Services

Natural Elements Health Center has always had the mission of bringing natural health practitioners to a shared location for our town of Milaca. In recent years, the business model has shifted to having more independence for each practitioner, therefore you will notice each provider you see runs their own schedule and has more personal flexibility in their own business.

We will work with you to find and maintain the good health and happy life you have within you. Our therapies include but may not be limited to:

Chiropractic | Therapeutic Massage | Acupuncture | Soft Tissue Therapies | Yoga

Nutrition: Nutritional Counseling | Applied Kinesiology | Food Sensitivity | Supplementation

Chiropractic

Chiropractic medicine at Natural Elements Health Center does not include the use of surgery or drugs. We look at the entire human body (physical, chemical, and energetic) to locate the source of your problem. It is understood that all healing is done by your body. A chiropractor helps facilitate your healing process and provides you with the necessary tools to achieve an optimal state of health and vitality.

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts that is a conservative and natural form of health care, restoring normal function within your nervous system. This form of care focuses on the removal of negative nervous system stimuli and the alignment of spinal structure.

Your nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerve fibers that run from the brain, through the cord, and into your body. This system is protected by bone, the skull and the spine. When a portion of your spine is “out of place,” neither broken or malformed, it is called a subluxation. Chiropractors correct this through an adjustment, which is a quick impulse in a specific direction to correct the subluxation.

When a subluxation is present, it begins an inflammatory process which in turn creates less space for your nerves to communicate with other parts of your body. This process would be similar to tightly putting a rubber band on your pinky finger. It is difficult to think of much else than the building blood pressure in your finger and the pain it creates.

The inflammation and lack of nerve communication, caused by a subluxation, in turn may produce multiple symptoms, possibly involving physical pain, chemical imbalance, or energetic and emotional imbalance. By performing a chiropractic adjustment, your bone is moved into alignment, normal motion is restored, inflammation is reduced, and your nerves are allowed to communicate freely with the rest of your body. Often a whole range of your symptoms will be resolved through this type of treatment.

A chiropractic adjustment at Natural Elements Health Center is powerful, yet safe. Your body’s ability to heal in response to an adjustment is even more powerful. Dr. Schlenker does not heal your condition, but restores normal function within the nervous system to allowing your body to begin its own healing process. Your body has an innate intelligence to react perfectly to every situation, with the goal of maintaining homeostasis, or balance. In adjusting balances, the chiropractor gives back your body’s ability to respond to the challenges it encounters.

Nutrition Counseling; Diet & Lifestyle

Nutritional Counseling | Applied Kinesiology | Food Sensitivity | Supplementation

Nutrition and Muscle Testing

Nutritional Counseling at Natural Elements Diet and Nutrition can be confusing topics but are so important to your over-all good health. With so much contradictory information coming at you, our goal is to clarify the direction you need to focus on.

Christine Schlenker, DC at Natural Elements Health Center has the experience, knowledge, and training to help you sort out what your body's particular needs are through Applied Kinesiology- Muscle Testing to clarify the focus.

Applied Kinesiology

What is Applied Kinesiololgy?
Applied kinesiology (AK) is the study of muscles and the relationship of muscle strength to health. It incorporates a system of manual muscle testing and therapy. AK is based on the theory that an organ dysfunction is accompanied by a specific muscle weakness. Diseases are diagnosed through muscle-testing procedures and then treated.

Dr. Christine is an Applied Kinesiologist who draws on complementary therapies to achieve total well being including: acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, nutrition, exercise and stress management.

Applied Kinesiology is based on principles of functional neurology, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and biochemistry as well as principles from Chinese medicine, acupuncture and massage. It was developed from traditional kinesiology in 1964 by George G. Goodheart, a chiropractor from Detroit, Michigan. He observed that each large muscle relates to a body organ. A weakness in a muscle may mean that there is a problem in the associated organ. Goodheart found that by treating the muscle and making it strong again, he was able to improve the function of the organ as well. Goodheart also found that painful nodules (small bumps) may be associated with a weak muscle. By deeply massaging the muscle, he was able to improve its strength.

This therapy is designed to be a part of a holistic approach to preventive medicine. The goals of applied kinesiology are to (1) restore normal nerve function, (2) achieve normal endocrine, immune, digestive and other internal organ functions, (3) intervene early in degenerative processes to prevent or delay pathological conditions, and to (4) re-store postural balance, correct gait (walking) impairment and improve range of motion.

AK is performed with no other equipment than the practitioners hands.
It assess the relative strength of the organs, glands and meridians.
It can uncover structural problems such as rib misalignment, spinal subluxations, or tooth problems.
It can identify acupuncture points needing treatment.
It can reveal deficiency conditions requiring herbs, or other homeopathic remedies.
It facilitates the assessment of infections, toxicity, degeneration or regeneration of the tissue.
It facilitates a communication with the patients body and mind.

