UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSTITUTE
Relieve Your Pain. Revitalize Your Life. Naturally.
Join the thousands who have rediscovered the power of their bodies to heal from the inside-out.
And feel good again, fast.
If it can be done without pharma, good
UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSTITUTE
Relieve Your Pain. Revitalize Your Life. Naturally.
Join the thousands who have rediscovered the power of their bodies to heal from the inside-out.
If it can be done without pharma, good
DR CASE BUILT THIS PLACE FOR YOU.
Dr. Case and Barbara.
Barbara was UHI’s 3rd new patient, back in 1990.
For more than 30 years – from sprained ankles, to back pain, to healing from a broken leg; to quitting smoking, increasing her Vitamin D levels, and getting a regimen to protect her bones from osteoporosis; to releasing her diaphragm so she could breathe better, and stop the pain of costochondritis; to keeping her thumbs mobile so she could lift her heavy old camera to do her photo safaris in Door County, Wisconsin, Barbara took advantage of the many ways we help people relieve pain and revitalize their lives here at Universal Health Institute.
We’ve been here for Barbara, and thousands who’ve come to us for help and guidance.
We are here for you, too.
Universal Health Institute
THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS OVER 30 YEARS USE NATURAL METHODS TO FEEL BETTER AND HEAL.
Based on over 3 decades of clinical experience and more than 29,000 patients, Universal Health Institute (UHI) has been providing natural health care to help smart, successful, stressed high-achievers stop struggling with physical pain, dysfunction, and decreased vitality. UHI patients rediscover the power of their own bodies to heal from the inside out.
THE BEST MEETS THE BEST IN BOTH THE TEAMWORK AND THE FRAMEWORK.
By curating the most successful, proven modalities in physical and natural medicine, our team offers chiropractic, physical therapy, clinical massage therapy, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, nutritional therapy, and more, to help people relieve pain and resto re vitality, naturally, and safely, without having to resort to drugs or surgery.
LEADERSHIP ENTHUSIASM THAT GETS YOU THE BEST
With a strong sense of clinical curiosity, our founder, Dr. Case has exceeded the profession’s “continuing education requirements” for every year of her 30-year career as the Chief of Staff of Universal Health Institute, amassing enough credits to earn 14 additional bachelor’s degrees following her previous undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees. It’s not the credits that count; it’s the crazy love of learning and staying on the cutting edge that counts. What does all this mean for you? This unquenchable enthusiasm to learn helps her lead our team and guide our patients with wisdom and confidence. It is the foundation for a true integrative team environment that envelopes the patients with possibilities for healing
Our Patients
- Don’t think you have to live with it because you are “getting old”.
- Don’t think it’s too late to solve.
- Don’t let a diagnosis define you.
Pregnant Moms!
The joy of more than 7500 pregnant patients and counting! We help pregnant moms throughout their pregnancies. Whether it’s acupuncture for morning sickness or the Webster Technique (and other special techniques for breech presentation), or just making pregnancy more comfortable, we have the tables and techniques to help. (Secret: Our pregnant moms love to lie down on their bellies on our special tables!)
Little Ones!
Going through labor and delivery isn’t easy for baby. And it’s even more challenging when forceps and/or a suction cup are involved. Babies born by C-Section have their own challenges. But that’s not all! Sometimes baby’s colic or sleeplessness turns into a nightmare for everyone. Babies don’t have the same kind of joints as children or adults, so the techniques we use are very special and specific to baby’s needs.
Toddlers to Teens!
Toddlers fall and bump into everything, and while most of the time they seem to bounce, sometimes they don’t. Fast forward to the teens who seem to be going through a second toddlerhood – we’ve got bumps and sports at the same time! It’s so important for children at every age to be in good alignment during their growth spurts – while their joints are growing and adapting to their environment. Good health prepares them for a great future.
Grandparents!
