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HTMA Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Testing in Shreveport — What Your Bloodwork Isn't Telling You
Dr. Kim Griggs, DC | Aligned with Dr. Kim | 8039 Line Avenue, Suite C, Shreveport, LA 71106
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a non-invasive functional test that analyzes a small sample of hair to reveal the mineral status of your body's tissues over a period of months — showing chronic mineral imbalances, heavy metal accumulation, and stress patterns that standard blood tests cannot detect.
Dr. Kim Griggs, DC at Aligned with Dr. Kim in Shreveport, Louisiana offers certified HTMA testing and interpretation as part of her functional health approach. HTMA testing is $499.
Standard bloodwork is excellent at detecting disease. It identifies values that have moved outside the normal range — signals that something has gone wrong enough to register on a snapshot taken on a single day. For many people, that is exactly what they need.
But there is a large and growing group of patients for whom standard bloodwork provides no answers. Their labs come back normal. Their doctor says everything looks fine. And yet they do not feel fine. They are tired in ways that sleep does not fix. Their stress tolerance is lower than it used to be. Their body is not responding to diet and exercise the way it once did. Something is off — and nothing in the standard workup is telling them what.
This is the gap that Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis fills. Not by replacing conventional testing, but by looking at a different layer of the body's function — one that bloodwork was never designed to reveal.
Dr. Kim Griggs offers HTMA testing as part of her functional health approach at Aligned with Dr. Kim in Shreveport. For a broader overview of her practice, see Nervous System Chiropractic and Functional Health Testing in Shreveport.
The Foundation — How the Nervous System Governs Everything
Your nervous system is not just one system among many. It is the master system — the network through which your brain communicates with every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. Your heart rate, your digestion, your immune response, your hormonal regulation, your ability to sleep, your capacity to heal from injury — all of it is governed, directly or indirectly, by the quality of the signals moving through your nervous system.
The spine is the nervous system's primary pathway. Your brain sends signals down through the spinal cord and out through the nerves that branch from it at every vertebral level. When the spine is functioning well — when the vertebrae are moving freely and in proper alignment — those signals travel clearly. When a vertebra shifts or stops moving the way it should, creating what chiropractors call a subluxation, it creates interference in that signal pathway. The brain is still sending. But the message is getting distorted before it arrives.
The consequences of that distortion depend on which nerves are affected. And this is where Zone Technique's framework becomes clinically useful — because it gives Dr. Kim a map of exactly which systems are likely to be affected based on where the interference is occurring.
What Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Actually Is
HTMA is exactly what it sounds like: a laboratory analysis of a small sample of hair — typically cut from the back of the head close to the scalp — that reveals the mineral content of the body's tissues over the period those hair cells were growing. Because hair grows slowly and incorporates minerals from the bloodstream as it forms, the analysis reflects what has been happening in your body over a period of months rather than on a single day.
The test measures the levels of essential minerals — including calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, and selenium — as well as toxic heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and aluminum. It then calculates the ratios between key minerals, which are often more clinically significant than the individual levels themselves.
The result is a detailed picture of your mineral terrain — not what is circulating in your blood on the day of the test, but what your body's tissues have been doing over time. This distinction matters enormously for understanding chronic conditions.
Why Standard Blood Tests Often Miss What HTMA Finds
Blood is a tightly regulated environment. Your body works hard to maintain stable blood mineral levels — often drawing minerals out of tissues and bones to do so. This means that by the time a mineral deficiency or imbalance shows up on a blood test, it has typically been significant in the tissues for a long time. The blood is often the last place to reflect what is actually happening.
Magnesium is a clear example. Over 99 percent of the body's magnesium is stored in tissues and bones — only about 1 percent circulates in the blood. A blood magnesium test can show a normal result while tissue magnesium is significantly depleted. Many patients with classic magnesium deficiency symptoms — muscle tension, poor sleep, anxiety, fatigue — have normal serum magnesium levels precisely because their bodies are working hard to maintain that blood level at the expense of their tissues.
HTMA measures what is happening in the tissues. This is why it often reveals the patterns that explain what bloodwork cannot — and why Dr. Kim finds it one of the most clinically useful tools available for patients whose standard labs tell them nothing actionable.
