Dopps Chiropractic

05/20/2026

Constipation and Back Injuries: Over the years we have noticed interesting patterns. We would never tell a patient that we can treat specific health issues, but patients often tell us that certain health issues have changed with improvements in back symptoms. One of the common things we hear about is constipation going away as back pain does. Let’s talk about the reasoning behind this.

When people hurt their back they become less mobile. This happens through decreased joint mobility, muscle tightness, and inflammation. Trunk movement increases function of the intestines. The movement of food through the intestines is called peristalsis. In addition to decreased mobility of the trunk, back injuries tend to depress nerve function. This nerve function can directly impact intestinal function.

Many people tend to take opioid medications when they have back pain. This can significantly increase the chance of constipation. Some people have to take an additional medication to reverse the opioid induced constipation.

So what is our plan of attack? An adjustment to the spine (AKA Spinal Manipulation) is a “controlled sprain” to the lumbar spine to improve its mobility. We try to reduce muscle tightness and inflammation with various therapies. The best thing about it…many patients are also able to get off opioid medications, which also contribute to reduced peristalsis.

If you have questions about back pain and this topic, please feel free to call us at 316-729-2528 and we will schedule you to see the doctor.

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

05/18/2026

We are proud of our children. At our clinic, we talk about physical and mental health. Our children have been great at helping their peers with their mental and spiritual health.

They have been hosting several events each month like this. It’s nice to see so many kind kids feeling good and helping each other.

05/09/2026

Tonight we celebrated the graduation of our first born son, Titus Bradford. He has been accepted into KU Law and will have his Juris Doctorate in 6 years.

We tried our best not to protect him, but to prepare him. His determination shows it. He has become such a funny, intelligent, strong, and compassionate young man.

He has become a leader to his peers. His friendships are his life, and he is always eager to help his friends live right.

We can’t wait to see how he builds and leads his own family!

05/06/2026

The deadly threat of poor mobility: Many people have a poor gait when they hurt their back or hip. When they get worse, they may use a cane. This point is critical because it can cause the advancement to a walker, and then a wheelchair. Although this seems innocent, it is not. Have you heard of someone who has taken an international flight and died of an embolism afterward? You may also know people who have poor mobility are more likely to have illnesses of the lungs, such as pneumonia. There are physiological reasons for these scenarios.

Heart health is important, as it needs to deliver blood to the tissues of the body. However, mobility is just as important in moving blood through the body. Many people don’t realize that veins have valves in them to prevent backflow. When you walk and contract your leg muscles, fluid is pushed back up to the heart and the valves prevent blood from falling back to the feet. If this doesn’t happen, the risk of clotting can occur in the lower limbs, like the example of the pulmonary embolism after an international flight.

When poor mobility sets in, more fluid will pool in the lower legs because it is not being pushed back up to the heart. Swelling in the ankles and feet are an initial sign. Swelling of legs with normal color can indicate pooling of fluid between cells. Sometimes the swelling is pink. This can indicate the pooling of blood (kind of like livor mortis). There are some people who become purple in the area of swelling. This can partially be due to blood thinners in addition to the swelling

Swelling of the lower legs can also be due to poor heart function and increased body weight. Both cause resistance to the flow of fluids in and out of tissue. How can you prevent this?

Diet and exercise go hand in hand with this situation. Increased body weight prevents mobility. Decreased mobility will increase body weight. If you are in poor health, you may need a more aggressive diet and light weight training initially. This is a delicate balance at the start, as dieting can cause muscle loss.

If back, hip, or knee pain is part of the reason you are not mobile, please give us a call. We would love to sit down with you and discuss options that may improve your mobility. We can also guide you in diet and exercise. This change usually needs to be addressed from different angles.

Some people need to make this decision: Do you want the pain and risks of poor mobility, or do you want the pain and risks of hard, healthy change? We are here to help make this change! Call us at 316-729-2528!

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

04/22/2026

Call us for affordable chiropractic care on North Maize Rd! 316-729-2528.