Regaining and maintaining locomotion and the ability to get up and down from a chair and the floor is the key to happy, healthy aging. Every joint of the body as well as all of the muscles and soft tissues deserve good blood flow and flexibility, and that’s the way to move into the future. It’s also the best way to protect your posture and prevent falls. Joint freedom turns back the hands of time in so many ways, including that it protects the aging brain.
Athletes
Healthy activity and high performance depend upon physical balance, coordination, flexibility, and stability. Yet, so many people presume that strength is the thing that is missing! Not so! If you have an injury or subpar function, and you want to return to being strong (and want to build stamina), you must start with the basics. Alignment drives it all. It protects against injury and degeneration, plus sets the stage for success in any sport or active lifestyle.
Desk Jockeys!
Desk Jockeys! It’s official. “Sitting Disease” is a thing. There is enough research now that shows us how dangerous sitting really is – and it’s bad. Muscle, joint, and nerve tensions in the neck, lower back, shoulders, and wrists that come from sitting at the desk or using a laptop seem to be simple side effects of positional torture, but it turns out they are bona fide warning signals of everything from nerve damage to chronic illnesses. The solution? Get those parts moving, and get the ergonomics right ASAP.
Pregnant Moms!
The joy of more than 7500 pregnant patients and counting! We help pregnant moms throughout their pregnancies. Whether it’s acupuncture for morning sickness or the Webster Technique (and other special techniques for breech presentation), or just making pregnancy more comfortable, we have the tables and techniques to help. (Secret: Our pregnant moms love to lie down on their bellies on our special tables!)
Little Ones!
Going through labor and delivery isn’t easy for baby. And it’s even more challenging when forceps and/or a suction cup are involved. Babies born by C-Section have their own challenges. But that’s not all! Sometimes baby’s colic or sleeplessness turns into a nightmare for everyone. Babies don’t have the same kind of joints as children or adults, so the techniques we use are very special and specific to baby’s needs.
Toddlers to Teens!
Toddlers fall and bump into everything, and while most of the time they seem to bounce, sometimes they don’t. Fast forward to the teens who seem to be going through a second toddlerhood – we’ve got bumps and sports at the same time! It’s so important for children at every age to be in good alignment during their growth spurts – while their joints are growing and adapting to their environment. Good health prepares them for a great future.
Grandparents!
Regaining and maintaining locomotion and the ability to get up and down from a chair and the floor is the key to happy, healthy aging. Every joint of the body as well as all of the muscles and soft tissues deserve good blood flow and flexibility, and that’s the way to move into the future. It’s also the best way to protect your posture and prevent falls. Joint freedom turns back the hands of time in so many ways, including that it protects the aging brain.
Athletes
Healthy activity and high performance depend upon physical balance, coordination, flexibility, and stability. Yet, so many people presume that strength is the thing that is missing! Not so! If you have an injury or subpar function, and you want to return to being strong (and want to build stamina), you must start with the basics. Alignment drives it all. It protects against injury and degeneration, plus sets the stage for success in any sport or active lifestyle.
Desk Jockeys!
Desk Jockeys! It’s official. “Sitting Disease” is a thing. There is enough research now that shows us how dangerous sitting really is – and it’s bad. Muscle, joint, and nerve tensions in the neck, lower back, shoulders, and wrists that come from sitting at the desk or using a laptop seem to be simple side effects of positional torture, but it turns out they are bona fide warning signals of everything from nerve damage to chronic illnesses. The solution? Get those parts moving, and get the ergonomics right ASAP.
BABY IS BREECH?
Yes, we can help.
At the end of pregnancy, the normal thing for babies to do is to turn so they are in a head down position. If, instead, your baby is butt down or feet down (or just lying sideways), it’s officially in a “breech” position. (That’s not what you want, and it’s also not what baby wants.) There’s a reason. In our experience with thousands of pregnant women, we’ve discovered the reason is often that mom’s pelvis is restricted, and thus, not providing adequate room for the baby to turn comfortably head down.
In our efforts to solve the breech problem, we don’t touch your baby, at all. Instead, our goal is to help relax your pelvis into its best position – that gives more room for baby to flip into the right position. That has made all the difference for the 6000+ breech patients we’ve seen over the years.
