If you have ever read any of our blog posts or been on our website, you have probably seen the words, “integrative health centre”.  Active Health Institute, defines integrative care as; “the process of combining necessary, health care services in order to achieve complete health and healing.”

What differentiates a true integrative health centre from a clinic with simply, multiple health care providers under one roof?  True integration requires two key elements;

 

  1. Unbiased health practitioners who are able to recognize, if and when, the patient would benefit from a different health care professional with more expertise in a certain field.
  2. Providers that take the time to collaborate and communicate with each other in order to deliver the appropriate care.

The lack of true integration in traditional clinics is what leads to; long unnecessary treatment plans, poor diagnoses, fragmented care and frustrated patients.   Here are some examples of how some of our patients have benefited from our integrative approach.

Example 1

Patient was suffering from chronic headaches and decided to try chiropractic care and massage therapy.  After evaluating the patient, it was evident the patient would benefit from some chiropractic and massage treatments.  However, the patient also suffered from high levels of stress and anxiety.  In order to truly help this patient with their headaches the stress and anxiety issue needed to be addressed.  The patient was referred to our Naturopathic doctor to address the stress and anxiety, while they underwent some chiropractic care and massage therapy.  Final outcome was no more headaches, increased ability to handle stress and overall feeling of improved health and quality of life.

Example 2

Patient with chronic low back pain came to the clinic to see our physiotherapists for acupuncture, manual therapy and rehabilitation.  After 3-4 weeks of care there was marked improvement but the physiotherapist felt that the patient was hitting a plateau and suggested chiropractic manipulation.  The combined treatments helped the patient overcome the plateau and get closer to their goal of decreased pain intensity and increased daily function.

Example 3

Patient was looking for a solution to their weight gain over the years, despite exercising regularly and eating healthy.  Our exercise physiologist/kinesiologist began by performing a test to measure the patients’ metabolic rate.  The test illustrated that the patients’ ability to metabolize fat was non-existent.   The patient was referred to our Naturopath to evaluate their internal systems that may have been affecting the patients’ metabolism while they began an appropriate exercise regime aimed at working within the patients’ fat-burning heart-rate zone.    Patient was able to not only lose weight but also address some of their food intolerances and adrenal fatigue, which was hindering their ability to lose weight.

These are just some examples of how “integrative care” works at the Active Health Institute.  Our mission is to provide not only the best care possible, but also the most necessary care to make our patients better, faster.

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