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Monday 8am - 1pm 2pm - 5:30pm Tuesday 8am - 1pm 2pm - 5:30pm Wednesday 8am - 1pm 2pm - 5:30pm Thursday 8am - 1pm 2pm - 5:30pm Friday 9am - 2pm

Innate Chiropractic, 5800 West Central Avenue, Wichita, KS (2026)

02/23/2026

Everyone knows you should drink more water - but when it comes to keeping your fascia healthy, movement matters more than hydration.

Your fascia is a web-like connective tissue that wraps around every muscle and organ. For it to glide smoothly, it needs something called hyaluronic acid, which acts like a lubricant between layers.

But when you're sedentary, hyaluronic acid becomes thick and sticky - like honey. That's what causes morning stiffness. Drinking water doesn't change this.

Movement does.

When you stretch or foam roll, you're compressing the tissue - squeezing out old, stagnant fluid like wringing out a sponge. During the rest phase afterward, fresh fluid from your bloodstream gets pulled back in, bringing nutrients and flushing out waste.

Research on lumbar fascia showed that after stretching, the tissue actually becomes more hydrated than it was before - but only after that rest period following movement.

So if your goal is truly hydrated, gliding fascia, the answer isn't just drinking more water. It's moving consistently and giving your tissue time to recover between bouts of activity.

02/20/2026

Could natural sounds be more restorative than pure silence after a stressful day?

Most people instinctively seek quiet when they're overwhelmed. But research suggests that certain natural sounds might actually help your nervous system recover more effectively than complete silence.

Studies examining acoustic environments found that birdsong, wind, and flowing water trigger measurable physiological changes. These natural sounds decrease stress hormones and shift your autonomic nervous system toward "rest and digest" mode - the opposite of fight-or-flight.

Meanwhile, urban noise like traffic and construction keeps your sympathetic nervous system activated, maintaining that stressed state even when you're trying to unwind.

The key seems to be in how these sounds affect your brain. Natural soundscapes lower activity in the prefrontal cortex - a brain region associated with worry and rumination. They also increase parasympathetic nerve activity, which helps slow your heart rate and reduce cortisol levels.

This doesn't mean you need a forest outside your window. Even recordings of natural sounds or focusing on whatever birds you can hear in a city park may help reset your stress response.

It's an intriguing area of research that challenges our assumptions about what true restoration sounds like.

02/19/2026

Autophagy is a process where your cells break down and recycle damaged components - things like misfolded proteins and worn-out organelles. The word comes from Greek, meaning "self-eating."

It's essentially cellular maintenance. The body breaks down dysfunctional parts and reuses the building blocks to create new, functional ones.

What triggers it? Fasting appears to be one of the main drivers. When nutrients are scarce, cells shift from growth and reproduction toward repair and cleanup.

Some researchers believe this process may help protect against neurodegenerative diseases and support long-term cellular health, though much of this research is still in early stages.

One thing worth understanding: autophagy isn't an on/off switch. It's more of a gradual increase. Research suggests you typically need 18-24 hours or more without food before autophagy reaches significant levels in humans.

So while shorter fasting windows may have other benefits, the autophagy effects likely require longer durations.

02/18/2026

If you have trouble squatting deep, your ankles might be the issue.

Here's a simple test: try squatting with your heels elevated on a book or small block. If you can suddenly drop lower with a more upright torso, limited ankle mobility is likely the restriction - not your hips or knees.

When the ankle can't flex enough to let the shin move forward over the toes, the body compensates. The lower back rounds, the torso tips forward, or you lose balance. Over time, this can stress the spine and reinforce movement patterns that make squatting feel harder than it needs to be.

The practical fix is to work with the limitation rather than fight it. Elevating your heels - with a slant board, weight plates, or even a 1-2 inch block - reduces the ankle mobility demand and lets you practice the squat pattern with better form.

From there, you can work on ankle mobility separately if you want to eventually squat flat-footed. Calf stretches, ankle circles, and spending time in a supported deep squat position can all help over time.

But in the meantime, elevating your heels is a simple modification that lets you train the movement safely.

