My name is Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC and my journey into healthcare began because I had a desire to help sick people, but I didn't want to just give drugs to them. My grandfather was a healer from Sweden who founded the Bloom Health Institute in Detroit, Michigan. Incidentally, grandpa Bloom was also a Detroit Tigers baseball trainer in the 1930’s and 40’s. My Mother talked about him all the time.
Unfortunately I never met him as he died before I was born. Due to my Mother's frequent mentioning about grandfather Bloom's successes with the ill, a seed was planted that eventually sprouted and I was called to become a healer too.
Like my grandfather I wanted to help people without drugs and without surgery and I decided Chiropractic College would be the best place to learn about natural approaches to helping people with their illnesses.
As I progressed through my formal education I was always asking questions. I wasn't one to take everything taught to me at face value. I needed to UNDERSTAND the reasons and mechanisms behind what was presented. My favorite book was Guyton's Physiology and I bought two editions that came out and read them cover-to-cover. I love to understand how the body works - not just memorize names and class notes.
My goal in becoming a doctor of chiropractic was to understand what was really going on with a sick person's physiology, and work WITH the body to restore better function. There is a huge difference between treating a set of symptoms and treating a PERSON. The second one requires understanding what is causing those symptoms and working on the faulty physiology.
My first stop in my professional training was to Chiropractic College where I graduated Summa Cum Laude and was Vice President of Pi Tau Delta – the International Chiropractic Honor Society from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.
My first passion and area of specialty during this time was chiropractic neurology. Chiropractic neurology is a specialized approach to looking at the brain and nervous system, functionally.
Science has shown us in the last twenty years that the brain can change, re-mold, and create new connections; based on the stimulation you give it. It has been proven, over and over again, that it is possible to systematically diagnose specific areas of the brain that are weak, and change those weak areas through non-invasive rehabilitation or training. The scientific term for this is brain plasticity or neuroplasticity.
I began my work by exclusively caring chronically ill patients with chronic pain and fatigue. By using my Brain-Based approach, I was helping people turn around their lives, giving them a chance to live well again, after countless doctors and specialists had given up.
It didn't take me long to realize, and you may have come to this conclusion because of your own circumstance, that when a person has a health condition that is not considered life threatening, and there is no easy fix, our medical system is completely inadequate.
I would see the desperation on the faces and in the eyes of the patients I treated. They were yearning to have someone listen to them, to spend the time necessary to get to the bottom of their problem, and most importantly, to help them break the chains their illness had put on their lives.
I understood them, and I knew I had to engineer my practice to allow me to function as the doctor I needed to be for them. I couldn't rush people in and out in 10 minutes like commonly happens in the insurance medical model. I couldn't squabble with insurance companies, trying to get them to pay for testing that they considered unnecessary, because we were stepping outside of the box.
I not only stepped outside the box, I LEAPED out of it. Inside that box was a system that never could help the people in the way they needed to be helped.
Although early on I got great results with my brain-based approach, I realized something was missing. I would get amazing results with most, yet with others I couldn't make the changes I needed. The most confusing part was the patients that did not have good results seemed to have the same characteristics and test findings as the ones that were successful. "There had to be something missing..."
This led me on a journey to find what I was missing. Shortly thereafter, I made an important personal discovery. I realized I was trying to do what most other doctors do. I was looking at the human body as if it was compartmentalized. I was focused on brain and nervous system function, without looking at the hormone system, immune system, and gastrointestinal function. I knew I would have to understand and look at all these systems, at the same time, if I wanted greater and more consistent results.
So for a huge period of time, I studied at night and on the weekends. I poured through scientific journals, text books, and articles. I traveled across the country to learn from the best teachers I could find. I burned the midnight oil so to speak.
It was this intense study of physiology, neurology, and immunology that led to my greatest discovery...everything in the body effects everything else. In order to properly treat and manage any chronically sick or ill patient you must look at EVERYTHING, all at once.
Dr. Karl Johnson, DC, BCN, DNMSc continues to train extensively in neurology in order to stay current with new research findings and offer his patients the most effective and individualized treatment recommendations. He is a certiified graduate of the American Functional Neurology Institute and is also Board Certified in Neurofeedback through the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance. He is also extensively trained in Functional Endocrinology, Neurofeedback, and Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback. Dr. Johnson also has extensive training and experience in Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis, and Science Based Nutrition as well as Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques (Advanced Level II Certified) and Nutrition Response Testing (both Functional Neuromuscular Muscle Testing methods). Another distinction of Dr. Johnson is that he was fortunate to be one of the first to be certifed in Motion Palpation by Dr. L. John Faye, DC in 1983. Dr. Johnson is a Certified Gluten Practitioner and is listed as such at TheDr.com; Dr. Thomas O'Bryan's website. Currently Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC is enrolled at Functional Medicine University and the International Academy of Medical Acupuncure. After successful completion of the programs, he will have earned a fellowship from both organizations.
Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC has also penned his first book entitled, "Reclaim Your Life; Your Guide To Revealing Your Body's Life-Changing Secrets For Renewed Health. You can pick up your copy in our office or at Amazon.com.
Dr. Johnson is also the author of the "The Ultimate Strategy" series of eBooks including:
- “The Ultimate Strategy for Ending Your Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain”
- “The Ultimate Strategy for Ending Your Vertigo, Dizziness AND Brain Fog”
- “The Ultimate Strategy for Ending Migraines AND Other Debilitating Headaches"
- “The Ultimate Strategy for Ending Your Thyroid Symptoms So You Increase The Zest in Your Life”
One of Dr. Johnson’s great passions is speaking to the public about health and wellness. He regularly gives free educational lectures on natural health improvement. He is happily available to speak to civic clubs, church, and social groups and other gatherings for as many as 5 to 500 people.
Dr. Johnson’s personal free time is spent training for distance charitable cycling events (such as the MS Bike), a pursuit he picked up after one of his patients encourage him to participate in his first 200 mile bike ride many years ago. He has completed over two dozen rides on the western side of Michigan and even participated in a team triathalon where his team came in first place for the age group. He is the proud parent of 3 grown children, and is happily married to his wife, Sandra.
We proudly come to the office every day to provide high quality care solutions that deliver on the needs of our patients. We are continually motiviated and energized to help empower people to be healthier in the most natural way
Please share this site with your family and friends who are interested in relieving their health conditions.
Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC, BCN, DNMSc, FICPA, FIFHI
Chiropractor Physician, Board Certified in Integrative Medicine
51735 Van Dyke Avenue
Shelby Township, Michigan 48316
(586) 731-8840 or (586) 726-KIDS
