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<\/p>\nOver the past 18 months, I have seen my primary M.D. three times, enjoyed the services of my favorite massage therapist six times, visited my chiropractor nine times, chatted with a local R.D. twice and seen my personal trainer regularly. And not one of them even asked if I was seeing any of the others, much less inquiring what their treatments or approaches to treatments might be. To me, that is like trying to achieve success with a baseball team where the 1st base coach, 2nd base coach, 3rd base coach and pitching coach never communicate with each other.<\/p>\n
Success cannot occur in a vacuum, neither can trueindividual health & wellness, yet for decades these medical, fitness & wellness providers have proffered their services in distinct and distinctly separate spaces.<\/p>\n
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Even as the internet has made access to information easier and facilitated the sharing of knowledge, including private, HIPAA compliant information, these providers continue to operate in \u201cinformational silos.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is true that in the past some of these providers may have held less than favorable opinions of some of the other providers, but that is, and certainly should be, a thing of the past. No longer will M.D.\u2019s consider Chiropractors \u201cquacks\u201d, R.D.\u2019s claim nutritionists \u201cjust don\u2019t know enough\u201d, and Physical Therapists think of Personal Trainers as \u201dwanna-be P.T.\u2019s who couldn\u2019t hack the education.\u201d Science, knowledge and time have evolved all these disciplines into valuable, useful and incredibly beneficial specialties, each offering specific training and specific methods to apply to their patients\/clients. And all those patients\/clients typically can benefit from their combined expertise and knowledge.<\/p>\n
No longer is it sufficient to simply treat the symptoms. Real wellness needs to encompass the patient\/client holistically\u2026 address the symptoms, understand the cause, strengthen the mind, examine the diet, resolve the issue and prevent future occurrences. And isn\u2019t that best accomplished by viewing patient\/client wellness as a Team Sport?<\/p>\n
Over the years I have had the pleasure of knowing and speaking at length with many of these medical, fitness & wellness providers, and not one of them indicated there is anything in their training that says \u201cThou Shalt Not Collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are not talking about \u201casking for help.\u201d Rather we are simply saying to include those other practitioners in the conversation. Instead of the M.D. telling the patient to \u201cwalk more to improve cardio health\u201d, why not conference call with the Personal Trainer and discuss the walking program that is most appropriate. Let the Physical Therapist inform the Personal Trainer of any specific issues to address or avoid. Allow the Massage Therapist to work with the Chiropractor to ensure optimum results from both. In other words, (and the simplicity of all this may surprise you), just TALK TO EACH OTHER.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s start to make that happen. For more than 20 years my company has helped health clubs and fitness centers create mutually beneficial relationships with Physical Therapy practices, Chiropractic offices, Registered Dietitians, Nutritionists and Massage Therapists. Now is the time to extend the conversation, and, to return to my baseball metaphor, get ALL the coaches working together to create truly Championship results.<\/p>\n