Meet Dr. Karis!

Get to know Dr. Karis a little better! Dr. Karis shared her journey to chiropractic with us!

 

I was not raised with chiropractic. I had multiple sports injuries and surgeries and went to physical therapy. Then when I was recruited to the University of Oregon as a javelin thrower, I was still dealing with injuries. Mainly shoulder pain, but we did a lot of training—we lifted weights and we trained 6 days a week  10 months out of the year.

 

In the middle of my sophomore season at the University of Oregon, I was basically in the training room daily dealing with chronic shoulder pain. At that point, I had had two cortisone injections and was on daily anti-inflammatory medication.

 

Through the biology program at the University of Oregon, they had a mentor class where you could shadow different professionals in the community. One of the professionals I chose to shadow was a chiropractor. I was curious, I really didn’t know much about it. After shadowing him, he asked if I wanted to be treated. I said yes, and I literally got off the table and I told him, I feel incredible and I have a track meet next weekend, I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

I threw the best series of my life at that track meet and I won Pac-10. It was the best series of throws in my collegiate career. So I just felt like, wow, how did this happen? The chiropractor basically took this body that felt semi-broken and disconnected as an athlete and helped me plug back in again.

 

He didn’t cure my arm pain, but he made my body feel like it could work together again. As an athlete, to be able to mentally connect and feel my body move the way I needed to move, gave me the confidence I needed.

 

That same season, I went on to Nationals, All American, and then qualified for the Olympic trials. It helped me with the confidence I needed to get to that level.

 

I did end up having two shoulder surgeries. At that point, I had to have surgery to repair the damage I had done to that shoulder.

 

I then started shadowing a chiropractor in Battleground, WA when I would come home from college for the summer. I decided that this was what I wanted to do!

 

At that point, that was my plan. I finished all of my prerequisites and graduated from the University of Oregon. After taking a year off to be a personal trainer, I came back up to the northwest to go to chiropractic school in Portland.

 

I was part of the sports med team and focused a lot on sports injuries. After graduating, we decided to stay in Vancouver. We worked in another clinic and rented space.

 

As I started to think about getting pregnant and having kids, I started taking pregnancy and pediatric courses. That’s what started me down the path of craniosacral work, pregnancy work, and that more specialized path. I added to the depth of what I was able to treat and offer a variety of treatment options from manual adjustments to craniosacral, to muscle work, and pregnancy-specific care.

 

I’ve always grown up as an athlete and so now, having the business is kind of like my sports team. I have different players needed in different places, and we’re the coaches. We’re all part of the same team and different players are needed at different points for different strengths and sometimes we have to change our game plan, but it’s creating that culture in which everyone feels respected, supported, and has a voice. Ultimately, we are all here for the same reason—to take care of our patients.

 

 

Think Chiropractic First! 

If you’re in a motor vehicle accident, we can help!

After a motor vehicle accident, it’s so hard to know where to go or how to heal. Did you know that our chiropractors are trained to identify these types of injuries and can treat most injuries following an accident? Our team is trained in addressing the root issues so that your body heals quicker, without medication. 

It’s something you hope never happens, but if you are ever in a car accident, please know that our team is here to help. We are dedicated to making this process a little easier–from addressing your injuries to creating a path to recovery. No referral is needed and in most cases, treatment is 100% covered by insurance.

Questions? Reach out to us! 

Meet Dr. Cooper!

Why did you decide to become a chiropractor?

From the time I was sophomore in high school, I had wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. I’ve always been interested in the body and how things worked. I liked that you go into the area that’s causing a problem and you fix it. My grandfather had congestive heart failure, which was in part why I was interested in this field.

 

I was in undergrad at the U of O and was on track to go to medical school. I was in the middle of an MCAT prep course and I knew that Karis and I would get married and I just realized that this wasn’t the life I wanted. I grew up with parents who were around. I wanted to be around for my family, too. I knew that the timeline of my professional life and the timeline of my personal life just didn’t line up.

 

I started looking into other things. I knew I wanted to look into hands-on care. Chiropractic appealed to me because like surgery, you’re able to directly address the problem. There is also a huge sports injury side, which as a former athlete appealed to me as well.

 

What are people most surprised to learn about chiropractic?

Some people are surprised to learn that they don’t have to have their neck adjusted. You definitely don’t! Especially if it’s something you’re not comfortable with.

 

Patients are also often surprised to hear that the popping sound they hear during an adjustment is gas being released.

 

The other big thing I hear is that once someone sees a chiropractor, they have to see them for the rest of their life. The biggest problem I have with that statement is “have to.” You go see your medical doctor or your dentist when you’re sick or for a cleaning—for your whole life, and chiropractic is no different. We have acute treatments where after your treatment plan is complete, further care isn’t necessary, and we also have supportive care where we aren’t trying to “cure” your condition, but we are trying to help patients manage a condition, and then we also have wellness care that is more maintenance.

 

Why did you decide to start Cooper Chiropractic?

Statistically, chiropractors are the most likely of the medical professional to go into private practice. Dr. Karis and I planned together that this was something that we wanted to do. After a year of working as associates for another chiropractor, we then rented space in the same building and began to build up our patient base as BC Chiropractic in 2006. As we grew, there just wasn’t enough space and we realized that we needed our own space. We moved to our current location in 2014 and changed our name to Cooper Chiropractic Center for Health and Wellness.

 

What do you love about what you do?

I just love being able to help people.  There are times when it feels like a patient is taking longer than I would expect for them to get better, and just when I start to question the process, there is that “aha” moment and the patient starts to feel better which is incredible.

 

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I love cross fit. I’m absolutely addicted to it. I do cross fit at 5 or 6 am Monday through Friday and then I do a few competitions throughout the year. In the summer, we love going out on the boat with the kids—tubing, wakeboarding, wake surfing. In the winter we love going to the mountain to ski and snowboard. During the week, I love taking the kids to their different after-school activities. Both of my girls do tae kwon do, which is so fun. But I just love hanging out as a family.

 

How do you find a healthy balance in your own life?

If I were a child today, I would have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.  I’ve found that in order to control that extra energy, I need to be active. It’s like making time to eat; it’s just something I have to do for myself. I work out every day first thing in the morning and then I’m set up for a great day. Everyone needs to find that balance for themselves. One of the harder parts of our job is helping people find that balance and identifying what they need to do to feel their best. I find that the best way for me to help patients is to model that. We 100% practice what we preach.  Once you’ve shown a patient how good they can feel the rest is easy. It’s all about empowering them and helping them feel their best.