What HTMA Reveals — The Clinical Picture
Mineral Deficiencies and Imbalances
HTMA identifies whether key minerals are depleted, elevated, or — just as importantly — imbalanced relative to each other. The calcium-to-magnesium ratio, the sodium-to-potassium ratio, the zinc-to-copper ratio — these relationships between minerals govern enzyme function, hormonal signaling, nervous system regulation, and metabolic rate in ways that individual mineral levels alone do not capture. A person can have normal calcium levels and a calcium-to-magnesium ratio that is severely disrupting their muscle function and sleep quality simultaneously.
The Stress Pattern — Adrenal and Thyroid Function
One of HTMA's most clinically powerful applications is revealing the body's stress pattern. The sodium-to-potassium ratio is considered a primary indicator of adrenal function and overall stress response. Specific mineral patterns — particularly involving the ratio of sodium and potassium to calcium and magnesium — indicate whether the body is in a state of physiological alarm, resistance, or exhaustion in response to chronic stress.
This is why HTMA is so useful for patients whose primary complaint is that stress seems to affect them more than it should, or that they simply cannot recover from a stressful period the way they used to. The mineral pattern often tells a very specific story about what the adrenal and thyroid systems have been doing — and what they need.
Heavy Metal Accumulation
HTMA screens for toxic heavy metals — lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum — that accumulate in tissues over time and interfere with mineral function, nervous system health, and metabolic processes. Heavy metals often compete with essential minerals for binding sites on enzymes and proteins, producing functional deficiencies of those minerals even when tissue levels appear adequate. For patients with unexplained neurological symptoms, fatigue, or cognitive changes, HTMA's heavy metal panel can reveal accumulations that no standard test would detect.
Metabolic Rate Indicators
Specific mineral ratios — particularly the calcium-to-potassium ratio and the sodium-to-magnesium ratio — are considered indicators of metabolic rate and thyroid function in HTMA interpretation. Patients with slow metabolic patterns on HTMA often describe exactly what you would expect from a slow metabolism: weight resistance despite diet and exercise, persistent fatigue, cold intolerance, difficulty concentrating, and a body that seems to be running at a lower speed than it should.
Nervous System Patterns
The mineral balance revealed by HTMA directly reflects the state of the nervous system. High calcium-to-magnesium ratios indicate a tendency toward nervous system over-stimulation — the body stuck in a sympathetic, fight-or-flight state. Low ratios can indicate under-stimulation and poor nervous system tone. These patterns connect directly to what Dr. Kim assesses through Zone Technique — the neurological component — giving her a biochemical layer of confirmation and a specific nutritional direction for supporting what the chiropractic work is doing.
Who Benefits Most from HTMA Testing
HTMA is not for everyone, and Dr. Kim will tell you directly if she thinks it is unlikely to add meaningful clinical insight for your situation. It is most valuable for patients who recognize themselves in one or more of the following:
Persistent fatigue despite adequate sleep — and blood tests that show nothing actionable to explain it
Stress sensitivity that feels disproportionate — taking longer to recover from stress than seems normal, or feeling more physiologically activated than circumstances warrant
Weight resistance — the frustrating experience of diet and exercise that should be producing results and isn't
Recurring muscle tension and cramping — patterns that suggest mineral imbalance rather than purely structural causes
Poor sleep quality — difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night, or sleeping without feeling rested
Brain fog and inconsistent mental clarity — cognitive fluctuations that don't track clearly with sleep or stress
Hormonal irregularities — energy variability, mood fluctuations, or symptoms that suggest the endocrine system is not regulating smoothly
Unexplained symptoms after significant toxic exposure — or concern about cumulative heavy metal exposure from occupational or environmental sources.
Many of these presentations are also addressed in Why Your Body Isn't Responding — Fatigue, Weight Resistance, and Functional Health in Shreveport, which covers the full picture of what Dr. Kim looks for in patients whose bodies are not responding as expected.
How HTMA Testing Works at Aligned with Dr. Kim
The test itself is simple and non-invasive. A small sample of hair — approximately one to one and a half inches long, cut from several locations at the back of the head close to the scalp — is collected and sent to a certified laboratory for analysis. The laboratory processes the sample and returns a detailed report showing mineral levels, toxic metal levels, and the key mineral ratios.
The clinical value, however, is almost entirely in the interpretation — and this is where Dr. Kim's certification and clinical experience matter. A raw HTMA report contains a significant amount of data that requires specific training to translate into actionable recommendations. Without proper interpretation, the numbers are difficult to use.