02/17/2026

Can heat exposure affect your mood? There's some interesting research suggesting it might.

One clinical trial found that a single session of whole-body hyperthermia - raising core body temperature to mild fever levels - reduced depression symptoms for up to six weeks afterward.

The mechanisms aren't fully understood, but researchers have a few theories.

Heat activates sensory pathways that run from the skin to the brain. This may stimulate serotonin production - the same neurotransmitter that many antidepressants target. Heat exposure has also been shown to lower cortisol levels, which could help shift the nervous system out of a chronic stress state.

Some researchers believe the deep relaxation induced by heat creates conditions similar to meditation, allowing the body to downregulate its fight-or-flight response.

It's worth noting that this is still an emerging area of research. One study showing six-week results is promising, but more trials are needed to understand who responds best, what temperatures are most effective, and how long the benefits last.

Still, for people who enjoy saunas or heat therapy, the potential mood benefits are an interesting addition to the more commonly discussed effects like improved circulation and muscle recovery.

02/16/2026

Can spending just two hours a week in nature improve health?

Researchers studying over 19,000 people found just that: those who spent at least 120 minutes per week in natural settings were significantly more likely to report good health and psychological well-being.

It also doesn't matter how you accumulate those two hours. One long weekend hike works just as well as several short park visits throughout the week.

The study showed this "dose-response" relationship suggests nature isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. Quick 15-minute walks through your neighborhood or lunch breaks in a nearby park all count toward your weekly total.

Other research backs this up, indicating that just 30 minutes of outdoor green space per week could reduce high blood pressure rates by 9% and depression by 7% across populations.

This means local park visits, tree-lined street walks, and even time spent in your backyard garden can contribute to this health-promoting threshold.

02/13/2026

A study documented a woman going from knee pain while driving to completing a half-marathon - in six months, without surgery.

She was 33 and had been dealing with chronic knee pain from a gymnastics injury 15 years earlier that caused her pain, swelling, and instability. Simple activities made it worse. She slept with a pillow between her knees to manage the discomfort.

The treatment she was giving was "grounding" - direct contact with the Earth's surface through an electrode patch. Some try to take advantage of this affect by walking outside barefoot.

Researchers documented her progress using thermal imaging, which creates color-coded maps of skin temperature. Hotter areas, often associated with inflammation, show up as red and yellow.

Before grounding, the thermal images showed a significant heat signature at the exact location of her pain. Thirty minutes after grounding, that heat pattern had visibly reduced. She reported mild pain relief after the session.

The improvements continued. After 6 days, 50% less pain. She could stand for longer periods. After 4 weeks, she felt stable enough to play soccer for the first time in 15 years. By 12 weeks, nearly 90% pain reduction with no swelling. At six months, she completed a half-marathon.

It's a single case study, so it's difficult to draw broad conclusions. But the thermal imaging provides a visual record of the changes, and her functional improvements over time are hard to ignore. If nothing else, walking outside barefoot is a low-risk thing to experiment with that may decrease inflammation.

02/12/2026

There's a concept called "grounding" or "earthing" that suggests physical contact with the Earth's surface may affect sleep and cortisol levels.

The idea is that the Earth's surface carries a slight negative charge - essentially free electrons. When your skin makes direct contact with the ground, these electrons can flow into your body. Proponents believe this may help regulate the nervous system.

One small study looked at this. Researchers had 12 people with sleep problems and chronic pain sleep on conductive mattress pads for eight weeks. These pads were designed to keep them electrically connected to the Earth while they slept.

The results showed their cortisol patterns shifted. Before the study, their cortisol levels were irregular - not following the typical pattern of high in the morning and low at night. After eight weeks, their rhythms had realigned closer to that normal cycle. Most participants also reported improved sleep and reduced pain.

It's a small study, so it's hard to draw broad conclusions. But for people curious about grounding, the practical application is simple: direct skin contact with grass, soil, or unsealed concrete. Some people try 30-40 minutes of barefoot walking before bed.

