The family doctor concept lives on in Alpharetta.
Perhaps you grew up with a small-town doctor, the one you went to first for everything except emergency care. Whether it was the flu, a cut finger, a rash or that weird pain in your side. Today, we see more doctors for parts than for the whole body.
Dr. Michael Dellaria B.S., D.C., A.F.M.C. of Holistic Health Center in Alpharetta, has been treating the “whole body” for over 24 years. This is where the structural (the skeletal) meets the internal (the functional) part of the body, including your organs, glands and nervous system. The two are brought together through the spine.
Did you know you could have pain in your neck, putting pressure on a nerve going to your sinuses, affecting your sinus function? Or that a chronic infection in your sinuses affecting the nerve going to your sinuses could be causing your neck pain? Or maybe you have pain in your mid back, putting pressure on the nerve going to your gall bladder, affecting your gall bladder function. A restricted bile or bile stones affecting your gall bladder function could, reversely be irritating the nerve going to your gall bladder, referring pain to your mid back.
These examples are the structural integrity affecting the functional, and the functional affecting the structural integrity, “inside out,” if you will.
Through advanced chiropractic (the structural integrity) and functional medicine (the functional), Dr. Dellaria has found favorable results treating the whole body with natural and non-invasive treatment.
Dr. Dellaria is known for helping people who are undiagnosed or haven’t responded to traditional medical care. Now that we are seeing the term and accreditation “functional medicine” doctor more, we are seeing more healthcare fields working together for the patient’s sake, rather than being about which side is “in the right” or better. Having a functional and structural assessment of your health concern can tell you whether it’s an emergency or a less invasive correction needed.
As an Adjunct Professor for Life University in Georgia, Dr. Dellaria trains chiropractic students as interns in his practice. For example, he has encouraged our future chiropractic doctors to expand their education to set not only themselves apart but the field of chiropractic to bridge the gap for whole body care with other healthcare professionals for the sake of patient care.
A recent recipient of the Kharrazian Institute Flame of Knowledge Award, through which he received his advanced functional medicine accreditation, Dr. Datis Kharrazian, PhD, DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN, and director of the Kharrazian Institute, congratulated Dr. Dellaria with these words: “The logo of the Kharrazian Institute is the flame of knowledge, which represents an eternal flame to burn in honor of the commitment to learning and the expansion of knowledge. You have expressed those attributes and characteristics at the Kharrazian Institute. You are among the best of the best in our community, and we are honored to recognize you for your commitment to learning and clinical excellence. I have no doubt you will be a future leader in functional medicine and amongst the best clinicians that practice functional medicine worldwide.”
Dr. Dellaria’s passion for his patients and the unanswered questions they face has fueled him to seek more knowledge, educate future chiropractic doctors and help his patients gain a true understanding of their health concerns and the options available to them.
The open collaboration of doctors receptive to functional medicine has made a huge difference in the care patients receive today.
This is where the structural (the skeletal) meets the internal, (the functional) part of the body including your organs, glands and nervous system. The two are brought together through the spine.