What Are The 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine?
“The part can never be well unless the whole is well.” – Plato
Health, vitality and overall wellness rest on certain key lifestyle factors. These areas are listed below as Elevate’s foundational pillars of health, in accordance with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Each of these pillars is grounded in science and is evidence-based.
“Wellness” considers the whole person. Through assessment of each of these domains, Dr. Panjwani aims to understand YOU – your lifestyle, your vision for good health, what motivates you, and how ready you are for change. She will provide knowledge on relevant up to date evidence-based lifestyle recommendations and will suggest therapeutic interventions specific to your health complaint. Together, long term and short term SMART goals will be created, that are specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic and time-sensitive. Dr. Panjwani will provide specific lifestyle prescriptions tailored to you along with methods of accountability, tracking, sustainability, and relapse prevention. Each goal achieved will build confidence and strengthen motivation as we design a lifestyle to achieve your highest potential for health and wellbeing.
How Can The 6 Pillars Help An Individual?
It is lifestyle choices that are at the foundation of many chronic diseases – such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Improvement and optimization of behaviors within these six domains, have been well established in the prevention, management and even reversal of chronic diseases. Chronic pain is a lifestyle related disease. There is a definite relationship between lifestyle behaviors and musculoskeletal health. Physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, stress, and poor sleep are just a few factors associated with chronic pain, its severity and sustainability. These lifestyle behaviors may even play a role in epigenetics, altering how a gene is expressed, further explaining its influence on disease, pain and health. With it’s physiologic and molecular impact, it is clear that evidence-based lifestyle interventions optimize musculoskeletal health, and can prevent, treat and manage pain at a foundational level.
Why does it work? Because our six pillars address the complex biopsychosocial aspects of chronic pain disorders, that are too often overlooked in conventional care models. We have learned the hard way, that treatments relying solely on injections, surgery and drugs have not led to better outcomes and a “quick fix” does not exist. An appropriate treatment paradigm must address all factors related to health for optimal wellness and function. Our six-pillared program does exactly this.
Dr. Panjwani uses evidence-based lifestyle interventions in a holistic approach to musculoskeletal health and pain. She takes deep dives into each of these 6 domains, uncovering root causes and contributors to a patient’s pain disorder. In collaboration with the patient, specific and sustainable lifestyle modifications are created, as key components to a patient’s individualized pain rehabilitation program.