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

04/15/2026

HEADACHES – What’s actually going on? Headaches are very interesting. Some people get them occasionally for no obvious reason. Others are victims of them daily. They can dominate your life for weeks straight. They can even affect your social life. What is causing them?
Most commonly, pressurization of tight anatomical spaces in the head is what causes headaches. Some headache causes are severe, but less common. This would be something like an aneurysm or a tumor. With these types, fluids and tissues exert direct pressure to the head. We may know people who have had theses, but luckily they are the less common causes of headaches.
Some people have allergies that cause inflammation around the eyes. This is ultimately a fluid that occupies and irritates tissue space in the head. Sometimes poor vision can cause headaches. Straining the muscles around the eyes causes swelling of the muscle and surrounding tissue. You have probably heard the term “swole” after exercise. There is an estimate that muscles can gain 20% in volume from the swelling related to muscle strain. This principal also applies to the strain of eye muscles. Increased volume in the confined space of the eyes equals increased pressure, leading to headaches.
The most common cause of the headaches, believe it or not, comes from the back of the head (and upper neck)! The two upper neck bones have unique anatomy. The muscles around these bones have specific function related to the rotation of the head. When they get aggravated, they become tighter and thicker. Irritation leads to inflammation. Suddenly, the upper neck is in a cycle that causes pressurization of a tight compartment. The difference in this area is that there are nerves travelling through this compartment. They serve as sensors for parts of the head.
When these nerves are aggravated, it is very common to have headaches at the base of the skull, behind the eye, or on the side of the head. If the pressure is great enough, it can even cause tingling or numbness in the scalp or bottom half of the ear! This can be deceiving because the source of the problem is in another area. Pretty fascinating, but what do you do to correct this?
Typically we perform cervical decompression and ultrasound on the neck to alleviate neck based headaches. These therapies are typically comfortable and affordable. They are aimed at reducing swelling and providing mobility to the neck. Poor posture, arthritis, and injuries to the neck can cause chronic issues with inflammation, muscle spasm, and joint restriction. When these cycles reach the upper neck, the likelihood of headaches increases.
If you would like to talk to us about your headaches, feel free to call us and schedule a consultation. Usually a few questions and a couple simple tests will tell us if your headaches are stemming from a neck condition. We can also get a quick image with our digital x-ray machine if needed. Our number is 316-729-2528.

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

03/23/2026

We’ve been gone with the kids for spring break and will be open again on Tuesday, 3/24.

We hope you enjoyed time with your family over the break!

03/12/2026

Will I need a hip replacement? Believe it or not, hip issues can be quite confusing. Why? Because when people refer to their “hip” issues there are three totally separate anatomical areas that people refer to when they say “the hip”.
When we talk about hip replacements, this involves the head of the femur (the long bone of the leg) and the socket it fits into. This is what many people fear they have issues with when they say they have “hip” pain. However, when they point to their pain, they quickly reveal this is not the situation. The hip usually causes pain on the front of the body, by the groin. A quick x-ray of the femur head with these symptoms will reveal if a hip replacement is needed.
If the above pain pattern is not seen, there are two other areas that people refer to as the hip. These two areas are usually related to lower back issues. The first would be pain on the side of the hip. This is typically tenderness in the ITB muscle and sensitivity of the skin above this muscle. This is usually a response to irritation of the nerves that exit the lower lumbar spine. The other “hip” pain involves pain on the back side of the body, below the belt and outward where the hump of the gluteal muscle starts. Some doctors will refer to this as an issue with the SI joint. However, this joint is extremely thick and offers very little motion. In fact, if you were hit by a car, you would be more like to fracture your pelvis than to disrupt this joint.
This final “hip” pain is typically another issue with the joints of the lower lumbar spine. When they become inflamed, the inflammatory fluid will typically move downward with gravity and cover the SI joint, making it very sore. In addition, the gluteal and hip muscles are also controlled by the lower lumbar spine. Irritation of these nerves can cause muscle tightening.
So, what do you do? Come talk to us. We can assess if we need to proceed with an x-ray of the head of the femur or the lumbar spine. This is one of the most common problems we see and we would love to help you. Our number is 316-729-2528.

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

01/08/2026

What is so special about the spine? Believe it or not, it doesn’t just separate the mouth from its exit! Of the 206 human bones, few contain the neural pathways that allow our brain to communicate the body. This design creates a very special circumstance…poor spinal health can impact our master system (the nervous system). This is why there are so many specialty doctors for the spine.
The spine functions like a single unit, however, it is made of 24 bones. This poses an interesting situation. Injuries and postural changes can be concentrated to a specific joint. In turn, this can cause things like scoliosis, degeneration, and compression fractures. Any deviation from normal structure and function will change the operating conditions of the spine, and ultimately the aging process of the spine. Let’s take this a step further. Why does this matter?
When you have deterioration of a typical joint, such as the knee, it can cause pain and an altered gait. Unfortunately, because the spine is designed to protect the nervous system, spinal dysfunction can cause issues with the nervous system. This usually starts with diffuse symptoms of tingling, numbness, or burning. In the worst cases, it will involve muscle weakness and atrophy.
Some people only have pain localized to the spine. The most common symptoms of nervous referral are headaches, tingling or weakness of the arms and hands, tingling or weakness of the legs, and muscle tenderness.
When treated early, most symptoms can be resolved. The likelihood of surgery increases when muscle wasting occurs, or there are symptoms to more than one limb. We are here to avoid this. We also want you to feel and function as good as you can. Simple joint problems can become quite complex later, especially with the spine. If you have any questions about your spinal health, please call us! We are more than happy to talk about your concerns. 316-729-2528.

We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

12/30/2025

We want to wish our patients, friends, and family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope the end of this year brings understanding and meaning to the reason we lived through it. We hope the new year gives each of you a fresh outlook, and that you can see and fulfill your purpose for being here.

We hope we can help you and give you encouragement!

11/24/2025

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We are thankful for the relationships we have with our patients! We are also thankful for our amazing children. They are growing to be very intelligent, compasionate, and talented people. Here they are providing entertainment for the family at Thanksgiving!