How Carlos Got Back to Throwing Heat, and the Value of Integrated Therapy

I don’t claim to be a scout for a big league baseball team. But when I encounter a young man like Carlos, who at the time was 6-foot-6 and threw a baseball 90 miles per hour as a 17-year-old, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he could hear his name called at some point in a Major League Baseball draft.

Carlos came to Natural Healthcare Center in April of 2015 with pain in his hip and the lower right side of his back. Our integrated treatment plan included chiropractic care, physical therapy and sports nutrition counseling. The pain went away, but it would return when Carlos resumed the high level of activity that’s normal for serious athletes.

We sent Carlos to have an MRI, which revealed a herniated disc and a bulging disc. We dug deeper into our integrated toolshed of services and treated Carlos with the Cox Technic system of spinal decompression and pain management. We also continued with chiropractic care and nutrition, and focused his physical therapy on lumbar core stabilization.

Today, Carlos is fully rehabbed, training for his senior season, and throwing heat.

I’m sharing this success story with you for two reasons. First, Carlos is a prime example of how an integrated approach to healthcare can return a teenager or individual of any age to good health without surgery or medication.

Second, I tend to get frustrated when I get prescriptions like this from medical doctors…

To Whom It May Concern:

Patient with history of herniated disc in her spine due to previous automobile accidents. Patient advised to stop chiropractic care and follow up with orthopedic only.

Try to look at this from my perspective. I run an integrated practice the right way. I’ve seen more than 200,000 patient visits during my 22-year career. I’m a spinal specialist trained in the evaluation and treatment of “orthopedic” conditions. I treat disc herniation for a living. I collaborate with doctors from many medical disciplines, including neurosurgeons who respect what I do and refer patients to me without hesitation.

This particular family doctor knew nothing about what I do. All she heard was the word “chiropractic” and probably said to herself, “Why does this person need to see a chiropractor?”

Many times, you shouldn’t see a chiropractor for certain types of injuries and conditions. But it depends on the qualifications of the chiropractor. It’s okay to have specialties in the medical field, but for some reason, the medical field doesn’t seem to recognize the specialties that exist outside of their little corner of the universe.

Let’s go back to Carlos. He didn’t go to an orthopedist.  He came to me, a certified chiropractic sports physician and Cox Technic practitioner, and Dr. Hostnik, a board certified chiropractic neurologist. We diagnosed a very complicated, multi-system disorder in an elite young athlete and treated him successfully using a science-based, integrated approach.

We’re perfectly equipped to handle a case like Carlos or a person dealing with disc herniation from a car accident. Yet many in the medical establishment fail to recognize the value of the services we provide due to their own lack of research and understanding.

Some may feel threatened. Some have trouble looking beyond the little box of their medical facility. Some are just ignorant.

My point is that we can’t let inaccurate stigmas or stereotypes prevent us from receiving the kind of care we need. Not all solutions are found in a pill or an operating room.

When a doctor prescribes a certain treatment, ask a simple question.

Why? Why is that the right approach? Why is that not the best approach? If you’re not satisfied with the answer, it may be time to seek another opinion.