October 18, 2019
National Chiropractic Health Month—which takes place in October—helps raise public awareness about the benefits of chiropractic care. However, not all chiropractic care is the same. For Dr. Thomas Lotus, leading a focused and specific non-surgical approach to spine and joint pain maximizes the benefits his patients.
Dr. Lotus has been in practice for 16 years and holds Fellow status in Orthopedics through the American Chiropractic Orthopedists Board. He credits using Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) for allowing him specific insight to both assess a patient's condition and guide them in the best avenue of care.
Dr. Lotus is part of the small percentage of chiropractors in the world who are fully credentialed in the McKenzie Therapy. MDT is a highly reliable and validated assessment that allows a credentialed clinician to accurately understand the patient’s presentation and behavior of symptoms. It is globally recognized as a leading treatment for back, neck and extremities disorders. This in turn allows the clinician to educate the patient on the most appropriate and effective treatment to promote self -efficacy and prevent re-occurrences.
“Low back pain is one of the most common issues that occurs, not just here at MOR, but nationwide as well as worldwide. Millions of dollars are spent within the healthcare system annually for low back pain and is considered one of the top disabilities in the world,” explains Dr. Lotus. “The numbers are astonishing since the research notes that most musculoskeletal pain is ‘mechanical’ in origin- meaning not due to serious pathology but due to abnormal mechanics and loading strategies of the area of complaint.”
Dr. Lotus, a credentialed McKenzie (MDT) practitioner for over 10 years, addresses patients with acute pain, long standing condition and patients who are pre/post-surgical. His highly trained MDT approach allows him to assess a patient and determine whether they need imaging, specific movement therapies or a surgical consult.
“For many, choosing chiropractic care is done with the hope of avoiding surgery,” said Lotus. “I’m always working to deliver the best care possible, but for those who do require surgery, they can be confident that I’ve eliminated all other possibilities and placed them in the best surgical hands for an optimal outcome.”
Using a McKenzie based approach, it allows Dr. Lotus to most accurately apply patient-centered personalized care. Combining chiropractic care and the McKenzie therapy is ensuring that his practice is always offering the most up to date & reliable non-surgical care.
His patient base includes the range of athletes, pre and post-surgical conditions and multitude of chronic pain conditions. He serves as an excellent liaison between the non-surgical cases and those that may require surgical care and has always coordinated care with physiatrists, surgeons and physical therapists to achieve this.
“Reducing pain, restoring pain-free movements and reintroducing patients back into the activities of their choosing is what drives me,” said Dr. Lotus.