Dr. Kim reviews the full report with each patient, explaining what the mineral pattern means for their specific situation — which imbalances are most clinically significant, what the stress pattern indicates about their adrenal and thyroid function, whether heavy metal levels warrant a more targeted response, and what specific nutritional and supplement interventions are most likely to shift the pattern in the right direction.
Because HTMA reflects tissue mineral status over months rather than a single day, it is typically most useful as part of an ongoing relationship — with a follow-up test six to twelve months later to assess how the mineral pattern has responded to the interventions. This is how Dr. Kim uses it: not as a one-time snapshot, but as a longitudinal tool that tracks how the body's biochemistry is changing over time.
HTMA and Zone Technique — Two Layers of the Same Picture
Zone Technique chiropractic and HTMA are not competing approaches — they are complementary layers of assessment that address the same underlying reality from different angles.
Zone Technique identifies which of the body's six systems are not communicating clearly with the brain — the neurological pattern of dysfunction. HTMA identifies the mineral terrain that either supports or undermines those systems — the biochemical context in which the nervous system is operating. A patient whose Zone 1 (glandular) assessments consistently show imbalance often has an HTMA pattern that explains exactly why — depleted mineral reserves, a stressed adrenal pattern, or a calcium-to-potassium ratio that is suppressing thyroid function.
When both layers are addressed simultaneously — Zone Technique restoring neurological communication, nutrition and mineral supplementation addressing the biochemical terrain — patients tend to see more complete and more lasting results than either approach produces alone. This is the integrated model Dr. Kim has built her practice around.
For more on Zone Technique and how it works alongside HTMA, see Zone Technique Chiropractic in Shreveport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HTMA testing accurate?
HTMA has been used clinically for decades and is performed by a number of accredited laboratories. Its accuracy as a measure of tissue mineral status is well-established. Where the science is more nuanced is in the interpretation — the clinical significance of specific mineral ratios and patterns is informed by a body of clinical experience and research that is still developing. Dr. Kim uses HTMA as a clinical tool to guide personalized recommendations, not as a definitive diagnostic test. She integrates it with her chiropractic assessment and patient history rather than relying on it in isolation.
How is HTMA different from a standard mineral blood panel?
A blood mineral panel measures what is circulating in the blood at the moment of the test. HTMA measures what is stored in the body's tissues over the preceding months. Because the body tightly regulates blood mineral levels — sometimes at the expense of tissue stores — blood tests can show normal results while tissues are significantly depleted. HTMA and blood panels are complementary rather than interchangeable. They look at different things.
Does HTMA require a doctor's order in Louisiana?
Dr. Kim is a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic in Louisiana and orders HTMA testing as part of her functional health assessment. No separate physician referral is required. The test is offered on a cash basis at $499 and is not typically covered by insurance.
How long does it take to get results?
Laboratory processing typically takes four to five weeks after the hair sample is received. Dr. Kim will schedule a follow-up appointment to review the results with you and discuss the specific recommendations that come out of them
Can HTMA identify heavy metal toxicity?
Yes — HTMA screens for the accumulation of toxic heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and aluminum in tissue. It is one of the more accessible ways to get a picture of cumulative heavy metal burden, which standard bloodwork typically does not assess unless there is a known acute exposure. If HTMA reveals significant heavy metal accumulation, Dr. Kim will discuss what that means clinically and what targeted interventions are appropriate.
Related Articles
This page is part of the Aligned with Dr. Kim content series.
Related reading: Nervous System Chiropractic and Functional Health Testing in Shreveport — Dr. Kim's full approach, credentials, and practice overview
Zone Technique Chiropractic in Shreveport — the neurological assessment layer that works alongside HTMA
Genetic Testing for Personalized Health in Shreveport — how DNA-based analysis informs personalized care
Chiropractic Care for Stress and Nervous System Regulation in Shreveport — how chiropractic addresses the physical patterns of chronic stress
Why Your Body Isn't Responding — Fatigue, Weight Resistance, and Functional Health in Shreveport — for patients doing everything right but still not feeling their best
Chiropractic Care for Chronic Tension, Headaches, and Neck Pain in Shreveport — the specific patterns Dr. Kim works with most frequently
Book an Appointment
Aligned with Dr. Kim is accepting new patients at 8039 Line Avenue, Suite C, Shreveport, LA 71106. Same-week appointments typically available.
