The Omega Method
For neck pain, headaches, and dizziness that keep coming back.
In-person care in Wheat Ridge, CO, serving the Denver metro
The short version
The Omega Method is how Dr. Sam finds out what your body is protecting you from, and helps it let go. It has three steps. See it: we test your eyes and balance system and measure how your body is twisting. Change it: upper cervical chiropractic and vestibular therapy, weighted to what your testing shows. Feel it: as the pattern lets go, you feel it, and re-testing shows you what’s changed.
Your body isn’t failing you. It’s protecting you.
Your brain’s number one job is keeping you upright. It does that using your eyes, the balance system in your inner ear, and the signals your joints and muscles send about where you are.
When that information stops adding up, your brain senses you’re more likely to fall. The thing it most wants to protect in a fall is your neck, so it tightens those muscles and holds them there. Over time, your whole body follows. It twists and compresses to protect you, and that shows up in how you stand: leaning more on one leg, a hip or shoulder turned, your head tilted to one side.
Then your body does one more protective thing. The joints under the most strain build up scar tissue, the way you’d put a cast on something at risk. But scar tissue isn’t silent. It sends its own distorted signal back to your brain, and that signal tells your brain to keep protecting.
Your brain and body work as one system
Your brain needs to know what your body is doing, and your body keeps reinforcing what your brain believes. They’re constantly talking to each other.
That’s why working on just one piece often doesn’t hold. Change one side, and the other pulls it right back.
So we work on both. We test first to see where the biggest problem is, and that tells us where to start.
See it
Your brain keeps you upright using your eyes and your balance system. If either one is sending bad information, your body twists and compresses to protect you. We test both, and measure how your body is twisting, to find out where the biggest problem is.
- Your eyes. Video eye tracking shows how your eyes follow and hold a target, including what they do in complete darkness, where they can’t compensate.
- Your balance. A balance platform shows how steady you are when your eyes, your feet, or both are challenged.
- Your posture. How evenly you stand on each foot, how far your hips and shoulders have twisted, and how much your body and head tilt.
Why posture? A brain getting good information always chooses the most upright, efficient way to stand. When yours doesn’t, that tells us how compromised you are.
Change it
Upper cervical chiropractic gently decompresses the pattern your body is locked in. Each correction is calculated from that visit’s measurements, so it changes as you change. No twisting, popping, or cracking.
Vestibular therapy changes how your brain sees your body. We test each exercise in the office before we send it home with you, so you only practice what we’ve watched work. When positional vertigo is part of the picture, care includes repositioning.
Your testing, your data, and your goals decide where we start, and we track all three throughout your care.
When scar tissue is part of it. If a joint or tendon has built up scar tissue that keeps the old signal going, focused shockwave therapy may be added to your care. Your exam decides.
Feel it
As the pattern lets go, you feel it. We re-measure along the way, so you can see it too.
At the end of your plan, we put your results side by side with where you started. From there, maintenance care helps you keep what you’ve gained.
What your first visits look like
1
Complimentary consultation
A conversation about what you’ve been dealing with and what you’ve already tried. By the end, we’ll tell you honestly whether we think we can help.
2
Comprehensive assessment
We measure your eye movement, your balance, and how you’re actually standing. This is where we find out what’s causing your problem.
3
Your results and a plan
We walk you through your results and what they mean, then build a plan around what we found.
4
Care and progress checks
Visits weighted to your results, with progress checks along the way and a side-by-side comparison at the end of your plan.
Who the Omega Method is for
Most of the people we see are adults dealing with something that keeps coming back, often after trying many different doctors and practitioners. Many are active adults whose recurring injuries keep pulling them away from the things they love. They come to us with:
- Neck pain, including after an accident or surgery
- Vertigo and dizziness
- Headaches and migraines
- Numbness and tingling
- Concussion recovery
- POTS and dysautonomia
- Sciatica and joint or tendon pain
What people say
“It’s been wonderful working with Dr. Sam and Dr. Lynn. Major improvement in the big things I first showed up with just over four months ago. We’re already onto the next layer which I think is what started the whole cascade of other symptoms. I’ve worked with many practitioners over the years and I finally feel like we’re resolving and re-patterning things vs just being in a cycle of treatment. Highly recommend! Thank you Dr. Sam and Dr. Lynn!”
Kristen R., Google review
“We have been so fortunate to have found Dr. Sam and his staff. My son had been struggling with anxiety and panic attack’s for years. … When we found Dr. Sam and he performed his evaluation. He was able to pinpoint exactly what was going on. He was also able to explain it in a manner that even I could understand lol. … I was initially skeptical but after just the first couple of treatments I saw a dramatic change in my son. So much so that it brought tears to my eyes.”
Gabe M., Google review
Individual results vary.
Common questions about the Omega Method
What is the Omega Method?
The Omega Method is Dr. Sam McDonald’s approach to neck pain, headaches, and dizziness that keep coming back. It has three steps. See it: we test your eyes and balance system and measure how your body is twisting. Change it: upper cervical chiropractic and vestibular therapy, weighted to your results. Feel it: as the pattern lets go, you feel it, and re-testing shows you what’s changed.
Do I need both parts?
Not always. Your testing decides. Some people need mostly one part, and others need both working together. When scar tissue in a joint is part of the problem, focused shockwave may be added.
How is this different from what I’ve already tried?
Many of our patients have seen a chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist, and some still do. What we add is measurement: we test your eyes and balance system and measure how your body is twisting, to find out what it’s protecting you from. Testing also tells us where to start.
How soon will I feel a difference?
It depends on how long the problem has been there and what testing finds. We re-measure early in care, so within the first few weeks you’ll know whether things are changing.
Do I need a referral?
No. You can schedule a complimentary consultation directly.
Do you take insurance?
We are out of network with all carriers but can provide you with a superbill to submit for reimbursement.
Related pages
Wondering what your body has been protecting you from? Let’s find out why.