BACK PAIN? NECK PAIN? PAIN...and all the things.
Yes, we can help.
Pain can occur anywhere in your joints, muscles, and soft tissues. Then, to make matters worse, there’s all the things that make pain worse…sleeplessness, inflammatory challenges, auto-immune problems, hormonal issues, hangovers, and even jet lag…. Pain is a problem. And all the things that make pain worse are problems. Here’s the good news. You can get rid of many types of pain here at Universal Health Institute, plus you can get many of the other conditions that make pain worse taken care of. The best news is that you are not relegated to relying solely on drugs to handle pain or many of those other troubling conditions. Everything we do here is pharma-free.
NO FLEXIBILTY? JOINTS STUCK? MUSCLES RIGID & STIFF?
Yes, we can help.
You are not a plastic mannequin. You’re a living thing! Let’s make space in your tissues for a better flow of your body’s healing fluids to get where they are supposed to be.
Our patients tell us that their bodies used to feel stagnant and stuck. Now they feel fluid, open, and free. That translates to higher energy, better sleep, and greater self-confidence.
FEET HURT? ANKLES STIFF? HAMMER TOE? BUNION PAIN? ACHILLES TENDON PROBLEMS?
Yes, we can help.
You have 26 bones, 29 muscles, 58 tendons, and more than 100 ligaments in each foot. (Fun fact: 26 bones in one foot = 25% of all of the bones you’ve got in your whole body.) For you to walk, run, jump…even stand up…all of these things have to work together in harmony.
PHYSICAL CHALLENGES
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT HOW TO STOP PAIN
Back Problems
Back problems so often start with pelvic misalignment. Think about it: Your back needs a stable and balanced base upon which to rise up. That is one of the most overlooked causes of back fatigue, weakness, spasm, and disc problems. We look at the whole system of the back’s function, starting with the pelvis, then working up.
Shoulder Problems
The most commonly overlooked cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction - whether it is rotator cuff strains, frozen shoulder, or labral tears - is stiffness of the rib cage. If you look at the skeleton, you’ll see it right away. The shoulder is part of a unique structure that rests on the rib cage. They’re meant to work together to lift, pull, push, throw, and reach. Some of our patients’ greatest relief of shoulder pain only happened because we took good care of their rib cages. That’s why we start shoulder care by assessing the rib cage function before we blame everything on a faulty shoulder.
Wrist and Thumb Problems
Keyboard and devices stress thumb and wrist joints like nothing ever has. Part of the way we help the these precious joints and tissues long term is by realistically shifting how to win ergonomically. In the meantime, our patients who use their hands a lot - musicians, people who work in the trades, surgeons, cosmetologists, hair stylists, and more - swear by our magical wrist and thumb (and elbow) treatments.
Rib Cage Problems
Whether it is from the rib splay that occurs in pregnancy, or from a misalignment or injury that causes costrochondritis, rib-related pain interferes with sleep, breathing, lifting babies and toddlers, holding onto a leash, driving, digestion, and more. It doesn’t have to be that way. One of the best places to start treatment for rib problems is to release the diaphragms below and above the cage. Pain starts to reduce fast, and relief is sweet.
Disc Problems
Everyone talks about spinal disc problems, especially at the base of the neck and the base of the spine, because that’s where the greatest amount of force occurs on our spines. If you’ve heard the terms “C5/C6 disc degeneration” or “L4/L5 bulging disc” it’s a reference to the numbered spinal bones neighboring disc status. As important as it is to pay attention to the problem, it’s more important to take care of the whole “neighborhood” of the spine where the disc is hurt. In fact, it’s impossible to get the best results from treatment if it remains only on the bones above and below a single disc. Our patients get the best results because we take care of the whole spine - holistically - from top to bottom, including where it’s hurt.
