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Our programs for injured workers

The medical office of Michael D. Myers, M.D., Inc. specializes in the treatment of obesity. We offer you a variety of dietary options, along with programs in behavior modification (lifestyle change), nutrition education, exercise, and long-term weight maintenance. As appropriate, we may also prescribe non-addicting medications in combination with dietary support to help you achieve weight loss.

If you have been injured, your orthopedic physician may refer you to our program to assist with your recovery. If you were already overweight, your injury may make your obesity worse. Likewise, your obesity may worsen your injury. Furthermore, your injury may make your attempts to lose weight more difficult. Our programs can help you overcome all of these weight-related obstacles. If you were injured at work, we will use our extensive experience to help you obtain Workers’ Compensation authorization to participate in our programs if we feel that weight loss will help resolve your injury.

Medical supervision

Because obesity is frequently associated with serious and often hidden medical problems, such as high blood pressure, our medical director, Dr. Myers, personally performs a comprehensive history and physical examination, along with appropriate laboratory testing, before any patient begins obesity treatment.

For many injured patients, the physical and emotional stress resulting from an injury may lead to depression and chronic pain, which are often overlooked. Frequently, after the initial examination, Dr. Myers will make recommendations for treatment of these conditions – treatments that will improve your quality of life and enable you to attempt weight management.

What you should know about obesity

If you are like the majority of the U.S. population, you are overweight or obese. Here are some facts you may not know about obesity:

• Obesity is an increase in the amount of body fat, which frequently leads to health problems.
  
• Contrary to popular belief, obesity is a disease, not a voluntary disorder. (I have yet to run into a patient who consciously chooses to be obese.)
  
• There is no cure for obesity, only treatment – and the longer you continue with active treatment and follow-up, the better the outcome.
  
• Failure to address weight gain that is worsening an injury will likely lead to a longer period of disability and a higher likelihood that the weight gained will remain.
  
• Once you become obese, your body tries to maintain the new, higher body weight.
  
• To develop obesity, you have to consume more calories than you expend.

Many factors contribute to obesity, including the following:

• Genetics is a significant contributing factor in obesity and is something you cannot change.
  
• Gender – in general, males burn calories faster than females.
  
• Environmental factors, such as the easy and constant availability of high fat/high sugar foods.
  
• Behaviors, including changes in activity levels that may result from injuries.
  
• Psychological factors, such as the way you respond to stressful events.

To lose weight, a person must:

• Lower calorie intake by eating a low-calorie diet.
  
• Burn more energy; that is, increase exercise.

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