In a randomized trial, adolescents assigned to sub-symptom aerobic exercise recovered faster than those doing stretching only. We pair brain-fuel strategies with this style of aerobic loading as soon as it is safe.

If you calm inflammation, supply the right fats, and give the brain a steady fuel it can actually use, you create the conditions for clearer thinking, fewer headaches, steadier mood, and a faster return to normal routines. This is the same physiology that supports focus and memory in non-injured brains. It is not a magic trick. It is giving cells what they need so the nervous system can do the work.

Recent reviews summarize that higher omega-3 status reduces neuroinflammatory damage after TBI. Pediatric DHA studies show feasibility and safety with signals toward faster symptom resolution, although bigger trials are needed. On the keto side, clinical pilots show ketogenic diets are workable after brain injury and basic science shows ketones upregulate BDNF and related neuroprotective pathways. Together, this points to a practical framework rather than a single silver bullet.

Here is how we make this real for busy humans

Omega-3s, daily.
• Aim for two to three grams per day of combined EPA and DHA from a third-party tested fish oil. Keep it in a dark cool place so the sun doesn't oxidize it! Split doses with meals to improve tolerance. If you are on anticoagulants or have a bleeding disorder, coordinate with your clinician. The FDA labeling for prescription omega-3 products uses four grams per day, which is a helpful safety and dose benchmark when we personalize care.

Fat-forward meals that do not spike glucose.
• Build plates around protein, vegetables, and quality fats like olive oil, avocado, eggs, nuts, and fatty fish. Lower the load of refined carbohydrates so the brain is not riding a roller coaster. For many, this looks like a gentle low-carb pattern. For some, a therapeutic ketogenic phase is appropriate for six to eight weeks, then we cycle back toward moderate carbs around training.

Experiment with a simple overnight fast.
• Twelve to fourteen hours between dinner and breakfast is enough to nudge ketones without extremes. The brain can then use ketones as steady fuel and benefit from their anti-inflammatory signaling, similar to what is seen with structured ketogenic diets and exogenous ketones.

Move on purpose, but stay under the symptom ceiling.
• Start with easy walking or bike work and progress to sub-symptom threshold aerobic sessions. This improves cerebral blood flow and appears to accelerate time to recovery. We leverage this fact in our training programs all the time.

Layer in brain activation and recovery tech.
• Short visual and vestibular drills sharpen the brain’s timing. We often pair that with PEMF sessions for symptom relief while we rebuild capacity. Clinical evidence for PEMF in concussion is still emerging, so we frame it as an adjunct to the pillars above, not a replacement.

--> Reply with the word BRAIN and I will send two quick guides:

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11/03/2025

Tune in!

Happy Monday my people,

Last week was a cool one for me as I got an opportunity to be a guest on my first legit podcast. I say "legit" because my buddies and I started a music based podcast back in the day just for fun. (If anyone can find those episode your next treatment is free ;))

Jokes aside, I recently sat down with Coaches Corner University to talk about the journey that shaped who I am and how I practice today. The conversation dug into a theme that I think every one of us can relate to: how we respond when life puts our back against the wall.

I shared how being a walk-on football player at the University of Minnesota forced me to build a kind of mental armor that still serves me now. No guarantees, no shortcuts, no one handing out playing time. Just daily choices to show up and earn it. That experience shaped how I approach pain, setbacks, and even running my business.

Because whether it’s sport, career, or health—there’s always a moment when you have to decide: Am I going to fold, or am I going to fight for progress?

Many of my patients walk through our doors at that same crossroads. They’ve bounced from one specialist to another. They’ve done everything to their body, but not much with it. And somewhere along the way, they lose confidence in their ability to rebuild.

That’s where our work begins.

In the episode, I talk about why I started Charge Health & Chiropractic. I wanted to help people take charge of the factors they can control: how they move, recover, eat, and think.

It’s the same process I had to live myself. When my own back injuries forced me to start from scratch, I rebuilt my movement, my mindset, and my strength one rep at a time. It took a year + but that year changed everything.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in pain, frustrated by slow progress, or like you’ve lost trust in your body, this episode will hit home.

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the link below.

And when you do, ask yourself this simple question: What would taking charge look like for me right now?

If you’re not sure, reply to this email and tell me what’s been holding you back. I’d love to help you map out your next step.

See you soon,
Dr. Dom

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10/29/2025

Testimonials like this is the reason we do what we do!