Jaw Problems, Sinus Problems
Ah. The face. TMJ pain, clicking, tension, pain, and even facial numbness and tingling - and even snoring - are all signs of the jaw being out of balance. A night-guard doesn’t put the jaw back into alignment (and even might keep it out of alignment). But jaw problems go beyond just the jaw itself. The jaw is part of the face and head. The facial bones are flexible. They are meant to move. Think about how many ways your face can change as you make expressions. That’s because the bones and muscles are so flexible and adaptable. Even though the head seems hard like a ball, it’s meant to meet the needs of mobility between your face and neck. So, when we take care of the jaw, we check all of the muscular levers around jaw joint (“TMJ” for temporomandibular joint) to make sure the face, head, and upper neck all work in harmony so everything from sinuses draining to the tone of voice to swallowing to breathing happen the way they are supposed to.
Neck Problems
Neck problems can cause headaches, jaw pain, ear aches, shoulder pain, hearing challenges, and even trouble swallowing, breathing, or speaking with a normal voice. While it seems like a small area of the body, the seven bones of the neck require to be lined up in an exact curved formation to move and rest normally; otherwise the neck gets tension and strain that rapidly spreads to the head, face, and shoulders. Numbness, tingling, itching, burning, or aching pain into the arms or fingers is a sign that there’s pressure, pinching, traction, or bending on a nerve that starts in the area of the neck. Entrapment of a nerve is more common than many people realize. We love to see our patients’ smiling faces when they feel better, and our thorough, meticulous approach to take great care of the neck is one of the things we are well known for.
Sacral, Tailbone, and Sacroiliac Problems
The bones we sit on are built for work, but sometimes our chairs, postures, and workload we put upon them is just too much to handle. When that’s the case, the pain doesn’t just stay in the joints - it often includes pain that runs down the sides of the thighs to the knees and even ankles. After the pain in these structures is gone - which happens rather fast for most of our patients - we show people how to prevent the problem from returning by using a variety of helpful strides that are easy to incorporate into every day walking.
Pelvic Problems
After having nearly 8,000 pregnant patients and helping thousands of woman with post-partum recovery, we have developed great techniques to decrease pelvic pain, increase pelvic strength, and restore pelvic function. Using the same techniques, we also help men post-prostate surgery, and also after groin injuries. Since 2014, we’ve discovered how much our pelvic problem healing approach also helps men with Erectile Dysfunction.
Hip Problems
Hip problems can stop someone from being able to stand up, step forward, or climb or descend stairs. The unique point of pain that seems to paralyze people - that they so often point to, right in front of the hip - is one that we recognize as related to the pectineus muscle. And, in fact, that treatment (a pectineal release, we call it), often leaves patients crying with relief, saying “That’s it, exactly.” Hip problems are intimately connected to the pelvis, so we always look at the two together; that includes taking care to help restore normal function to the “I.T. Band” and the “T.F.L.”, shorthand for two components of the hip that help steer it in the correct direction: the iliotibial band and the tensor fascia lata muscle and tendon. The hip can function the way it’s supposed to when it’s steering in the right direction, and that is the aim of our care. As a side note, knee stiffness reduces dramatically when the hip’s axis is correct.
Feet Problems
Your feet are your foundation. Whether you have plantar fasciitis, hammer toes, bunions, Morton’s neuroma, or dropped metatarsals, foot pain is a story of a problematic relationship with what's above. Feet get better when they are treated in context with the entire leg. That said, the most common local cause of foot pain we see is a dropped talus bone. And, guess what? Since that bone has no muscular attachments whatsoever, it cannot be rehabbed through exercise. It has to be supported by a dedicated talar lift - a kind of orthotic we specialize in. Our proprietary foot techniques and treatment have gotten everyone from high school athletes to weekend warriors to fashionistas who love their Manolo’s back on their feet, fast.
