EEI Physical Wellness Institute

There are dozens of health apps and literally millions of trainers, advocates and fitness influencers available on the web, why do you need to hear from a “normal guy” who has been working in the clinical setting for nearly forty years? Well frankly it is precisely because I am a normal guy who worked in the clinic for nearly forty years.

Despite what modern medicine, and the fitness/wellness influencers have been doing for the last generation, it’s not working. Too many people are still having health crises! The United States spends more on healthcare than a dozen other first-world countries, yet our lifespans remain the lowest of all.

We are clearly missing the mark. I believe it is because we scan for diseases AFTER there are already symptoms. We don’t focus on prevention.  (Martyushev et al. in Frontiers of Public Health from 2022 PMID: 35651862) In fact, when I was in the clinic, I was told to only address diagnosed concerns. No, my bosses didn’t tell me to not address a given problem, the message was to “stop finding problems that aren’t diagnosed.” I had a patient that had all the testing and appearance of a certain chronic condition that I was very experienced treating. I placed a referral to the specialist MD who treated that condition. The referral was cancelled because, “the patient has not been formally diagnosed by an MD with this condition. They can’t go see the specialist until they have the diagnosis from the primary care MD.” So, another appointment had to be scheduled, more time waiting, more time with the patient not receiving treatment. More time spent reacting and not preventing. 

My frustration and need to focus on prevention is why I developed the 30-point Functional Assessment Screening Tool (FAST). We assess your ability to use your Strength, Power, Balance, Coordination and Endurance to do the activities that you need and want to do.

If we notice that your balance is a bit low in your 30s, we can recommend training to improve your functional balance. If your leg strength is maybe not as good as you’d like for backpacking the Alps, we can work with that. If you’re having a hard time picking up your grandchild, there is a lot we can recommend. We encourage our clients to “Build an Arsenal of Activities” that you enjoy, or want to learn, so you are remaining active well into your golden years. We’re not sending you to the gym, if you hate the gym. We help you find the activities that you love and still achieve your functional movement goals.

I once heard it described as “Physical Literacy”, the ability to move in a variety of ways. When folks can do this, they are actively extending their functional life; not just the number of years, but the number of years doing the things that excite them.

Let’s deal with those smaller issues today, before they become big limitations tomorrow.