By Vince Meehan

Everybody knows that the key to long life with your car is preventative care. Tire rotations, oil changes and tune-ups are critical to keeping your car up and running for years to come. And different cars need different levels of care based on their design. But when it comes to taking care of their body, many people do not follow the same preventative care model as they give their cars, partially due to the limitations of the healthcare system.

Dr. Patrick Cucarola, is the clinic director at FIX Medical Group which specializes in preventative care treatment as well as personal therapy for existing issues including sports related injuries.

“You can be on this earth for only so long and it can be amazing, or you can be on for a very long time and it can be terrible,” noted Cucarola. “I like the long and amazing life and that’s what I do for myself, that’s what I do for my family, and that’s what I do for our patients as well.”

Cucarola grew up in Colorado as an active sports and athletics enthusiast which led him to pursue healthcare as a career. He earned his doctorate in San Francisco, then relocated to San Diego after visiting a few times. In 2013, he met FIX Medical Group founder Dr. Shawn Robec and joined his team where he soon became a partner. While founded on sports therapy, FIX Medical Group soon expanded their scope to go beyond the range of athletic care to include a wider spectrum of programs designed to get patients to peak health and keep them there.

“We were primarily more sports medicine, where we combined sports chiropractic massage, physical therapy as well as personal training to help people externally with their body or any injuries. Now, we have transformed to help people with their internal health as well. That’s one of our primary goals and where we see the most benefit.”

FIX Medical Group avoids the “one size fits all” model of medicine. They shun mass-marketed fad diets and focus on a personalized wellness program that addresses the patient’s unique issues and needs.

FIX Medical Group provides health coaches that provide therapy and analyze lifestyle choices to spot areas that could be issues. This can be as simple as getting you outside and moving more often, or more complex such as removing known inflammatory foods or checking hormone balance. Cucarola said hormone balance can be key to good health as people get older because the body does not produce as many hormones as it did when it was younger. He credits therapy and nutrition programs as being key in achieving that proper balance.

“When you combine optimizing your hormones, adding the proper nutrition and exercise, then you’tr heading in three different areas and that’s where people get the best results,” noted Cucarola. “We’ll work with people through nutrition, overall lifestyle changes, helping them out with their fitness as well as balancing out hormones so they can feel younger and look younger and continue to live their best life.”

FIX Medical Group utilizes a three-step program to insure that patients get the personal treatment they need. First, they consult with the patient to assess the areas that will require attention. Second, they work together with the patient to come up with a regiment that will get the best results. Finally they give treatment along with information and tools to ensure that they stay healthy.

FIX Medical Group also addresses aesthetics as an option for visitors to the center. This includes micro-needling for facials that target wrinkles as well as a non-invasive weight loss procedure.

“We have a device called TruSculpt where in a 15-minute procedure you can lose 25 percent of fat in a specific area permanently,” Cucarola stated. He added that aesthetics goes a long way in overall confidence, which contributes to personal health. “When you look better, you feel better, you promote yourself, and you work harder. You look and feel better, and you’re living your best life!”

Cucarola explained that people are born with fat cells that may grow bigger as an adult due to a bad diet or lack of exercise. If they lose weight by working out and improving their diet, the fat cells will shrink but never go away completely. He added that the TruSculpt procedure eliminates those fat cells permanently using monopolar radiofrequency without any downtime after the procedure. He compared it to liposuction without the surgery. The procedure can be localized to certain areas so that people can literally sculpt a classic hourglass figure or a V-cut torso. T

The goal of FIX Medical Group is to work with patients in a personalized program that lets them excel at life pain-free and equipped for success.

For more info, go to FixMedicalGroup.com.

— Vince Meehan can be reached at [email protected].