Injuries, Post-Surgical Troubles, Car Crashes
Healing from getting banged up needs more than just time alone. Whether it’s an injury from tripping on an uneven sidewalk or post-surgical stiffness or post-C-section changes, a fall from a bicycle, on the court, or while carrying something up the stairs, or something more forceful like a car crash, the parts that were harmed in any injury must be re-aligned and guided back to normal function - otherwise, unhealthy work-arounds, i.e. compensations, start to take the place of normal function. That might work in the short term, but in the long run, they do come back to haunt the body. Treat your body with kindness after an injury; welcome it back to normal function with care that’s meant for that. That’s what we do at Universal Health Institute.
UHI has been here since 1990.
We will do our best to help you – As quickly, efficiently, safely, and effectively as possible.
If we can’t help you, we’ll tell you; Then we’ll help you get to someone who can.
SICK & TIRED OF THE FATIGUE?
Sleep trouble, inflammatory challenges, hormonal issues, hangovers, and even jet lag problems… You are not relegated to relying solely on drugs or suffering in silence.
Each Service Has a Distinct Purpose to Help Your Body
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic Care repairs and restores your spine and skeleton to its best available joint performance, and removes physical interference to your nervous system, reduces pain and other unpleasant neurological sensations like aching, burning, itching, numbness, tingling; restores freedom and enhances suppleness of your skeletal movement, helps sustain and maintain posture, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the joints.
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy offers guided and prescribed movements that help your body regain and retrain normal awareness, balance and coordination of your body’s musculoskeletal system; offers renewed sensation; encourages flexibility; establishes stability; lays the foundation to develop appropriate strength and build stamina, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to movement.
Clinical Massage Therapy
Clinical Massage Therapy re-boots your bodymind connection with deep relaxation, re-establishes normal muscular and fascial tone, reduces scar tissue, facilitates blood and lymphatic flow into and out of troubled tissues, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the soft tissues.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture releases and redirects your body's electromagnetic circuitry along the path of the traditional medicine meridian system, reintegrates disconnected pathways, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the natural and inborn energetic blueprint.
Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy restores the fundamental rhythm of your craniosacral system, creating the environment for proper head, jaw and facial function, as well as pelvic function, releases long-standing patterns of neuroenergetic imbalance, rights your nervous system’s fluid dynamics, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to craniosacral system.
Energy Therapy
Energy Therapy, like Reiki and Therapeutic Touch (and more…), handles the intangible blocks that you may or may not recognize, slow down or inhibit your healing efforts. It activates and accelerates your body's behind-the-scenes potential, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the magic of your body’s inborn regulatory system and intelligence.
Applied Nutritional Science
Applied Nutritional Science, a.k.a. Functional Medicine, reestablishes your chemical balance, cleanses your body of toxins, and feeds your body with quality products that fulfill essential requirements of health, restores and enhances elimination, encourages strong immune system function, supports your hormonal system, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to food digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
Herbal Therapy
Herbal Therapy uses the earth’s resources in their most potent natural forms to reduce signs and symptoms of pain, reverse and/or retard illness, uplevel weaknesses, promote longevity, support your physiology of cell communication, and invite your body’s natural inborn ability to heal as an intrinsic part of the natural living systems of Mother Nature.
Life Counsel
Life Counsel, also called Psychosocial Spiritual Counsel ("Wise Counsel") uses the faculties of your right and left sides of your brain to relieve your mind of uncertainty, guilt, fear, grief, anxiety, and anger, and to restore your attention to the present moment, prepare and guide your mind and heart to fulfill individual goals, rediscover self-esteem and self-love, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the mind’s experience.
We work to create the best framework for you to maximize your healing ability, so you experience your birthright
of a healthy, vibrant life, with all the joy and opportunity it can bring.
Each Service Has a Distinct Purpose to Help Your Body
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic Care repairs and restores your spine and skeleton to its best available joint performance, and removes physical interference to your nervous system, reduces pain and other unpleasant neurological sensations like aching, burning, itching, numbness, tingling; restores freedom and enhances suppleness of your skeletal movement, helps sustain and maintain posture, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the joints.
