Episode 24: The New Normal in Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine Practice: What You Will Learn:
- How Dr. Barter’s practice has been impacted by COVID from a clinical and patient management perspective
- The mental and emotional impact that COVID has made on Dr. Barter’s patients
- Treatments Dr. Barter’s functional medicine practice uses to help manage mood and headspace
- How Dr. Barter communicates the effects of the pandemic to her patients to help them better understand treatment options
- How Dr. Barter addresses mold and treatment procedures with her patients
- Long term health problems that mold can cause
- Dr. Barter’s work with neurotransmitters
Post-Pandemic Challenges in Functional Medicine
Dr. Ann Barter is the owner and Clinical Director of Alternative Family Medicine and Chiropractic, a Colorado-based functional medicine practice serving the Denver Metro Area. She is also host of the Fearless Health podcast and a thought leader in both patient-facing and practitioner-facing work in the functional medicine field. Dr. Barter joins us in this episode of The FM Shift to share her journey and talk about the new landscape of functional medicine amidst the global pandemic.
Addressing the New Normal
COVID has significantly impacted the way we operate, and Dr. Barter has seen an increase in difficult cases come through her functional medicine practice. Some of them are more difficult due to this ‘new normal’ and the added stressors of the day-to-day. But the vast majority of these cases are becoming increasingly difficult because of the mental and emotional toll that COVID has taken on patients. From the toxic news cycles to the frustrating mask ordinances, people are experiencing significantly higher levels of stress and anxiety that are impacting their health in a profound way.
Managing Headspace
Dr. Barter has taken it upon herself to actively manage her patients’ headspace, because mood and mindset directly affect her ability to treat them for other ailments. Her functional medicine practice uses a number of different treatments to accomplish this without the use of risky pharmaceuticals. Cortisol is a tonic for the adrenal gland that helps calm patients’ down. Mood Food and Liquid Serenity affect your serotonin and GABA pathways. She also uses organic acids testing to get the full picture of her patients’ headspace and determine the best course of action for treatment. The new normal is going to weigh heavily on our patients for some time, but there are many viable treatment options we can offer to limit its effects on their health.
Thanks to Joyce McCown for sharing their work on Unsplash.
About Dr. Ann Barter
Dr. Ann-Marie Barter is a chiropractor who serves Niwot, Longmont, Boulder, Lyons, Louisville, Lafayette and the surrounding communities in the Denver Metro Area.
Dr. Barter graduated from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, an accredited 4-year Doctoral program that is considered a leader in evidence-based medicine, and the first Chiropractic school to be awarded a federal research grant.
Dr. Barter underwent rigorous clinical training with some of the finest chiropractors. Dr. Barter has also undergone advanced training in Applied Kinesiology, completing over 400 extra classroom hours and is certified to practice Applied Kinesiology. She has also studied Functional Blood Chemistry under Dr. Kharrazian.
She has taken an interest in optimizing health by incorporating diet counseling, whole food supplementation, herbal therapy, wellness and lifestyle coaching, scar tissue work, deep tissue massage, and exercise programs.
Dr. Barter has completed the 18 hours required for certification by The Running Clinic for New Trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries. This training course has been delivered more than a hundred times, on 5 continents! It has been developed using the most recent scientific evidence, it questions several current unjustified practices. The techniques learned in this class help Dr. Barter better assess her patients and aids in making recommendations for avoiding future running-related injuries.
Medicine is a second career and passion for Dr. Barter. Initially, she worked at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas negotiating major systems for their fighter jet program. She excelled at difficult negotiations and was able to hit challenging company goals.
Dr. Barter is passionate about chiropractic, helping people get out of pain and reach their maximum potential. Chiropractic changed Dr. Barter’s life. When she was initially introduced to chiropractic (in her early 20’s) she was skeptical. The more educated she became in the art of chiropractic, the more interested and intrigued she became, until she finally asked for an adjustment from a family friend who practices chiropractic. The treatment was like magic. He not only adjusted her spine but also her feet, hips, knees, wrists, and elbows. She felt new and light, like a better version of herself. He also took extra time to put her on a specific dietary protocol and nutritional regimen, from which she realized major positive changes. She excelled academically, experienced less gastrointestinal upset, reduced brain-fog, lost weight, and started to enjoy activities like hiking, because her foot mechanics had been changed.
Dr. Barter has been active in athletics her entire life. For 17 years Dr. Barter was a competitive dancer. These days she can be found dancing, skiing, running, performing yoga, biking, hiking, lifting weights or walking her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Ritz. She knows what it takes to be an athlete and she finds great satisfaction in helping athletes reach their maximum potential.
Dr. Barter uses chiropractic care to improve the health and wellness in all areas of patient’s lives, whether they are having problems with back or neck pain, or just want to start feeling better when they wake up in the morning. Dr. Barter takes a “whole person” approach to chiropractic care, which means looking for the underlying causes of disease, discomfort, and pain, as opposed to just treating the symptoms.
Many seemingly unrelated symptoms often arise from imbalances in the spinal column, extremities, biochemical disturbances, and stress and Dr. Barter will be able to determine the root of the problem and create a personalized chiropractic and wellness plan to suit each patient’s individual needs.
Dr. Ann-Marie Barter is passionate about helping you and your family. She has a broad range of diagnostic skills and enjoys working with women and men of all ages including pregnant women, kids, and geriatric patients. She is dedicated to appropriately assessing your condition, building an individualized treatment program, and optimizing your health.
If you have any questions about chiropractic care in Longmont, or would like to learn more about chiropractic care and functional medicine at Alternative Family Medicine & Chiropractic, please call them at 303-652-0900!