According to applied kinesiology, common internal causes of muscle weakness include:

Dysfunction of nerve supply (nerve interference between spine and muscles).
Impairment of lymphatic drainage.
Reduction of blood supply.
Abnormal pressure in cerebral fluid affecting nerve-to-muscle relationships.
Blockage of an acupuncture meridian.
Imbalance of chemicals.
Dysfunction of organs or glands.
Excesses of deficiencies in nutrition.

Food Sensitivity Testing and Lab Testing

The preferred technique to assess food issues would be Muscle Testing. Food issues could be fluctuating depending on your health journey, and this is the most cost effective way to proceed with changes in response to food. The gold standard in functional medicine, is to remove the food for 21-28 days then add it back in, and watch for symptoms and results. Sometimes the food group can come back into the diet, and sometimes the food group must remain removed. Hundreds of food vials are in-clinic to utilize for testing purposes, and others have brought in particular food items to be tested with good success.

Further options for lab testing are available from home blood spot kits, referral for blood panels, urine testing, to fecal samples for a variety of labs. It is generally not the first step in treatment in our office due to the high success rate of using Muscle Testing to determine the course of action and the cost of repeating labs. But they are available for those that may have more complicated health concerns or if we need more clarity in the situation.

Labs:

Basic Blood Panels
Stool Analysis with GI Map
Vitamin D; blood spot home kit
Celiac & Gluten Sensitivity
Hormone – Urine testing through Dutch labs
SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
Food Sensitivity: FIT Test blood spot home kit
Omega 3; blood spot home kit
Water Testing

Supplementation

Natural Elements Health Center has a full range of high quality nutritional products available to help your good diet work even better for you.

Nutritional Supplements at Natural Elements Health Center Some of the brands we carry include: Supreme Nutrition, Nutri-Dyn, Thorne, and a variety of others.

Our Commitment to You

The supplements I carry and recommend are handpicked based on my education and research. They are of the quality I demand for my own family.

To ensure safety and efficiency, all products we offer have passed rigorous testing for purity and quality. This means they are most likely to be effective at targeting your needs, and won't contain contaminants like heavy metals, PCB's or other poisons.

The supplement market is an unregulated wild west where companies are driven to provide cheap products, which often means they contain cheap, substandard ingredients. I won't waste your time or treasure with products that are unlikely to help, or even worse----could harm you.

Because I am committed to your health, and all supplements are not created equal. I can not attest to the safety or effectiveness of supplements obtained by other retailers.

Dr. Christine Schlenker

Call us to learn more, for appointments, and for pricing information, 320-983-2333.

Therapeutic Massage

Acupuncture

Acupuncture at Natural Elements Health Center with Dr. Christine Schlenker

Acupuncture at our office is used as a therapy along with your chiropractic care and other services and for pain management. If you want acupuncture therapy only to address things such as infertility, tinnitus, hot flashes and hormone imbalance, we are happy to refer you to an acupuncturist in Elk River or St. Cloud.

Symptoms are typically a sign from your body that one or more systems in your body isn’t working correctly or at the very least can’t keep up with the work required.

Chinese Medicine has used acupuncture to help with almost every condition and most symptoms including:

Back pain and headaches – which is a symptom in the musculoskeletal system but includes the liver, kidney, and gallbladder.
Heartburn and Acid Reflux – which is a symptom of the gastrointestinal system but includes the stomach, spleen, and small or large intestine.
Hot flashes and infertility – which is a symptom with the endocrine and reproductive systems but also includes the heart, kidney, spleen, liver, and a couple other organs.
Anxiety, depression and addiction control – which are symptoms of the nervous system including the heart, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, and large intestine.

Energy is essential for all parts of your body to work on a chemical, physical and energetic level.

Knowing that acupuncture helps control all the systems in your body, means acupuncture could help when any of the systems in your body that are not working as well as they could be.

According to acupuncture authorities, acupuncture has been practiced for 5,000 to 7,000 years with its origins starting in China and spreading around the world. Acupuncture traveled through Asia and Europe, following missionaries and merchants. It wasn’t until 1971, when China and the U.S. opened diplomatic relations, that acupuncture became more nationally known and recognized.

Acupuncture is based on the principle that there is energy in your body and all around us. The energy is “contained” in channels, called “meridians” that act like pipes and carry it through the entire body to the different organs and systems in the body. These “meridians” are located just below the skin and follow a very specific path through your body.

Early Chinese physicians mapped this network of channels and some 1000+ acupuncture points along the way. Each of these “Acupoints” has very specific effects on the flow and movement of energy in the body.

How does acupuncture work?
The acupuncture system works meridian systems control electromagnetic system with all the other systems in your body, so when you develop symptoms, one of the first possible relief options is acupuncture.

Is Acupuncture Painful?
This is an important question, since for most people they have only experienced needles for drawing blood or injections – and those tend to be painful.

Most clients say the acupuncture needles hurt “less than a mosquito bite.” For some they don’t feel them at all and for some they feel a mild prick and some aching or heaviness in the area of the needle. Acupuncture needles are extremely slender, approximately as thin as your hair or very light fishing line – in fact several acupuncture needles can fit into the hole of most medical needles. If there is pain with the needle and the pain is more than mild, the needle can be removed or manipulated to reduce this sensation.