Whether the mechanism is electrical, psychological, or something else isn't fully settled. But it's a low-risk thing to experiment with if you're interested.

02/11/2026

Could shining light through your skull help with depression and anxiety?

It might sound like science fiction, but researchers are exploring exactly that with transcranial photobiomodulation - or t-PBM for short.

The idea is that near-infrared light can pass through the skull and reach the brain. Once there, it's thought to increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and boost energy production in the prefrontal cortex - an area that's often underactive in people with depression.

A 2024 meta-analysis looking at 11 trials found that this light therapy was effective in reducing depression symptoms. Pilot studies on anxiety have also shown promise, with one 2019 study suggesting it may help with generalized anxiety disorder.

Researchers suggest that the mechanism is light targeting mitochondria in brain cells. This helps them produce more ATP while reducing oxidative stress.

It's worth noting that most of these studies are small, and researchers say larger trials are needed. The approach is also quite different from traditional light therapy for seasonal depression, which works through the eyes and circadian rhythms.

It's an intriguing area of research worth keeping an eye on.

02/10/2026

Red light panels and infrared saunas both get grouped together as "light therapy" - but they're actually doing very different things.

Red light panels use wavelengths in the 630-850 nm range. At these wavelengths, light gets absorbed by enzymes in your mitochondria, which increases ATP production. This process is called photobiomodulation. There's no heat involved - the light itself is what's creating the effect.

Infrared saunas use much longer wavelengths (3000-100,000 nm) that generate heat. Rather than heating the air around you like a traditional sauna, they heat your body directly. The therapeutic effect comes from your body's response to that heat - increased heart rate, dilated blood vessels, sweating. It's similar in some ways to moderate cardiovascular exercise.

Because of these different mechanisms, they're used for different things. Red light panels are typically used for skin issues, wound healing, or localized pain. Infrared saunas are more about the systemic effects of heat exposure.

They're often marketed similarly, but they're not interchangeable.

02/09/2026

Oil pulling - swishing coconut oil in your mouth for 10-20 minutes - is a traditional practice that's gained popularity in recent years. But is there any evidence behind it?

Actually, there's some interesting research.

A few clinical trials have compared oil pulling directly to chlorhexidine, which is considered the gold-standard antiseptic for treating gingivitis. The studies found that oil pulling was similarly effective at reducing plaque and gingivitis.

The mechanisms appear to be different, though.

Chlorhexidine kills bacteria broadly - including beneficial bacteria on your tongue that play a role in things like blood pressure regulation. Oil pulling seems to work more mechanically. The oil mixes with saliva to create a soap-like substance (a process called saponification) that helps remove plaque-forming bacteria without the same broad antimicrobial effect.

Coconut oil specifically contains lauric acid, which has some anti-inflammatory properties that other oils used for oil pulling (like sesame oil) don't have.

For people looking for an alternative to antiseptic mouthwashes - or who are concerned about preserving their oral microbiome - it may be worth considering.

02/07/2026

Does a workout erase the damage of 10 hours of sitting?

Scientists have a name for this: the "active couch potato" phenomenon. It's when you exercise hard but remain sedentary for most of your day.

Research involving 3,700 participants found something surprising. People who got sufficient exercise but sat the rest of the day still had elevated blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat compared to those who moved frequently throughout the day.

Here's what happens when you sit for hours: your body goes into metabolic dormancy. The enzymes that break down fats and regulate blood sugar basically shut off.

The solution isn't longer workouts - it's "movement snacks." Studies show that breaking up sitting every 30 minutes with just 2 minutes of light walking significantly improves glucose control and blood pressure.

Your body doesn't distinguish between a Netflix binge and a work meeting. It just knows you're not moving.

So set that timer. Take the stairs. Pace during phone calls. These micro-movements might matter more than that perfect gym session.

It's an intriguing shift in how we think about daily activity.

Innate Chiropractic

02/23/2026

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02/19/2026

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Monday	8am - 1pm
	2pm - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 1pm
	2pm - 5:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 1pm
	2pm - 5:30pm
Thursday	8am - 1pm
	2pm - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 2pm