March 17, 2014
My path to a career in Chiropractics was a little unconventional. I played lacrosse from the 5th grade though when I attended Chiropractic school. Lacrosse actually brought me to Maryland. I was recruited to play at Salisbury University.
Despite being an active athlete, I never considered a career in healthcare.
I graduated from college with a degree in Marketing, but soon realized that I wasn’t passionate about this field. I knew that I had an opportunity to figure out what really excited me professionally.
I decided to put effort into exploring other career paths and spent months speaking to friends, acquaintances and family members about their chosen professions.
One area that caught my attention was Chiropractic care.
My cousin was a Chiropractor and he sent me a book to read. Halfway through this book everything clicked. The Chiropractic approach to health and wellness resonated with me. The idea of being able to use my hands to literally affect the way the body works sounded like an amazing skill. And so, I set off to Chicago for my Chiropractic education.
Like most docs, my practice started off very small in a location that was “fine to start”.
Day one, it was my wife and I in the office; then a front desk person and eventually a chiropractic assistant. Ten years later we have grown into a practice with three times the staff and even some complimentary modality specialists to round out our treatments
We have established a thriving business and I love my career as Chiropractic Sports Physician.
Because I specialize as a Sports Physician, I see and treat anything to do with the musculoskeletal system. This has been a very exciting area in Chiropractic care and I have been able to treat virtually every body part in some capacity. Shoulders, hips, elbows…you name it. Sprains, strains, bursitis and tendonitis; you name it, I have treated it.
Any type of care that looks to restore “normalcy” to the body is a great compliment to Chiropractic care. I utilize all sorts of complimentary care to assist and enhance the treatment of my patients. I prioritize therapies based on the patient’s specific symptoms and/or goals for care.
Nutrition, exercise, massage and acupuncture all fit that bill.
Our daily lives expose us to all sorts of external stress; poor ergonomics at work, dietary habits and of course, mental and emotional stress. All of these stresses accumulate and force your body to creep further and further away from “normal function”. Whether you’re talking about your digestive system or your musculoskeletal system, restoring and maintaining “normal function” is your best bet for sustaining wellness.
With this in mind, healthcare must address the body as a whole.
There needs to be a shift to consider all systems, not just the one that may be presently symptomatic. Since one doctor cannot possibly know it all, an integrative approach to wellness just makes sense.
With this approach, individual symptoms will certainly resolve but more importantly, the entire body will function at a higher level, reducing the likelihood of future illness/injury.
These days, most practitioners understand the value of integrative wellness and recognize that it’s the future of healthcare.
Unfortunately, for most solo practitioners, creating an integrative model in an efficient way is just not possible.
The time, expense and effort are just too great. I had started integrating within my practice but was somewhat limited in what I could do. When I was approached by Nava, it represented an opportunity to achieve what I had been working toward in my own practice, without limitations.
The resources that Nava provides, clinically and administratively, as well as the level of professionalism it demands, create the perfect environment for integration. The result, in my opinion is going to be an “integrative wellness machine,” with the potential to significantly change how people perceive and receive care.