University Hospitals Connor Integrative Health Network can help address your stress
By Ken McEntee
Stress makes everything worse, suggests Francoise Adan, MD, medical director of University Hospitals Connor Integrative Health Network.
“More than 80 percent of visits to primary care are due to conditions that are either caused by or are exacerbated by stress,” Dr. Adan says. “If you have a migraine, if you have diabetes, if you have a cardiovascular condition or even something as simple as back pain, stress will most likely make the condition worse. Stress also weakens your immune system and reduces your ability to fight disease and infection.”
That’s why many of the services offered by UH Connor Integrative Health Network—such as massage, meditation, acupuncture—focus on stress reduction. Such forms of treatment—once considered “alternative” medicine—are firmly established in the mainstream at UH, Dr. Adan insists. They are now considered complementary medicine.
“About 40 percent of Americans are believed to be using some form of integrative medicine, and more than 1,800 clinicians within UH system alone refer patients to us,” she says. “We also refer patients to, and work in collaboration with, our UH colleagues in conventional medicine.”
Integrative medicine, Dr. Adan says, provides the “best of both worlds.”
“Integrative medicine emphasizes the relationship between the clinician and patient and focuses on the whole person to achieve optimal health and healing,” she explains.
Services offered through UH Connor Integrative Health Network include:
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic
- Guided imagery
- Integrative Medicine Consults for adults and children
- Massage therapy
- Meditation
- Mindfulness
- Osteopathic sports rehabilitation
- Pediatric health
- Yoga
“People often consult with integrative practitioners because of a health problem that hasn’t been resolved, or they have not achieved full healing or full recovery using conventional medicine,” Dr. Adan says. “They might have a troublesome side effect from a medication. We work with obesity, hypertension, chronic disease improvement and reversal and fertility issues.”
Pain management is a common problem for which people pursue integrative medicine.
“We use evidence-based modalities accepted by the medical community that are very effective for pain management, including acupuncture, massage, chiropractic care and meditation,” she said. “Those modalities typically help patients to decrease the amount of medications they take or sometimes avoid them altogether.”
Pain, she says, can be physical or emotional.
“We can help with the full gamut, from migraines to back and joint pain, conditions like Crohn’s disease or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and emotional pain caused by stress or insomnia,” she says.
Other people who seek integrative medicine, she emphasizes, have no particular health problem to address.
“Some patients come to us because they just want to optimize their wellness and enhance their state of well-being,” she says. “They want to feel empowered and take ownership of their own health.”
Patients and clinicians in UH Connor Integrative Health Network have the support of a world class health system.
“We work collaboratively with our colleagues in conventional medicine,” Dr. Adan says. “Being all in the same system, we can conveniently share our patients’ medical records with other physicians and caregivers so that we’re all on the same page. Everybody from the chiropractic physician to the orthopedic surgeon to the primary care physician has access to the same blood work results and X-rays. Comprehensive treatment increases patient safety and ultimately provides the best outcomes.”
University Hospitals Connor Integrative Health Network offers services delivered by experts in their fields. Services are offered at several locations in Northeast Ohio, including an office at 19800 Detroit Rd., Suite 201A, in Rocky River. You can make an appointment with an integrative medicine specialist by calling 216-245-3998. You can learn more by visiting UHhospitals.org/Connor.