I am constantly amazed by the body’s ability to birth. As a chiropractor, I get to help prepare their bodies for this feat and as a doula I get to help support mamas in this beautiful accomplishment. Ladies, you are SO AMAZING! Labor is hard work that is both physically and mentally exhausting but with the most incredible reward in the end. After all of the hard work, women need the time to heal during the postpartum period. One of the best ways to do this is to take a healing comforting bath! ~Dr. Robyn Herbal sitz bath blends are wonderful for healing stitches or sore bottoms postpartum. Ingredients: Equal parts yarrow leaf & flower,…

Why do pediatric chiropractors exist? 1. To maximize their child’s neural plasticity (brain and nerve development). 2. To enhance their child’s overall health and well-being. 3. To strengthen immunity and reduce the incidence of colds, earaches and general illness. 4. To help with colic and Irritable Baby Syndrome. 5. To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies. 6. To improve spinal posture. 7. To improve their child’s ability to concentrate (it’s all about the nervous system!). 8. To assist with behavioral disorders and enhance emotional well-being. 9. To help alleviate digestive problems. 10. To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues. Why do you take your kids to the chiropractor?   Drs. Graper and Robyn Your Chanhassen Pediatric…

  I made this diaper salve for when Logan was born and it worked wonders. If he had any sort of rash, this would clear it up overnight. It is a bit thicker so spreading it on a sore area isn’t the easiest but we made it work and it was well worth it! – Dr. Angie You can also use it on cuts and scrapes since it lasts a long time for when your kids are out of diapers. It’s much more than just diaper salve! Ingredients: 1 cup olive oil, infused with calendula blossoms 3⁄4 cup beeswax 1 tsp. vitamin E Few drops pure lavender essential oil per…

Carpal Tunnel pain is ZERO FUN!! Perhaps you’re just “living with the pain” or pain relievers help you sleep but have you considered trying chiropractic? Chiropractors specialize on musculoskeletal complaints and yes, we work on wrists!! A lot of people don’t know we can work on arms and legs too. 😉 The tricky part is that wrist pain is not always caused by issues in the wrist but actually the forearm, shoulder and even the neck! I don’t have specific statistics but in my experience, I see most of the underlying cause coming from the shoulder and neck. I’d estimate that this is the case 7-8/10 times when a person has a complaint…

By Dr. Angela L. Graper, CACCP Why do kids have more infections? And why do they “grow out” of them? Let’s start with the anatomy. When kids experience pain, it is usually because of pressure built up behind the eardrum in the inner ear canal, also called the Eustachian tube. In children, the Eustachian tube is a slightly different structure than in adults. First off, it is at a horizontal angle, making it more difficult to drain on its own. Also, it’s narrower so it takes less fluid buildup to create discomfort.  By understanding the structures surrounding the ear, we can then fully appreciate additional modalities that can help the…

One of the reasons that parents seek out our services is due to their kid’s sleeping problems. It may be that their child was a great sleeper and all of a sudden is waking up ten times per night. Or it may be that they have had a hard time going down to sleep since birth. What can Chiropractors do to help? First off, our focus is on the nervous system and since this controls EVERYTHING in the body, we can influence how a child sleeps. When we adjust children, we are sending information to their brain via the spinal cord. We also discuss different aspects of the nervous system…

Taking the Birth World by Calm! Using Hypnobirthing By Natasha Reilly After the birth of my second child I felt a calling to work with women as they transitioned into motherhood. I knew that with support and education couples could make choices in how to bring their child into the world in a calm and empowering way. I love working with families, providing the knowledge that I wish I had when I was expecting my first child. I am honored every time I am invited to join other couples as they go through their own journey. I’m thrilled to be offering HypnoBirthing® classes at Family Focus Chiropractic! I learned and…

By Dr. Angela Graper There are many options these days for food sensitivity testing. One of the best ways is an elimination diet but that can be daunting and time consuming. It can also mean that your “cheat” meals create underlying inflammation without knowing it. At Family Focus Chiropractic, we offer several tests that measure sensitivities to foods, which tests different immunoglobulins compared to getting allergy testing done. More information on intestinal permeability resulting in inflammatory and autoimmune conditions found in Alternative Therapies here. CYREX Perhaps you’ve read about Cyrex testing in the books Grain Brain or Primal Body, Primal Mind. We have this testing available. The two panels that we utilize…

By: Dr. Angela Graper I’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t follow last week’s meal plan exactly. We had leftover ham from the holidays that needed to be eaten up and I tend to over-plan, which means recipes get pushed back. That’s easier and more cost-effective than under-planning. For lunch today, we had leftover Caribbean Oxtail Stew as I really don’t like wasting food when we pay more for grass-fed and organic. The higher cost and increased work of obtaining food like this really adds value for our family. So you’ll see some of the same recipes as last week but that’s the ebb and flow of meal…

By Dr. Angela Graper Meal planning takes work but with some motivation and a cold Sunday, it isn’t too bad 🙂 I plan according to what’s in our freezer but you could stock up on different cuts of meat by buying whatever is on sale and freezing it. We do this with chicken breasts. When we buy the Family Pack, we save a few dollars per pound. Last time, it was $3.99/lb vs $5.99/lb. We package them into serving sizes and freeze them, mainly for “Curry in a Hurry” which I’ll share later. Sunday  – food prep for Monday’s dinner.  Chop veggies and make beef bone broth. Monday night –…