“I started seeing Dr Dom in April for some back pain/sciatica. He is beyond professional and his knowledge of the musculoskeletal and nervous system are impressive. He takes time to educate you about why he’s doing certain stretches/adjustments.

When I mentioned certain issues with a previous knee injury that were limiting my workouts, he took the time to do a thorough assessment of my movement patterns and quickly identified weakness.

As a result I started working with him weekly in the weight room and have made huge strides in my strength, working on the “mind/muscle” connection. I have learned how to adjust and improve my form to maximize my workouts.

I will continue to work with Dr Dom and refer to him confidently knowing he will take amazing care.”

10/27/2025

My Story Became My Approach

Morning all!

I want to paint a quick picture of how I ended up helping folks like you and what my own story of overcoming significant injuries taught me about true recovery.

I’ve dealt with low back pain since high school weight class.
The kind that lingers, reshapes how you move, and quietly dictates what you think your body can handle.

Multiple disc injuries. Shooting pain down my legs. Muscle spasms that made it hard to breathe, all the things.

I’d get adjusted, feel the relief, and think, “Alright, I’m good again.”
But deep down I knew the same problem would return the next time I loaded a bar for squats, or sat too long.

Over time I realized something simple: adjustments opened the door, but quality movement kept me inside the room.

It was targeted exercise—blood flow, co-contractions, inhibition of spasms, and retraining the brain-body connection—that finally gave my spine a chance to adapt instead of react.

One of my worst strains forced me to start completely over.
No barbell. No ego. Just body weight and a mirror.

I spent months learning how to stack my rib cage over my pelvis, how to breathe without bracing in fear, how to sit back into my heels and let the spine compress the way it was designed. The Spinal Engine describes or spine as a structure that naturally stores and releases energy through rotation, not rigidity.

That year taught me more about the human body than any seminar or textbook ever could.

Because rebuilding my own pattern wasn’t just a physical process, it was psychological. I had to trust my body again. And when I did, I stopped flinching at every twist or bend.

Now I can load, rotate, and train freely, not because I’m indestructible, but because I’ve built the capacity to handle stress.

And that’s exactly what I try to help my patients do.

Walking others through that same journey has reinforced what I now believe to be true healing.

It cant be all about chasing relief, we must create resilience.

That belief has shaped everything we do at Charge.

Our updated approach combines hands-on chiropractic care, Dolphin Nero-stem treatments, PEMF therapy, and guided training sessions into one cohesive process. This combination is the most effective I've found, and its built to create lasting change.

For the first 12 weeks, we work closely together. Reducing pain, restoring motion, rebuilding patterns. Then the next 12 weeks are about independence; taking what you’ve learned and using it to stay strong, mobile, and pain-free for the long term.

This approach reflects everything I’ve learned through my own injuries, through thousands of treatments, and through years of seeing what actually works.

It’s the most complete, efficient process I’ve ever built, and I truly believe it’s the fastest way to real results.

If you’ve been stuck in that same cycle I once lived in, know that there’s a very real solution.

You can rebuild your foundation, retrain your nervous system, and come out able to do more than what you may have thought possible.

I’ve lived it.

And now, I get to help others do the same.

See you soon,
Dr. Dom

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10/20/2025

Listen Linda, this isn't easy for me either!

Hey guys!

Today's message should hit home for us early risers and those that like to be active in the mornings.

Most people wake up, grab their phone, and head straight for the coffee pot. (Can't say this has never been me!) It just feels like the natural start to the day; the smell, the warmth, the ritual.

But here’s the truth: that simple habit might be the reason you feel tired by 2PM, inflamed by noon, and inconsistent with your training.

Let’s break down what a real performance-based morning looks like. One that wakes up your brain, muscles, and metabolism in the right order.

Step 1: Hydrate Before You Stimulate
When you wake up, you're already down about 1–2% of your bodyweight in water. That's enough to slow brain function, reduce muscular performance, and blunt your energy before the day begins.

If you go straight to coffee, you compound the problem! Caffeine increases urine output, which pulls more water and minerals from your system.

Instead, start your day with 20–30 ounces of water and electrolytes. A pinch of sea salt works, but I prefer something like LMNT for sodium, potassium, and magnesium. These minerals are essential for nerve and muscle function.
This single step can change how your heart rate, mood, and training feel the rest of the day.

