In a recent piece with Salon, Heidi Prather, DO, physiatrist at HSS, emphasizes that American healthcare requires a lifestyle revolution, advocating for a holistic approach to health that goes beyond reliance on medications like Ozempic. 

Imagine being one of the millions of Americans in need of a hip or knee replacement due to osteoarthritis. Severe pain, reduced physical activity, an inability to perform many routine tasks — the symptoms can be truly debilitating.

But if you're obese or overweight, there's a good chance that your orthopedic surgeon will refuse to provide care. As one patient told the New York Times of her doctor, "He told me to come back when I had lost 30 pounds."

She isn't alone. According to one survey, fewer than half of orthopedic surgeons will operate on patients with a body mass index above 40. Patients with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure face similar barriers to the surgeries they need.

All of these conditions share a common underlying cause: chronic systemic inflammation. Ironically, the very inflammation-driven "metabolic" condition that can get someone to the point of needing a joint replacement in the first place can be what compels their doctor to refuse to perform one.

Thankfully, some doctors are trying to change the status quo by using an approach called "lifestyle medicine." Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses evidence-based interventions in patient's behavioral choices to prevent, treat, and even reverse diseases driven by chronic systemic inflammation.

Read the full article at salon.com.