Lake Plaza Acupuncture and Chiropractic

Hello hello!

There is a lot going on in September, from Labor Day to back-to-school season, and it gets a little more chaotic as we get closer to Halloween and the holidays. For now, I want to focus on September.

Servicemen and Public Safety Workers – Thank You for Everything!

I think it goes without saying that the servicemen and women of our communities do so much for us. When life throws chaos in our faces, these people are right there to help us. So from the staff at LPAAC, whether you’re a veteran or a paramedic, we want to say thank you. I don’t think there are enough words in the English dictionary to demonstrate how much we value your time and sacrifice. I hope that we, LPAAC, are able to return the help with our services and our relations with the VA.It takes a different kind of strength to join the armed forces. It is the kind of strength that is willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the country.

It takes a different kind of strength to join public safety. It is the kind of strength that goes above and beyond to protect our communities.

So for September, let’s take a moment to give our thanks to our firefighters, policemen, and veterans for their selfless work. If you’d like to make an impact and do some good work for our city, there are local nonprofits that you can volunteer with at, such as food pantries and charities. From UnitedWay to Care and Share Food Bank, there’s something for everyone.

Back-to-School Season: The Bane of Many Students

It’s back-to-school season! Some schools start in late August, others start in September. I just started a new college semester and I… got hit with 20 assignments. Most of it is calculus. So you bet it’s stressful on my part. This doesn’t just apply to college students like me. Parents, teachers, and coaches are juggling so many tasks from extracurriculars to meetings and even working a job and/or caring for kids and elders.

BUT! Did you know acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic can help? I would know cause I’m a student studying the medical side of biology.

Acupuncture is shown to relieve stress. In one randomized, small clinical trial, researchers found verum (a synonym for true and actual in this case) showed greater results in treatment than sham acupuncture by a difference of 5.50% towards the perception of stress (Schroeder et al., 2017). For the record, I do want to clarify that we practice verum acupuncture, as our acupuncturists have gone to school and received certifications to practice acupuncture. Since psychology is linked to our physical health, otherwise known as health psychology, stress leads to physical symptoms in our bodies like headaches and nausea. Still, this does go to show that acupuncture has a positive effect on stress reduction (Wild et al., 2020). Just recently, I went to see Dr. Galya Loewenstein (shout out to her!) to help with my own swamp of stress. According to Dr. Galya, acupuncture helps calm the nervous system when it’s overwhelmed by external factors. Let me tell you as a first-hand account, I badly needed that acupuncture session after swimming in piles of calculus, chemistry, and physics homework.

Not interested in acupuncture? Try massage therapy! Massage therapy can help our body relax. Dr. Tiffany Field from the University of Miami Medical School noted massage therapy relaxes our nervous system by slowing our heart rate and reducing blood pressure. There are many physiological benefits to seeing a massage therapist as a student. Relief from hand overuse, low back pain from sitting or bending for too long, or neck pain from looking at our screens for too long. Massage therapy is a good way to de-stress and decompress both physiologically and psychologically after a long day at school. Coming out of the gym or physical work? Massage therapy can help relax and reduce strain on the next day! And sometimes, you just need to treat yourself to a nice, rewarding massage from one of our fantastic massage therapists.

Speaking of posture, let’s talk about chiropractic benefits. As alluded to in the previous paragraph, repetition of hunching over at desks and looking down at our phones can alter our spines to get that curved shape. That’s when our heads start to stick out and we develop a condition called kyphosis. Chiropractic care can treat slouching using exercise and traction to realign the spine (Fortner et al., 2017). If you find yourself in a constant slouching position, chiropractic can help course-correct your spine before health complications arise. The spine is one of the most important systems in our bodies. It supports our body’s weight, healthy movement, protects our body with shock absorption, and protects the spinal cord and central nervous system (Burke, 2025). Chiropractic care helps us from curving our spines too much, to the point where of adding painful weight on our spine. Our spines do a lot for us, so let’s show appreciation in return.

References:

Burke, K. (2025, November 26). Why Spine Health Is Essential For Your Overall Health. 

Fortner MO, Oakley PA, Harrison DE. Treating ‘slouchy’ (hyperkyphosis) posture with chiropractic biophysics^®: a case report utilizing a multimodal mirror image^® rehabilitation program. J Phys Ther Sci. 2017;29(8):1475-1480. doi:10.1589/jpts.29.1475

NIH News in Health. Massage therapy. What you knead to know. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/07/massage-therapy (2012, Accessed September 8 2025).

Schroeder S, Burnis J, Denton A, Krasnow A, Raghu TS, Mathis K. Effectiveness of Acupuncture Therapy on Stress in a Large Urban College Population. Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies. 2017;10(3):165-170. doi:10.1016/j.jams.2017.01.002

Wild B, Brenner J, Joos S, Samstag Y, Buckert M, Valentini J. Acupuncture in persons with an increased stress level-Results from a randomized-controlled pilot trial. PLoS One. 2020;15(7):e0236004. Published 2020 Jul 23. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236004

Did I cite my sources? Yes. Because otherwise, I’d be taking credit for someone’s work and that’s a big no-no in academia.