Step 2: Train Your Heart First
Before touching a weight, your cardiovascular system should get the first wake-up call. Early cardio helps balance blood pressure, improve glucose handling, and increase mitochondrial activity in your cells.

If you're short on time, two efficient options:
-> The Norwegian 4x4 Method:

4 minutes of work at ~90% effort
3 minutes of slow recovery
Repeat 4 times

This drives a systemic effect. Your entire body adapts to handle oxygen and stress better.

-> The 10:20 Interval (bike or rower):

10 seconds all-out sprint
20 seconds easy pace
Repeat for 6-12 rounds depending on current conditioning level

This builds lactate tolerance and boosts capillary density in working muscle.
Both protocols are short, precise, and activate your nervous system in ways that long, slow cardio cannot.

Step 3: Cold Exposure to Amplify Energy Production
After cardio, your body temperature is elevated, your metabolism is ramped up, and your mitochondria are active. This makes it the perfect time for brief cold exposure.

Cold plunges or even cold showers right after cardio:

-Spike dopamine levels for hours
-Stimulate mitochondrial growth/repair
-Reinforce mental resilience and cold tolerance going into winter

Start with 1–2 minutes at 50–55°F if you're new. Progress slowly to 3–5 minutes at colder temperatures.

Step 4: Earn Your Coffee and Get Sunlight
Now you've earned your caffeine!!

Have your first cup after hydration, movement, and cold exposure. This helps align your cortisol and adenosine cycles, giving you a stronger, longer energy lift rather than a crash.

Pair it with sunlight exposure. Even 5–10 minutes outside will reinforce your circadian rhythm, improve focus, and naturally boost serotonin.

This step isn't just for energy; it's for consistency. When you train your body to follow this pattern, motivation stops being a problem.

Why This Order Matters
These four steps align with how your biology actually wants to wake up:

-Hydration resets the nervous system
-Cardio activates your fuel systems
-Cold exposure multiplies energy production
-Coffee and sunlight sync your brain to the day

What Happens When You Get This Wrong
Let me give you a real example. I see this pattern weekly in office: someone wakes up, immediately drinks two cups of coffee on an empty stomach, skips any movement, arrives at work feeling anxious and scattered. By 10 AM, they're reaching for more caffeine. Lunch is a mess because they are overly hungry and options are limited. By 2 PM, they're crashing with tension in the neck and shoulder building by the minute. Come evening they feel more anxiety due to family/house hold obligations leading to late nights, more binge eating and poor sleep, which starts the whole cycle over.

Over months and years, this approach creates real problems: chronic anxiety, disrupted sleep architecture, insulin resistance from poor glucose handling, and a constant feeling of running on fumes.

The nervous system never gets a chance to calibrate properly. Energy becomes something you borrow from tomorrow rather than something you generate today.

Your Next Step
Try this sequence for one week. Notice how your energy and focus change, then reply to this email and tell me what you felt.

We'll take it further from there with nutrition timing and how to structure your first strength session for maximum adaptation.

Have a great week,
Dr. Dom

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10/14/2025

EVERYONE SHOW JEN SOME LOVE HERE! She completed her first ever marathon in Chicago this past weekend.

Official time: 4:18:34
Pace: 9:52

We have been training together 2x/wk since the beginning of the year with this event in our sites. She stayed incredibly disciplined and consistent in all aspects of her training.

Way to go Jen!

Now it’s time to rest the running shoes a bit and get jacked again!! 💪🏽💪🏽😈

10/13/2025

"You can't build a great building on a weak foundation."

Hope everyone had a great fall weekend! The fall vibes are truly upon us and I'm begging Alexis to stop buying apple cider doughnuts! (sooo good!)

As I am getting back to more intense training I'm starting from the ground up.

The feet set the stage!

Most people think their foot shape is fixed.
“I’ve always had flat feet.”
“I just have high arches.”

But the truth is, your arches are alive. They adapt, respond, and reflect everything about how you move, or "cant move." In my world, they tell a story about your entire kinetic chain, from your hips to your breath.

Every joint in your body builds gets so much sensory information from what happens at the ground. If your foundation shifts, so does everything above it. What most people don’t realize is that their feet are constantly broadcasting messages up the chain to the knees, hips, pelvis, and even the spine. And those messages are either stable and balanced, or chaotic and full of compensation.

I’ve lived this firsthand.

