Marathon Spine & Wellness

06/13/2026

Ever notice how it's always the same ankle?

The one you rolled in high school.
The one you sprained playing softball.
The one you "tweaked" years ago.

One of the most common things we hear is: "I've rolled that ankle a hundred times."

Usually followed by: "I just don't trust it anymore."

One of the things we almost always have to address after an ankle sprain is proprioception.

Think of proprioception as your body's GPS system. It's your brain's ability to know where your ankle is and how it's moving without having to look at it.

When that system isn't working well, people often describe their ankle as weak, unstable, or unreliable on uneven ground.

That's why we use balance and proprioceptive drills.

Not because standing on one foot is the goal, but because we're retraining the communication between the ankle and brain. As that improves, we progressively add movement, load, and real-world challenges.

That's part of what you're seeing in this video.

Could you Google ankle exercises? Absolutely.

The challenge isn't finding exercises. It's knowing where you should start and how to progress them based on what your ankle can tolerate today.

"What can a chiropractor even do for that?"
This is one of our favorite questions. It has to be when we hear it every day.

A large part of what we do is identify what's limiting recovery and build people back to the activities that matter most to them. In this case, that included progressive rehab and focused shockwave.

The goal isn't just to get pain down. The goal is to build an ankle you can trust again.

Whether your injury happened 3 months ago or 3 years ago, there's often more that can be done than people realize.

06/12/2026

I was going to do the “Top 5 Horror Stories: Chiropractic Edition” trend…

Then I got to 5 and realized I wasn’t even halfway done. 😂

So here are my Top 5… plus 2…

7️⃣ “Take these 30 supplements.”
Some supplements absolutely have value.

But if your treatment plan requires a tackle box, color-coded organizer, and a second mortgage, we might be overcomplicating things.

6️⃣ “Everyone needs X-rays on day one.”
Trauma? Red flags? Significant neurological findings? Absolutely.

The average person who woke up with back pain after a weekend project? Usually not.

Imaging can be incredibly helpful when appropriate, but it shouldn’t be used to convince people they’re falling apart.

5️⃣ “One leg is shorter than the other.”
Unless you’ve had a major surgery, fracture, or significant structural difference, your legs are probably pretty close.

Humans aren’t perfectly symmetrical. Never have been. Never will be.

4️⃣ “It’s bone on bone.”
This one scares a lot of people.

The interesting part? Many people with significant arthritis remain active, strong, and capable.

Images matter. Symptoms matter. Function matters too.

3️⃣ “You’re out of alignment.”
Your body is not a Jenga tower waiting to collapse.

And if your chiropractor is truly putting bones “back into place” every visit…

I know a couple good surgeons. 😅

2️⃣ “Everyone needs treatment 3x/week.”
Last year I can think of maybe five patients I saw three times in a week.

And they were in rough shape. The kind of people who could barely walk, work, sleep, cough, sneeze, or breathe without pain.

Most people don’t need frequent care forever.

Most people need the right care, at the right time, with a plan that helps them become independent.

1️⃣ “You should stop running.”
This one might be my favorite.

For many people, running is one of the best things they can do.

The goal shouldn’t be to avoid activity forever.

The goal is to build enough capacity to tolerate the things you enjoy.

➡️ The reason these all make my list?

Too often, they create fear when people need confidence.

People start feeling fragile and broken instead of strong and capable.

Pain is real. Injuries are real.

But so is the body’s ability to adapt, heal, and get stronger.

That’s why our conversations tend to focus less on what you’re damaged by and more on what you’re capable of.

👇 Which one have you heard before? Or what would you add to the list? 👇

06/11/2026

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is more than just a painful shoulder.

It's a condition where the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint becomes irritated, thickened, and stiff, leading to a gradual loss of motion and increasing pain.

Common symptoms include:
• Difficulty reaching overhead
• Pain putting on a coat or shirt
• Trouble reaching behind your back
• Pain at night, especially when sleeping on that side
• A feeling that the shoulder is "stuck"

Many people are surprised to learn that frozen shoulder isn't primarily a muscle problem. The biggest issue is often loss of joint mobility, increasing stiffness, and reduced tolerance to movement.

That's why we spend time identifying the movement you do have rather than focusing only on what you can't do.

We use that available movement as a starting point to build a rehab plan, both in the office and at home between visits. As pain and motion improve, exercises are progressed to help restore strength, function, and confidence using the shoulder again.

In many cases, we also incorporate focused shockwave therapy. While it isn't a cure for frozen shoulder, it may help improve tissue healing, reduce pain, and make it easier for people to tolerate the movement and loading that are often necessary for recovery.

The exercises in this video are examples of movements we may use to help improve mobility and function while respecting the stage of recovery someone is in.

Every frozen shoulder is different. The right approach depends on how irritable the shoulder is, how much motion has been lost, and what activities are most important to the individual.

If you've been through a frozen shoulder, what was the hardest part: sleeping, reaching overhead, getting dressed, or something else?

📍 Marathon Spine & Wellness
Marathon, WI

06/05/2026

“Don’t squat. It’s bad for your back.”

We hear someone tell us they were given this advice almost every week.

Unfortunately, it often creates fear around movement that can be harder to overcome than the back pain itself.

The reality?

Your spine is designed to handle load.

