Medical care often requires a team. For a mother and daughter being treated by Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), that has involved interacting with half of the department's eight physicians.
First, 17-year-old Mia Gamble was seeing Meghna M. Patel, DO, who specializes in pediatric care, for chronic autoimmune gastrointestinal issues. During Patel's recent maternity leave, Lauren Noto Bell, DO, treated Gamble, and she receives acupuncture from Andrew Levin, DO, to help reduce inflammatory flares, as well as musculosketal pain. During her course of care, Patel suggested that Mia's mother, Betsy, see Alberto Giardini, DO, for symptoms from a concussion and related neck pain.
“The connections we have with the doctors at PCOM's OMM Department are deep and meaningful. They are our cheerleaders, our teammates, our biggest supporters, and the depth of their caring goes beyond most physicians I have ever encountered,” Betsy Gamble said. “When you also have that emotional connection with your caregiver, the trust builds, and the willingness to adapt and try things they recommend comes. They are invested in helping you feel better as a human and as a person, not just as a patient.”
After witnessing OMM treatment successes with her daughter, Betsy Gamble started seeing Giardini a number of months ago for post-concussive symptoms, including light and noise sensitivity, severe headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Two years ago, she experienced two severe concussions just months apart, as well as a few minor ones since. More recently, she has suffered from sudden-onset migraine.
After assessing her medical history and various factors that may contribute to her concussion sensitivity, Giardini identified that Gamble had low muscle tone in her neck. Giardini referred Gamble for vestibular rehabilitation therapy to improve balance, which she said has paired seamlessly with the OMM treatment he provides.
“OMM does not just address symptoms. It's helping your body to be strengthened, adjusted, and put back into alignment so that it can help itself,” she said. “I appreciate and trust that all-encompassing approach. I also appreciate that it is done in a way that hasn't aggravated my other medical issues. That is really a highlight of OMM. Your whole body improves.”
Giardini's OMM approaches for Gamble include techniques to decrease muscle tension, improve range of motion, identify and treat tender points, and enhance the body’s innate healing mechanisms. Through the OMM treatments and the complementary physical therapy, Gamble said she feels the best she has in years, with improved sleep, more energy and endurance, and less shoulder and neck pain.
For Mia, “the transformation has been radical,” with OMM not only helping with her GI pain but also with shoulder and collarbone issues, some of which are related to pitching softball. In addition to physical improvement, “Dr. Patel has been a significant support emotionally for my daughter where she feels heard, and her pain is recognized and validated,” Betsy Gamble said. “Through that relationship, they have developed a really strong rapport.”
“When you come through the doors of PCOM, you feel like you are entering a gate to a different part of the world,” she added. “It doesn’t seem as if the walls that exist in medicine continue to be boundaries, resulting in an openness and the ability to make connections between symptoms and conditions that even us as the patient experiencing the symptoms may not have made.”
With a family like the Gambles, who are experiencing chronic pain, being able to “turn down the dial” on that pain allows them to give greater attention to other areas of their lives, Giardini said, thereby potentially improving their moods and relationships.
“If you can help a family unit like that, that's really treating the whole person,” he said.
Added Levin: “This family is an amazing example of how we are very lucky to have a highly skilled and diversely trained department. Ultimately, we strive for what is best for each patient we see, and many times when one of us finds that a patient we are seeing is a better fit for someone else in the office, we do our best to make it happen. This greatly ties in to the osteopathic approach, as you look at someone as a whole and not just a chief complaint.”
Established in 1899, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
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Brandon Lausch
Executive Director, Strategic Communications
Office of Marketing and Communications
Email: brandonla@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6312 | Cell: 717-371-0609
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