As sophomore in high school suited up to play my first varsity football game, I tore my right hamstring at the inside aspect, near the attachment and some bone came off with the tear. It healed, but the way I used that side never really did. Over time, my right foot started living more on the outside edge. The arch lifted, the peroneals locked down, and my tibialis stopped doing its job.

That one shift slowly re-wired everything above it.
My right hip began to sit higher and more externally rotated.
Even my breathing pattern started to favor the opposite side due to the compressive nature of the right hip.

What started as a local tissue injury had turned into a global movement bias that showed up in my gait, my training, and even my recovery.

Our ancestors didn’t need to “train” their feet. Uneven terrain, barefoot contact, and constant movement through variable surfaces kept their arches elastic. The arch was a living spring, designed to collapse, absorb, and then recoil. It’s the same mechanism behind the Spinal Engine Theory: motion starts at the center but is amplified through oscillations, rotation, and the push-pull of the limbs.

When that spring stiffens or flattens, the spine and hips compensate to keep forward momentum. Which means your “foot type” isn’t just a local trait — it’s a map of how your entire body manages force, gravity, and breath.

So what can your feet tell you?

If your arches are flat: you likely live more in internal rotation — pelvis tipped forward, knees caving in, hips overworking.

If your arches are high: you probably have a more rigid system — tight calves, external rotation bias, glutes that dominate over adductors, and limited shock absorption.

Neither is “bad.” Both are signals. And both can change.

Here’s a quick win to start re-mapping the conversation between your feet and your brain:

Barefoot test: Stand on one leg. Notice where the weight lives — inside, outside, or evenly spread across the tripod (heel, big toe, pinky toe).

Short-foot drill: While breathing through your nose, gently draw your arch up without curling your toes. Hold for 5 seconds, then relax for 5. Repeat for one minute.

Foot-to-hip reset: After the short-foot work, try a set of slow hip hinges or split-stance holds. Feel how much more stable and connected the hip becomes when the arch activates.

Do that consistently for a week and you’ll start to feel it — your gait becomes quieter, your hips open, and your balance improves.

When I finally addressed my own foot pattern, the difference was immediate. My right glute started firing in better sequence. My pelvis leveled out. Even my low-back tension eased. That change didn’t come from “stretching” my hamstring; it came from re-educating the system that told it how to move in the first place.

The body never forgets, it just adapts. And in my opinion your feet are the first place that adaptation should begin.

This is why we spend so much time working from the ground up at Charge Health & Chiropractic. Every adjustment, every rehab plan, every strength session is about restoring communication between your sensory system and your mechanical system.

Book an Empower Visit this month and we’ll help you uncover exactly where your system is compensating and how to rebuild it.

Have a great week!
Dr. Dom + Team

PS. Before your next workout or walk, stand barefoot and check:
Where does your weight naturally fall, inside edge, outside edge, or centered?

Reply and tell me what you find. Ill send a quick guide on how to start making changes.

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10/06/2025

Its kind of just math...

Morning everyone!

Piggybacking off of last weeks email about my run and conversing with patients about what styles of workouts are best for us as we age, I've assessed my training, identified a likely culprit and want to share why this "missing piece" is often over looked in MOST of yall's approach to working out too.

We use the term "functional training" too much these days. Usually, it refers to movements that look athletic, involve a lot of rotation, lighter weights, or even mimic sport skills.

But when deciding what types or workouts are the best or "most functional" there's a question that nobody asks: what's the most consistent force our bodies face?

Gravity.

Not a kettlebell, not a cable, not a band pulling you sideways, some high tech equipment at your boogie gym. Just gravity, pulling you straight down, all day, every day.

Quick History:
In the 1980s, biomechanist Serge Gracovetsky introduced The Spinal Engine Theory. He argued that human movement starts at the spine, not the legs. The spine flexes, extends, and rotates to create torque, and the legs amplify that motion to propel us forward.

In other words, we move because our spine organizes itself to resist gravity. Every step, sprint, or lift is an act of fighting that vertical force.

My Story
Over the weekend, I listened to a strength coach make an accurate statement: most of our training should be vertically based. It made complete sense. As a chiropractor, rehab pro & strength coach, I've watched people chase results through all sorts of training methods while almost completely neglecting what actually keeps them upright.