For many people, appropriately loading the spine through exercises like squats and deadlifts is exactly what helps build strength, confidence, and long-term spinal health.

That’s also why belt squats can be so useful. They allow us to keep building leg strength while reducing stress on the back (when needed).

The goal isn’t avoiding load.

The goal is finding the right amount of load at the right time.

Have you ever been told to stop squatting, deadlifting, running, or exercising because of pain?

👇 What were you told?

06/03/2026

Marathon Spine & Wellness made the Top 3 for Best Chiropractor in Marathon County! ❤️

We're incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to vote, share, recommend us to family and friends, and trust us with your care. For a small-town, locally owned clinic, that support means everything.

We truly feel like we're just getting started. Our community deserves providers who put patients first and genuinely care about helping people get back to doing the things they love.

Maybe people are noticing the early mornings, the late evenings, and the effort we put into making sure patients can get the care they need when they need it.

Either way, we're thankful.

And if you happen to know a chiropractor, massage therapist, or another like-minded healthcare provider looking for a fresh start, send them our way. Small towns deserve great healthcare, and we're always interested in connecting with providers who share that vision.

We'll find out the final results next month. Until then, we'll keep doing what we've always done: taking care of our community.

Thank you ❤

05/30/2026

Everybody loves the highlight.

The medal.

The PR.

The starting spot.

What nobody sees are the hundreds of decisions that came before it.

Showing up when you'd rather stay home.

Doing the extra work when nobody is watching.

Choosing long-term improvement over short-term comfort.

Performance isn't an accident.

It's earned.

💪

05/29/2026

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Good luck to all of the athletes competing at tomorrow's sectional track meet!

Trust your training, compete hard, support one another, and enjoy the moment. Whether you're chasing a personal best, a sectional title, or a trip to State, you've earned the opportunity to be there. Tomorrow is the result of months of hard work, early mornings, long practices, and sacrifices that most people never see.

Thank you to the coaches, parents, and supporters who help make it all possible. The athletes may get the spotlight, but nobody gets there alone.

If tomorrow brings a new injury or aggravates something you've been battling, don't try to simply push through it. State week comes quickly, and the spring season never feels long enough. Every day counts when you're trying to keep your season alive. If you leave tomorrow with a new injury or a flare-up of an old one, don't hesitate to reach out. We'll gladly consider opening some weekend hours because we all know there's no time for time off when State is just one week away.

Plus, as a UW-La Crosse alum, I'd love to see as many local athletes as possible punch their ticket to La Crosse next week!

Good luck, everyone. We're cheering for all of you. 💙🏅

05/28/2026

Quick office update 👇

We’ll be OPEN tomorrow (Thursday)!

Nobody likes being told, “We have openings next week” when they’re hurting now… so we opened up the schedule tomorrow to create a few more opportunities for patients to get in sooner.

We still have a handful of openings available tomorrow, and a few spots opened up Friday

If you’ve been trying to get in, dealing with a flare up, or have been putting something off longer than you should, feel free to reach out and we’ll do our best to fit you in. 👍

📞 Call the office or send us a FB message to schedule.

05/16/2026

More people than ever are discovering shockwave therapy as a non-surgical option for chronic pain and tendon injuries - and for good reason.

The research behind focused shockwave therapy is genuinely fascinating.

We just published a deep dive on:
✔️ Focused vs. radial shockwave
✔️ How shockwave may stimulate healing at the cellular level
✔️ Stem cell signaling & blood vessel formation
✔️ Why it’s being used for plantar fasciitis, tendon pain, shoulder pain, Achilles injuries, and more
✔️ What the research actually says

At Marathon Spine & Wellness, we chose focused shockwave therapy because we wanted a technology backed by strong research and designed to target chronic tissue dysfunction more precisely.

This isn’t about chasing trends.

It’s about understanding how the body heals and using tools that support that process.

If you’ve been dealing with:
• heel pain
• chronic tendon pain
• shoulder pain
• stubborn overuse injuries
• “hip bursitis”
• Achilles pain
• tennis elbow

…this is worth learning about.

Read the full blog here:
https://www.marathonspine.com/post/focused-shockwave-therapy-for-chronic-pain-in-wausau-wi

Understanding the Science Behind One of the Most Researched Non-Surgical Treatments for Chronic PainIf you’ve searched for shockwave therapy in Wausau, Marathon County, Schofield, Weston, or Central Wisconsin recently, you’ve probably noticed how quickly it has grown in popularity.And honestly, ...

05/05/2026

We made the list!

Marathon Spine & Wellness was nominated for Best Chiropractor in Marathon County in the Wausau Daily Herald.

We’re not the biggest office, and we haven’t been here the longest. Being listed alongside clinics that have served this community for decades means a lot.

From day one, our focus has been simple. Outcome based care that actually gets people better and back to the activities they love. No endless treatment plans. No unnecessary visits. Just a clear plan and real progress.

Voting is open now for the next two weeks and you can vote once per day.

👇 Vote here:
https://wausaudailyherald.gannettcontests.com/2026-Best-of-Marathon-County-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=544649

Every vote means a lot to a small office like ours and we appreciate your support!

As patients hit their goals and move to self treatment, we’re always opening spots for new patients. If something’s been bothering you and not improving, reach out and let’s work toward the outcome you deserve.

Check it out now!