05/20/2025
This is long overdue, but something I feel led to share. I wanted to share a little bit of my story for those of you who may not know much about it. It started with getting ejected from the passenger window of a vehicle in 2008. After I was ejected out of the vehicle, I opened my eyes and all I could see was metal pipes and four tires around me.
My Dad was able to help me out from underneath the vehicle, but I was unable to move my left leg.
We called an ambulance and I was brought to the hospital for further evaluation. X-Rays were taken of my leg and hip and there was nothing broken, but I still had no function in my left leg from the hip down. The doctor’s main concern was if I had injured my growth plate in my left hip because of my age. At this age, I was just going to be a freshman in high school and had a lot more room to grow.
I had to stay overnight at the hospital and I’ll never forget the worry and confusion that weighed over me that night. “Why did this happen to me?”, “Am I ever going to be able to walk again?”, or “If nothing is broken, then what could be going on with me?”.
I was sent home the next day and told to rest and recover from the accident. Two weeks go by and I am now able to get out of bed, but my left leg is still not moving. Four weeks go by and I am getting used to the crutches and having one functioning leg. Six weeks go by and a miracle happens, I was able to move my toes and foot for the first time since the accident!
As I slowly started to gain more function in my left leg, I started to realize that that was not the only injury that happened during that accident. I had sustained a concussion and injured my brain. Every aspect of my life would be affected for years after this accident.
Here is a list of the following symptoms that I have dealt with since this accident:
Head Pressure
Brain Fog
Lightheadedness
Blurry Vision
Light and Noise Sensitivity
Gut Issues
Anxiety
Depression
Mood Swings
Neck Pain
Low Back Pain
Chronic Fatigue
This is what head injuries can do to you.
They can affect every single aspect of your life from physical health to mental health because the brain is the control center for the entire body.
I went to Dordt College (now Dordt University) and was studying exercise science to pursue physical therapy school. My symptoms had become such a major piece of my life that I wanted to take any class possible to learn what was going on with me. I started to rehab my own low back at Dordt and was able to get about 50% improvement.
At this point, I knew that helping others with rehab and function was what God wanted me to do in life and was probably the reason I have gone through a health journey like this.
I decided to pursue chiropractic school instead of physical therapy school. The main reason for this was that chiropractic philosophy focuses on the understanding that the body can heal itself when it is nudged in the right direction. God created our bodies to heal and that has been my experience throughout my entire health history.
In 2016, I started chiropractic school at Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) in Bloomington, MN. After the first year of classes, I started getting adjusted regularly and my low back pain went away 100%.
What a relief!
I still had a laundry list of symptoms, but if chiropractic adjustments could help my low back and left hip that much, what else could it help with?
I began to dive deeper into Functional Neurology and Functional Medicine while going through school. Going to every seminar possible and following great functional doctors in the Twin Cities. I had an internship in Minnesota where I was doing brain exercises with patients for four months straight and about 80% of my symptoms had subsided by then, along with no headaches. It was one of the most amazing health experiences I had experienced.
A year later, my neurological symptoms had improved immensely, but I was still dealing with gut issues and chronic fatigue. I would get home from work, crash everyday, and not be in a good mood.
I decided to do an intense 4-month Detox focused around getting rid of parasites. This might be too much information, but I passed 26 parasites over the course of that detox and can safely say that I gained 5 hours of energy back into my day. I have also had no symptoms of depression or anxiety since doing this program.
To this day, I still cannot believe how much of a difference you can make with complex neurological and metabolic conditions by building a stronger foundation in the brain, decreasing the toxin burden, and increasing cellular energy.
It has been 17 years since this accident and I can safely say that I am symptom free and am able to live a life independent from my health issues. I know that I was put on this health journey for a reason and it is to help others dealing with a wide variety of symptoms get results faster so that they can get back to living life.
This brings me to a special invitation.
Conditions like post-concussion syndrome, POTS/dysautonomia, headaches, migraines, chronic dizziness, balance issues, brain fog, and neck pain are the body’s way of saying something is wrong and out of balance. Left unaddressed, these can lead to more fatigue and a life of searching for answers.
We are committed to helping Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas we're offering a free consultation.
www.brainhealthandchiro.com
We have helped many people with these conditions using non-invasive brain-based solutions during our Brain Reset Program. Call (605) 799-7579 or visit the link below to sign up for an appointment:
Due to our busy schedule, we accept a very limited number of new patients every month. We are committed to precise and comprehensive care to our patients which is why we will not crowd the practice. Make an appointment before the limited spots we have are all gone.
Yours in health,
Dr. Cooper Dykstra DC, CFMP