If you’re a student at Pikes Peak State College who is also a veteran, did you know the VA Community Care will cover acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage therapy? Our three offices in Colorado Springs are also coincidentally near PPSC’s three campuses! Total accident, but I realized that as a PPSC student after we opened up the North office. Our North office is closest to the Rampart Range campus. Our main office, S. Circle, is closest to the Centennial campus. Our Old Colorado City office is closest to the Downtown campus. You can stop by before or after classes, or even on your way home! Check out Info for Veterans to see how to get a referral from the VA sent to us. And even if you aren’t a veteran but a PPSC student, you’re always welcome to come see us to get treatment! This also applies to students attending UCCS or Colorado College.

Have any questions? Please reach out to us at info@lpaac.org and we’d be more than happy to help.

Hello, hello!

Previously in our newsletter, we announced the new chiropractors joining the LPAAC staff: Dr. Sam Nelson and Dr. Scott Miller, and we can start accepting referrals for chiropractic. However, we know there is skepticism about the efficacy of chiropractic. For this, I’m joined by Dr. Nelson to dispel myths about chiropractic care:

Myth: Chiropractors are not real doctors.

“Schooling for chiropractic is generally the same amount of practical and schooling hours as any MD schooling. The focus is different. So we do more anatomy, diagnostic side of things. MD does more of pathology side of life.”

Myth: Chiropractic is a pseudoscience and there is no substantial scientific research to back it up.

“A lot of research has been coming out over the last decade solidifying the science behind chiropractic. Research is ongoing constantly. Off the record, chiropractic is one of the most scrutinized practices so we have to do a lot of research and study.”

Myth: Chiropractic is only for back pain.

“All joints are able to be manipulated. All joints have nerve endings. It looks at the whole body. We’re also trained to look at the whole body internally as well.”

Myth: Chiropractic is dangerous and will only hurt/cause injury

“Definitely not dangerous. The risk of the chiropractic adjustment is significantly lower than people realize.”

Myth: Chiropractic is a one-and-done deal

“No. Although we definitely look to help you on every visit to be a one-and-done deal, it’s a compounding treatment. It continuously maintains your wellness. The best analogy is I’d love to go to the dentist for one time and get perfect teeth.”

Have any other questions about chiropractic? Please reach out to us!

New Office!

Do you live in the north part of town? I’m talking Briargate, Stetson Hills, Black Forest, or even north beyond the city like Monument. We opened a new office in the north part of Colorado Springs! Located at 6885 Tutt Blvd Ste 100, anyone who wants to come to this office for the ease of commute or errands can let front desk know. The North office is also bookable online through our JANE portal. Dr. Dawna Ara and Dr. Sam Nelson will operate there for acupuncture and chiropractic respectively. We’ll update the schedule as providers choose to operate at the North office, as well the S. Circle and the Old Colorado City offices.

Hello, hello!

This is the start of our newsletter! We’ll be posting monthly newsletters on the blog as a way to engage with our communities and deliver news. Now, by the time this first edition comes out, the Fourth of July has already passed. Still, I think it’s befitting to talk about America’s 250th anniversary as it is a monumental occasion.

America’s 250th Birthday

As everyone knows, this Fourth of July is special. It marks the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding since 1776. That is a quarter of a millennia! It’s a Semiquincentennial! Say that five times. Even though the United States is still fairly young in comparison to several European and Asian nations, we were able to achieve so much within those 250 years.
So much has happened within our 250 years of American history, but here are some highlights:

• The Declaration of Independence was charted by the Founding Fathers in 1776. It marked the beginnings of our fight for independence away from British rule.
• Abraham Lincoln kept the Union together after the Civil War. He also signed the Emancipation Proclamation and gave his Gettysburg Address in Pennsylvania.
• Theodore Roosevelt established the first 5 National Parks from 1901-1909: Crater Lake in Oregon, Wind Cave in South Dakota, Sullys Hill in North Dakota, Mesa Verde here in Colorado, and Platt in Oklahoma.
• Henry Ford pioneered the automobile industry in 1911. He also revolutionized assembly-line methods that increased productivity and made interchangeable parts readily available for his automobiles.
• Elvis Presley took the world by storm as the King of Rock and Roll.
• Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. It was the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement. Later on in 1964 and 1965, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson.
• The moon landing was recorded in 1969! As Neil Armstrong said: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” And indeed it was a giant leap for mankind, as we began to look at exploring and learning about the unknowns of space.
• Gladys West was the brilliant mathematician who helped invent the GPS. So many people, like me, would be lost if it weren’t for her contributions into creating the GPS.
• Michael Jackson cemented himself as one of the greatest entertainers with classics like “Thriller,” “Smooth Criminal,” and my personal favorite: “Beat It.”
• Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected as president in 2008. If you’re someone like me, you were four years old and barely remember anything.
• Alysa Liu won gold in the Women’s Free Skate competition with her MacArthur Park Suite program at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

And many more have yet to come! Happy Fourth of July!

We have Chiropractors!

Dr. Sam Nelson and Dr. Scott Miller are joining the team as the new chiropractic forces. Currently, Dr. Nelson is accepting patients and we’re working to get Dr. Miller into the schedule and ready to accept VA patients. Referrals from the VA for chiropractic care can also be sent for Dr. Nelson!

Dr. Nelson earned his Doctoral degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN. He has also completed the necessary coursework and exams to be a Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner (CCSP), which allows him to treat the highest level of athletes. This has led him to work with Team USA athletes and travel with Team USA Wrestling as part of the Sports Medicine Staff since 2021. Also, team Chiropractor for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

If you would like to see Dr. Nelson, please ask the front desk for further details or call (719) 900-3009.