Krutika Parasar Raulkar, MD
Physiatry, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Cone Health Medical Group, Greensboro, NC
In her own words...
- She is a young woman and yet her life is already a source of stress as she cares for her children, works long hours at a job she hates, and suffers from chronic pain that plagues her day and night.
- He is a sweet, social man who recently lost his job due to cervical myelopathy, after which he became homeless when he was unable to pay his bills.
- She is a healthy great grandmother who does one hour of yoga every morning, but has had to stop because of knee pain.
Three different stories with three different, individualized treatment plans. One thing they can all benefit from is lifestyle medicine.
As a physiatrist at Cone Health Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Greensboro, NC, lifestyle medicine is my passion. As I listen to my patients’ stories, I also probe for opportunities to infuse positive lifestyle changes that will not only improve their physical and mental health, but their quality of life and joy for living.
- Our young woman loves to play basketball and she has abandoned it due to her obligations. As we strategize how she can make time for her to play basketball with her son, she lights up and sits straighter.
- After connecting him with a social worker to help him find a home, our cervical myelopathy patient can benefit from occupational therapy to strengthen his weakened hands and to provide weighted utensils so he can continue to eat on his own.
- After a short course of an anti-inflammatory and a few sessions of physical therapy, we encourage our elderly great grandmother to get back to her yoga. She is so thankful and relieved; she had thought her yoga days were over.
Lifestyle medicine can improve everyone’s lives. I see this with my patients every day. As budding physicians in medical school, we receive little training in lifestyle medicine, which is largely neglected in the curriculum. That is why I created a manual to teach medical students and other health care providers how to prescribe lifestyle medicine to their patients in a safe and fun manner. As physicians, we treat disease with medicine and surgery. But we can prevent disease with lifestyle medicine.
*** In addition to her very busy family and work schedule, Dr. Raulkar has sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden and completed 3 marathons.