Call or text: (318) 423-7379
How a Zone Technique Session Works
Chiropractic Care Revolves Around Your Nervous System
When you come in for a Zone Technique appointment with Dr. Kim, the session does not begin with a symptom checklist. It begins with an assessment.
Dr. Kim examines specific points at the back of the head that correspond to the six brain centers governing the six zones. These examination points — developed through decades of clinical observation and refined by generations of Zone Technique practitioners — reveal which brain centers are under stress and which zones are out of balance. The examination is quick, specific, and does not require imaging or laboratory tests to perform.
Once Dr. Kim has identified which zones need correction, she delivers precise adjustments to the corresponding spinal segments — the points where the nerve pathways for each zone are most accessible. The goal is not to force a structural correction but to restore the quality of the signal traveling from the brain center through the spinal cord to the affected zone.
The adjustment itself is often gentler than patients expect. Dr. Kim uses a combination of techniques depending on the patient and the presentation — traditional manual adjustments for patients who respond well to them, and instrument-assisted approaches using the Activator® or ArthroStim® for patients who prefer a lighter touch or whose anatomy calls for more precise delivery. Many patients are surprised at how relaxed they feel during and after the session.
Because the Zone Technique assessment is consistent — the same six zones evaluated at every visit — Dr. Kim can track exactly how each zone is responding over time. Progress is not guesswork. It is a documented pattern of which zones are balancing, which are still under stress, and what that tells us about how the body is responding to care.
Your Nervous System Includes
Chiropractic care starts with your nervous system — because it runs everything.
Your brain and spinal cord control every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. When the nervous system is out of sync, nothing works quite like it should.
That’s why we don’t just focus on pain or posture — we focus on restoring nervous system function so your entire body can heal, regulate, and thrive.
Whether you’re dealing with physical tension, emotional stress, or just feeling off, chiropractic care helps bring your system back into alignment — from the inside out.
Protecting Your Spine
Your nervous system includes your brain, spinal cord, and every nerve running from head to toe — from your fingertips to the soles of your feet. It’s what keeps everything in your body connected and communicating.
Chiropractic care is both a science and a philosophy.
It’s based on one simple but powerful truth:
When your nervous system is regulated, your body works better.
That’s why at Aligned with Dr. Kim, we focus on restoring balance to the nervous system first — because true healing happens when your body is in alignment on every level.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is the process of identifying areas where the spine and nervous system are out of alignment — and gently working to restore balance over time. By applying the right amount of pressure in the right place, spinal function improves and the body’s natural healing process is reactivated.
At Aligned with Dr. Kim, we believe the body is its own best doctor. Our role is to remove the interference — not force the outcome.
We use a variety of techniques to do that, including traditional manual adjustments as well as gentler tools like the Activator® and Arthrostim®. Not every adjustment involves a “crack,” and many of our patients are surprised at how relaxing their visit feels.
Whether you prefer the click of a tool or the familiarity of a hands-on adjustment, you’ll receive care that’s tailored to your nervous system and your comfort.
Because real healing happens when your body feels safe enough to receive it.
Why the Zone Technique gets results
There are six core systems in the body that impact how you feel, function, and heal:
GLANDULAR, ELIMINATIVE, NERVOUS, DIGESTIVE, MUSCULAR & CIRCULATORY These are known as the 6 Zones, and every symptom or struggle can usually be traced back to an imbalance in one (or more) of them.
The Zone Technique is a powerful method that helps us identify where your nervous system is stressed — and gently realign it so your body can return to a natural state of balance.
At Aligned with Dr. Kim, we use the Zone Technique to move beyond chasing symptoms.
Instead, we help your body reconnect to its own healing intelligence — so you feel better, think clearer, and experience alignment on every level.
Your body always knows what it needs.
We simply help clear the static so it can communicate clearly again.
We also offer nutritional and supplement counseling, be sure to let us know if this is something we can help you with. There are so many options out there, in the office we use only proven supplements and are happy to help you navigate what you need.
Call us today to schedule your appointment!
Please contact us by phone at 318-423-7379
Why Master Certification Matters
Zone Technique has several levels of practitioner certification. Dr. Kim holds Master Certification — the highest level available — which represents an advanced level of training, clinical application, and demonstrated competency in both the assessment and adjustment protocols specific to Zone Technique.
