Getting Your Health Back On Track
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One of the most frequent questions I get when new patients join my practice is “Where do I start to get healthy?” My answer typically is “You take the first step, however small that may be.”
As a physical medicine-trained practitioner with a functional medicine inspired approach, I look at the root causes of what’s impairing your body’s normal function, and then devise a game plan to restore your body’s innate healing potential. So rather than giving you bandaid solutions, I’d love for you to start thinking about the following:
When Your Imaging and Labs Come Back Normal
Have your lab tests and imaging results come back as normal – yet you feel pain? It’s important to understand that “normal” is just an average of the population, not what’s “optimal” for you. This is more so, when it comes to imaging of your spine, because your spine imaging just shows us structures but doesn't really tell us where your pain is coming from. We know from studies that people can have worse imaging findings and don’t have any pain, and individuals can have a lot of pain with normal imaging. So beyond what the lab or x-rays, MRI scan tests say... What do you feel is not optimal?
Lifestyle Changes To Address Lifestyle Diseases
A lot of people are looking for the “magic bullet” to fix their condition – whether it’s migraines, chronic pain, back pain, or neuropathy. But for lifestyle-driven diseases, the fix is lifestyle changes. So reflect on where your lifestyle is sabotaging your health.It is also important to understand what “pain” is, because if we don’t understand what we are dealing with, we are not able to manage. The old paradigm of medicine, injections, and surgeries alone may not solve the problem. When you are healthy at baseline, the medicines, injections, chiropractic care, energy medicine, all work better. So it is important to focus on fundamentals of health-nutrition, stress management, sleep, and exercise.
How Your Environment Influences Your Health
The environment shapes behavior, and behavior shapes our habits. The state of your health is a lagging indicator of your habits. We stress the importance of becoming aware of your environment( thoughts, toxins, trauma) which can all affect your overall well being and keep you in persistent pain or dis-ease.
The Corrosive Nature Of Stress & Chronic Inflammation
Inflammation is a useful response after an acute injury. But when it turns into a persistent state of inflammation, it is often the silent driver behind many diseases, chronic pain and the major cause of accelerated aging. How are you addressing physiological + mental stress?
Could Stealth Be To Blame?
One of the often overlooked causes for low energy and chronic wellness issues are stealth infections (i.e. candida, SIBO, SIFO) that usually go undetected by conventional practitioners. Have you been tested?
Optimizing Metabolism & Energy
When your mitochondria (your body’s energy generators) are not functioning optimally, it’s no wonder that you’re constantly fatigued. Nutrient deficiencies as well as impaired detoxification pathways could be to blame – so you may need to evaluate mitochondrial status.
Hormonal Imbalances
Hormones are the quintessential messengers that regulate critical functions in your body – so when your hormones are out of balance, everything is out of balance (think stubborn weight, fatigue, hot flashes, low libido and depression, pain). What’s your hormonal health?
What To Look For In A Doctor
At Aether Medicine, we believe that health is not just the absence of disease, but a state of profound wellness and resilience. As such, we feel it’s important to optimize cellular health and prioritize prevention – rather than just fixing what’s obviously broken before addressing your pain. Do you feel adequately supported by your current health provider to tackle your chronic wellness challenges?
Your Next Steps
As you make your way through my mini-course, jot down any questions that come up for you. Sometimes it’s general questions, but oftentimes, it’s very specific questions pertaining to your situation that deserve a more in-depth conversation..
Unlike conventional medicine health practitioners, we practice what’s referred to as integrative rehabilitation medicine – looking to identify the root causes for the symptoms you’re experiencing, and then crafting a tailored solution perfect for you.
To figure out whether partnering with our team at Aether Medicine is your best next move: Click here to schedule your consultation.
Asare B. Christian, M.D., MPH
Aether Medicine
Phone: +1 484 291 7283
About Asare B. Christian, M.D., MPH
Dr. Christian is known for his integrative and holistic approach to pain management and his unmatched patience, level of care, listening skills, and natural aptitude to practice compassion and empathy.
Visits with Dr. Christian are educational,empowering, and collaborative, allowing him to craft customized treatment plans that work best for each patient. With a passion for helping others become empowered to manage their pain, improve their well-being, and live a more fulfilling life, Dr. Christian became a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation(PM&R) physician specializing in advanced treatment options for pain and rehabilitation. Dr. Christian completed his medical training at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was awarded the student of the year in PM&R. He completed his residency training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and fellowship from Harvard Medical school.
He has an academic appointment with the University of Pennsylvania Department of PM&R. Dr. Christian earned his board certification through the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is the founder and medical director of Aether Medicine in the Wayne, Mainline Philadelphia, PA area.
SKILLS AND SPECIALTIES
Dr. Christian is multifaceted in his medical techniques combining advanced technology, innovative, complementary and traditional medicine to provide solutions. He has extensive knowledge and skills in the management of musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation. Dr. Christian uses his skills to provide effective holistic treatment for joint pain, low back pain, and migraines.
He provides rehabilitation services for stroke, multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson, and more. Dr. Christian is an expert in neurotoxin medicine(Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Myobloc), treating multiple arrays of painful conditions such as cervical dystonia, chronic migraines, spasticity, and chronic back pain. Dr. Christian takes a holistic approach and specializes in the use of medical cannabis in pain management and other conditions.