When someone loses the ability to control their spine and hips vertically, especially under additional load (lifting at the gym, lifting a heavy box or your kids, running, hopping down from the truck bed, etc.) everything else starts to break down. Rotation, stability, balance. It's like building a suspension system on a car with no frame.

Time for School:
If you want to be functional, whether you're 35 or 65, your training should respect physics first. The biggest stressor your body faces is vertical load. That means exercises like squats, RDLs, deadlifts, jumps, and loaded carries form the foundation of true functional strength.

These aren't just muscle-building tools. They teach your body how to:
Absorb and redirect vertical force
Keep your spine stiff and elastic
Maintain balance through every joint under load

Personally, I had a goal of running the 1/2 marathon in 2hrs flat which requires a ~9min/mi pace. At that "speed" (lol) there's a lot of vertical force going into the ground with each step. I did my speed work and more, sled sprints, plyometrics, jump training etc. However for my body mass, I needed more intense vertical stimuli to sustain the output I was looking for. I needed a bit more heavy traditional barbell work. I pulled that out too early and I believe it played a role in why my engine failed me.

If you're new to this style of training, the effects are felt quick. Everything else becomes easier: your posture, your gait, your athleticism, your recovery. You'll notice that walking, bending, and lifting feel more natural, not forced. You'll move like someone who's put together, not pieced together.

Biomechanics research backs it up. Sprinting alone can produce 4 to 5 times your bodyweight in vertical ground reaction forces. That's real-world proof that vertical strength governs nearly everything we consider athletic. Even elite sprinters rely on spinal rotation and leg stiffness to store and release energy vertically, not horizontally.

In our rehab protocols, we keep gravity in mind at all times. How your body reacts and responses to gravity & stress tells me a lot about your entire system! Every program, every Empower session, starts by addressing the compensatory ways your body is dealing with gravity and then end with increasing your capacity to perform under it! We don't skip steps. We build from the ground up so your body can handle life's biggest load: the one pulling you toward the floor.

If you've been doing "functional" workouts but still feel weak, uncoordinated, or limited by pain, this is your wake-up call. Let's rebuild your foundation. Book an Empower Visit and learn how to train the way your body was designed to move.

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09/29/2025

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Morning everyone!

Saturday was humbling...

I participated in the Fort 4 Fitness event and ran my second ever half marathon (13.1 miles.) For the first eight and a half miles I was moving smooth, averaging about a 9:07 pace. I felt strong, focused, and in control. Then my left hamstring locked up out of no where. I stopped, stretched, and got moving again but within another mile the cramps spread. Groin, hip flexors, everywhere. Eventually, I couldn’t run at all. I pretty much had to walk the last three miles. Painful is an understatement.

Now, as a clinician, coach, and former athlete, this wasn’t easy to accept. I train consistently. I take care of myself. I did the work. And yet, there I was, forced to slow down when my body simply said, “Not today.” That was a really tough pill to swallow for me.

The easy route is to judge myself. To feel fraudulent. To wonder if I really know what I’m talking about. But here’s the truth: I’m human too. Even with all the training and preparation, things happen that are outside of our control.

It reminded me of something I read on Eleanor Roosevelt while doing a project back at Minnesota that always stuck with me, she was quoted saying: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Why do some choose to do these really hard things?

That’s a question I asked a patient/client of mine while training for the Chicago Marathon. Her first answer was powerful: to show her kids what it means to persevere. But when you dig deeper, there’s something else too. There may be holes in our life that we are looking to fill with accomplishments. Searching for adoration that we missed at some point. Another possibility is that by willingly stepping into discomfort, we create contrast. And that contrast makes the simplest joys feel richer.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t cross the finish line with pride. I crossed it frustrated, disappointed, and limping (most of which I'm still feeling this morning.) But then came the hug from my wife. The encouragement from my mom. The cuddles from my kids later that night. Those moments of comfort carried more weight because of the suffering that came before them.

And that’s the real win. Not the pace, not the medal, not the miles. It’s the reminder that joy is magnified when we’ve tasted struggle. The slap in the face to slow down and be present with the ultimate gifts our creator has given to us.

So, if you’re in a season where things feel hard, maybe with your health, work, or family, remember this: you don’t have to love the pain, but let it deepen your appreciation for the good. The good, small, intimate movements that no one sees. That's where being human, and all the suffering that comes along with it, is a pure blessing.

Thanks for letting me share this one from the heart today.

See you soon,
Dom

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