Fresh Meadows Chiropractor: Dr. Serge Nerli
I was brought up with a "traditional" approach to health care. When I was sick, I went to my medical doctor's office. For many years, that simple formula appeared to work well. Little did I know back then that my beliefs about health care would be challenged.
The first "challenge" to my belief system came in college. At the time I was a "pre-med" student and I thought that doing volunteer work in my local hospital would help me to prepare for what I thought would be a long career in medicine. My experience there was the beginning of the change in my approach to health care. Don't get me wrong, the people who I worked with were very nice, and, being an emergency room setting, I learned much about emergency care which was to help me later on in my career. However, what I learned was that emergency medicine is very different from office medicine.
During this time, I was involved in a pretty nasty car accident. While sitting at a traffic light, I was suddenly struck from behind by a younger driver who wasn't paying attention to the road. Though I walked away from the accident without the "proverbial scratch," I soon learned that my back did not escape unscathed. That's when the second challenge to my belief system occurred.
Over the next 18 months I went from doctor's office to doctor's office, seeking relief from the constant neck pain coupled with the frequent headaches that accompanied it. (So much for going to the doctor's office and getting better). Then someone I worked with suggested I see her chiropractor. I was reluctant to follow her advice and everyone I mentioned it to seemed to agree with my hesitance.
Somehow she convinced me and I am glad she did. This was the doctor's office I had dreamed about. No sterile gauze, no vials for drawing blood, and no syringes on the counter. Instead the room was a nice pastel color, the decor was simple, and this strange looking table was in the middle.
After talking to me about my condition, the doctor assured me that I was a good candidate for chiropractic, and then it happened: my first chiropractic adjustment. Well, I will tell you I never felt anything like it, and I broke out with laughter, which he told me was normal. More importantly, I felt better almost immediately, and, within several visits, the relief was lasting from visit to visit. It was shortly thereafter that I asked him, "How can I become a chiropractor?"
Shortly after completing my under-graduate work, I enrolled in New York Chiropractic College. My education was a rigorous one; I learned all of the biological sciences; anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, radiology; and, most important, the chiropractic philosophy: that all healing comes from within.
Yes, all healing comes from within. A true healer helps the body express health and avoids putting things into the body which might harm it as opposed to heal it.
This is my approach to my patients; discover what is interfering with their body's attempts to express good health, remove it, and encourage the healing to occur. Often this occurs following a trauma of some kind, but not all traumas come from slips, falls or car accidents. More often than not, we have to deal with "micro" traumas, or repetitive strains, like when you do something over and over, and it doesn't hurt at first, but eventually leads to pain over time.
When taking on a new patient, I explain what I believe is taking place in their body and how I believe the natural healing of chiropractic will help them. Most patient come in to the office fearful of their condition and are looking for re-assurance. In my office, the healing begins with that first meeting with the patient.
I am very close with my family. My dad passed away a few years ago, but I still have my mom and my sister and her family especially my nieces and nephews, who are like my children. I spend much of my free time with them, and now they are all grown up and have families of their own. They often kid with me that their children have an extra grand parent, and I like that. When I am not with my family, I enjoy losing myself in a good book or going to the movies. It's like going away to another time and place and is my ideal way to relax. I also enjoy traveling and seeing different places. I love museums and other places that peak my curiosity.
I make it a point to get adjusted at least once a month, and, when I get the occasional ache or pain (which is not unusual for a chiropractor), I will get adjusted more often. I start my day with a good 20-30 minute walk. If its a nice day, I go outside. If not, I get on the treadmill. I make sure I get plenty of fiber in my diet. You know, it is true, an apple a day does keep the doctor away. I try to watch my carbohydrate intake, but, coming from an Italian background, it's tough to avoid them, especially around the holidays. I make it up by spending extra time exercising.
Now that you know more about me, I'd like to get to know you better. How can I help you improve your level of health with safe and natural chiropractic care? Give our Fresh Meadows Chiropractic office a call so we can help you take your first step towards "better health."
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