Integrative Medicine focuses on the whole person and uses multiple therapies to obtain optimal health. Traditional medicine, chiropractic, nutrition, exercise and physical therapy, counseling, acupuncture and biofeedback, massage, herbal therapy may be used. Providers coordinate the treatment plan. Patients participate in treatment decisions.
Evidence-based therapies are treatments backed by quality studies with “proven” effectiveness. American studies are often sponsored by drug companies, so the emphasis in American medicine has been on using medications. Newer therapies such as regenerative medicine have multiple small studies but no unifying protocols yet. Nutritional studies usually come from Europe or Asia.
We operate using the principle of “First, do no harm.” We use medication only if really needed. If a condition can be treated by lifestyle modifications that is always preferable to medication. However, medication can reduce risk of complications of disease, and we prescribe when needed.
One of our goals is to treat and prevent pain. This is truly where an integrative approach works so much better than just pills.
Regenerative medicine involves the use of various biologic materials to stimulate the body’s own healing capacity. Stem cells can develop into any tissue, can be derived from fat, platelet rich plasma, bone marrow, amniotic tissue, umbilical cord tissue. Some of these preparations may not contain very many stem cells, but they do contain various growth substances and can stimulate the body to mobilize its own stem cells. Optimal healing requires optimal nutrition!
Specific drugs often make patients feel worse. NSAIDS and steroid inhibit healing. Statins often cause muscle pain, tendonitis, and can also inhibit healing. Newer antibiotics cause psychiatric issues. The list goes on. But drugs are 60% plant-derived and partially responsible for our increased longevity. Improved nutrition over the last century is also contributory.
Often forgotten elements of well-being include good sleep and treatment of depression. We address these problems at Magnolia Medical. If sleep is not restorative, then no healing can take place.
Integrative medicine therapy is personalized to each patient with an attempt to have the patient involved in his or her treatment.
Learn more at www.magnoliamedgroup.com.
Dr. Audrey Crumbley has always had a desire and passion to treat the whole person with an evidence-based approach utilizing traditional and alternative methods of care. Dr. Crumbley graduated from University of Georgia summa cum laude with a BS in Chemistry. She then attended Emory University School of Medicine where she completed her medical (MD) degree.
Dr. Crumbley did her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina where she became board-certified in Internal Medicine.
After serving for years in group-oriented practice, she founded HealthPeak at Lake Norman, North Carolina, a wellness-based preventive medicine practice. Dr. Crumbley utilized many natural methods for helping patients be well, including traditional medicine, dietary management, functional exercise, massage therapy, health coaching, and nutritional therapy. In addition to a broad approach to natural and lifestyle medicine, Dr. Crumbley has practiced for years in acute Emergency Medicine. Dr. Crumbley’s vast knowledge of acute and chronic disease has positioned her to be a top leader in Lifestyle Medicine. She is the Medical Director at The Center for Lifestyle Medicine and leads our team in the latest advances in care, following a consistent evidence-based standard of care, and providing patients with a specialty- driven center for the best possible outcomes to improve the quality of their lives. You may find her practicing at the Milledgeville location on Tuesday afternoons.
In her spare time, Audrey is a Georgia Master Gardener, and enjoys watercolor painting and many outdoor activities with her family.