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy offers guided and prescribed movements that help your body regain and retrain normal awareness, balance and coordination of your body’s musculoskeletal system; offers renewed sensation; encourages flexibility; establishes stability; lays the foundation to develop appropriate strength and build stamina, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to movement.
Applied Nutritional Science
Applied Nutritional Science, a.k.a. Functional Medicine, reestablishes your chemical balance, cleanses your body of toxins, and feeds your body with quality products that fulfill essential requirements of health, restores and enhances elimination, encourages strong immune system function, supports your hormonal system, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to food digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
Energy Therapy
Energy Therapy, like Reiki and Therapeutic Touch (and more…), handles the intangible blocks that you may or may not recognize, slow down or inhibit your healing efforts. It activates and accelerates your body's behind-the-scenes potential, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the magic of your body’s inborn regulatory system and intelligence.
Herbal Therapy
Herbal Therapy uses the earth’s resources in their most potent natural forms to reduce signs and symptoms of pain, reverse and/or retard illness, uplevel weaknesses, promote longevity, support your physiology of cell communication, and invite your body’s natural inborn ability to heal as an intrinsic part of the natural living systems of Mother Nature.
Clinical Massage Therapy
Clinical Massage Therapy re-boots your bodymind connection with deep relaxation, re-establishes normal muscular and fascial tone, reduces scar tissue, facilitates blood and lymphatic flow into and out of troubled tissues, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the soft tissues.
Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy restores the fundamental rhythm of your craniosacral system, creating the environment for proper head, jaw and facial function, as well as pelvic function, releases long-standing patterns of neuroenergetic imbalance, rights your nervous system’s fluid dynamics, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to craniosacral system.
Life Counsel
Life Counsel, also called Psychosocial Spiritual Counsel ("Wise Counsel") uses the faculties of your right and left sides of your brain to relieve your mind of uncertainty, guilt, fear, grief, anxiety, and anger, and to restore your attention to the present moment, prepare and guide your mind and heart to fulfill individual goals, rediscover self-esteem and self-love, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the mind’s experience.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture releases and redirects your body's electromagnetic circuitry along the path of the traditional medicine meridian system, reintegrates disconnected pathways, and invites your body’s natural inborn ability to heal everything related to the natural and inborn energetic blueprint.
We work to create the best framework for you to maximize your healing ability, so you experience your birthright
of a healthy, vibrant life, with all the joy and opportunity it can bring.
What PATIENTS are saying...
Joanna Jaros, MD
Dr. Case is knowledgeable, gentle, and caring. She gives every patient her undivided attention and enthusiasm…Her gentle trigger point adjustments (no cracking!!) have helped erase headaches, improve my running, and ease the pain of a Morton’s neuroma. I really enjoy coming for my weekly visit and targeted massage therapy! The office is very relaxed, cozy, and the music they play is lovely.
Judith Nickelberry
I love it at UHI. The staff members are very attentive and Dr. Case has such a pleasant friendly personality with magical healing hands. I’ve had two hip replacements and one knee replacement, but when I come in feeling broken down she fixes me up every time. I leave feeling brand new. I recommend this place 100%
Jennifer Kraft
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Your body is a collection of parts, each requiring its own attention. Our team works together so we cover a lot of bases that can contribute to your relief, improvement, and healing.
Frequently Asked Questions
The BODYWISE™ Protocol is designed to be flexible. We provide travel guides and event strategies to help you stay on track no matter where life takes you during your 42-day reset.
That’s exactly why we created BODYWISE™. Traditional diets fail because they work against your body’s natural systems. Our protocol works WITH your metabolism, brain, and hormones – which is why our success rate is so high.
Absolutely! Many of our most successful participants involve their families. We provide family-friendly meal plans and strategies to help everyone eat healthier together.
With Dr. Amelia Case overseeing the program, we can work with most medical conditions. However, we recommend consulting with your physician before starting, especially if you have diabetes, heart conditions, or take medications.
Not at all! Our home fitness plan requires no equipment and can be done in any space. The focus is on metabolic reset through nutrition and intermittent fasting, with optional gentle movement.