‘If we are the doctors of inflammatory conditions, it is part of our job [to consider non-pharmaceutical wellness approaches], because lifestyle affects inflammation.’ —Dr. Cotter
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March 2021
Dr. Cotter
“When we talk about integrative medicine, we are just describing good medicine,” says Dr. Cotter. “We have separated the body from the mind, but they are connected.”
“I believe there has been an underemphasis and a lack of resources invested in encouraging wellness behaviors for patients with rheumatologic conditions,” says Dr. Calabrese, a professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He also holds the R.J. Fasenmyer Chair of Clinical Immunology and the Theodore F. Classen, DO, Chair of Osteopathic Research and Education, and serves as vice chair of the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Calabrese
In the past 20 years, incredible progress has been made in the development of targeted therapies for many rheumatic conditions, according to Dr. Calabrese. And the science of well-being has simultaneously advanced. Patients with rheumatic diseases of all sorts have their own goals, which don’t always overlap with what the rheumatologist offers. “We focus on joint damage, skin clearance or inflammatory markers, but our patients are more interested in addressing their pain, fatigue and generalized well-being—in other words, their lived condition.”
Wellness strategies address the physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of the human being, he says. “I believe in taking care of the whole patient and looking for ways to care for them that will be the most effective. When I talk about this with rheumatologists, often they are astounded to discover how much data there actually are to support various wellness approaches.”