Serving adults, babies and animals
Georgetown Chiropractor Shanna Jackson has opened a new clinic, Rise Up Chiropractic, just north of Westinghouse Road at 2951 Farm to Market Road 1460, Ste. 1402.
After spending 10 years at the start of her career as a surgical technician, at age 40, she decided to go back to school because she believed there were alternative ways to address medical issues. She started practicing in 2017, after graduating from Sherman College of Chiropractic.
Dr. Jackson is now certified to provide services for everyone, including pregnant women and children. She also works on some animals.
She described her chiropractic technique as being a “very light, gentle technique — no twisting, popping, cracking — to realign the bones.”
She specializes in Upper Cervical Chiropractic, which focuses on the top two vertebrae in the neck to correct misalignment that may be putting pressure on the brain stem. She is one of three chiropractors in Texas who has a 3D cone beam CT machine, which specifically shows how the neck is aligned in comparison to the skull.
She said Upper Cervical Chiropractic care is beneficial for ailments including migraines, neck pain, post concussion syndrome, vertigo and tinnitus.
“Everything that in our body is getting signals from the brain- stem,” Dr. Jackson said. ”Everything can be affected if that’s not aligned properly.”
During sessions, she instructs patients to lay on their side on a table that drops and uses her hand to apply light pressure below the ear to realign the neck.
“Most people don’t even feel it,” she said. “They feel the table drop and then that puts a vibration in that bone. Then everything is nice and relaxed up there when that happens, and that bone just slips right where it needs to be.”
For the rest of the spine, a spring loaded tool that provides more precise adjustments.
Babies and pregnant mothers
Dr. Jackson is certified by ICPA to work with pregnant women and babies. She is also licensed to use the Webster Technique, which aligns the pelvis, on pregnant women who may be having lower back pain or sciatica.
Babies who are suffering from ear infections or digestive issues are brought in for adjustments, as well as those that suffered from neck trauma during their births.
While doing chiropractic adjustments on babies may sound intense, Dr. Jackson said it’s actually lower impact than people may think. The baby is laid on top of a pillow, or on their mother while Dr. Jackson does the adjustment.
“The pressure you would put on a tomato [to check its ripe- ness], to where you wouldn't puncture the tomato — that's about the amount of pressure you put on a baby’s spine to adjust it,” she said. “It does not take much.”
Working on animals
Dr. Jackson has a mobile chiropractic service for animals, and works on dogs, horses and other farm animals outside of her clinic office hours. She said clients often include competition animals, and pet dogs with arthritis or other degenerative diseases.
The dogs she works on are often dragging their hind legs due to an injury. But, she said six to eight adjustments can have the dog back “to where they look like their normal selves.”
Dr. Jackson has also worked on cats, rabbits, goats, sheep, show pigs and donkeys.
“I have a couple of 21-year-old donkeys that I work on regularly right now,” she said. “They are my favorite.”
When working on larger animals, she usually stands on a platform that is in the shape of a barrel of hay. She taps on the muscles and puts pressure where the muscles attach. Usually, the animal moves and the bone goes back into place.
For more information about Rise Up Chiropractic, visit https://riseupchirotx.com or call the office at 512-729-3315.