She is the only Master Certified Zone Technique practitioner in the Shreveport and Bossier City area. This is not a minor distinction. Zone Technique's effectiveness depends heavily on the precision of both the assessment and the adjustment. A practitioner who has invested in Master Certification has worked through a level of clinical training that significantly deepens both.
For patients in the Ark-La-Tex region who specifically want Zone Technique — whether because they have experienced it before, been referred by someone who has, or done their own research — Dr. Kim's office is the destination.
"Every time that I go I see improvement. I'm a lifelong client now. If you are on the fence about chiropractors, choose Dr. Kim." — patient review
"When I went in bent over after 2 back surgeries and walked out standing straight and in less pain, I was convinced that Dr. Kim Griggs truly knew what she was doing." — patient review
© 2026 All The Way Health - All Rights Reserved
8039 Line Avenue, Suite C, Shreveport, LA 71106
318-423-7379
© 2026 All The Way Health - All Rights Reserved
Frequently Asked Questions
Call or text: (318) 423-7379
Is Zone Technique the same as a standard chiropractic adjustment?
No — though it uses spinal adjustment as its primary tool. Standard chiropractic adjustments focus primarily on spinal alignment and structural correction. Zone Technique uses spinal adjustments to restore the quality of the nerve signals traveling from specific brain centers to specific body systems. The assessment is different — examining brain center stress points rather than just spinal mechanics — and the treatment targets are different. The result is a broader range of clinical applications than structural adjustment alone.
Does Zone Technique hurt?
No. Zone Technique adjustments are typically gentle — and often gentler than patients expect from chiropractic care. Dr. Kim uses instrument-assisted techniques including the Activator and ArthroStim for patients who prefer a lighter touch, alongside traditional manual adjustments for those who respond well to them. Many patients describe their sessions as deeply relaxing. The goal is for your body to feel safe enough to receive the adjustment — because, as Dr. Kim often says, real healing happens when the body feels safe.
How many sessions does Zone Technique take to work?
It depends on what is being addressed and how long the patterns have been established. For acute pain and tension, most patients notice meaningful improvement within two to four visits. For longer-standing patterns involving fatigue, hormonal irregularities, sleep disruption, or chronic digestive complaints, the improvement is typically more gradual — building over six to twelve weeks of consistent care as the nervous system recalibrates and the zone imbalances resolve. Dr. Kim tracks zone balance at every visit and can show you the documented progress over time.
I've never heard of Zone Technique — is it well established?
Zone Technique has roots going back to 1931 and has been practiced and refined by chiropractors for nearly a century. Dr. Peter Goldman's modern formulation has been taught to thousands of practitioners internationally. It is not a fringe approach — it is a well-developed chiropractic system with a substantial clinical history. That said, it is less widely practiced than standard diversified chiropractic, which is why patients who specifically seek it out often travel significant distances to find a qualified practitioner. In the Shreveport and Bossier City area, Dr. Kim's office is where they come.
Do you use Zone Technique for children or elderly patients?
Yes. One of Zone Technique's advantages is its adaptability. Dr. Kim adjusts the technique to the patient — using lighter, gentler instrument-assisted approaches for patients who need them, including children and older adults. The assessment is the same regardless of age. The delivery is calibrated to what the individual nervous system can comfortably receive.
Related Articles
- Nervous System Chiropractic and Functional Health Testing in Shreveport — Dr. Kim's full approach, credentials, and practice overview
- HTMA Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Testing in Shreveport — the functional testing layer that complements Zone Technique
- Genetic Testing for Personalized Health in Shreveport — DNA-based analysis for individualized care
- Chiropractic Care for Stress and Nervous System Regulation in Shreveport — how Zone Technique addresses the physical patterns of chronic stress
- Chiropractic Care for Chronic Tension, Headaches, and Neck Pain in Shreveport — the specific structural patterns Zone Technique addresses most directly
© 2021 All The Way Health - All Rights Reserved
Book an Appointment
Dr. Kim Griggs is accepting new patients at Aligned with Dr. Kim, 8039 Line Avenue, Suite C, Shreveport, LA 71106. Same-week appointments typically available. Serving Shreveport, Bossier City, and the surrounding Ark-La-Tex region.
Call or text: (318) 423-7379
alignedwithdrkim.com
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