As a chiropractor in my 20s, I saw daily patients come in with health -related pain, injury, and illness. I recognized early on there would never be a pill, supplement, or even an adjustment that would “fix” most of the health challenges that faced our society. As an athletically inclined individual, I would often tell patients to lose weight or to start exercising, never really giving them the tools to succeed. It was then I also realized there were no tools or a centralized place for people to go to for real information and education about health and disease.
I started the National Athletic Healthcare Association in the pre-internet days of the 1990s while I was in my 20s. I had a plan and passion but unfortunately did not have the skills or connections to put it together. Fast forward nearly 30 years , medical school, and a neurology residency later and it all seemed to come full circle. As a medical director of stroke, I recognized there were many people who simply didn’t understand what health was or how to achieve it. I also recognized as a physician, we were taught extensively about disease, but very little about actual health or how to learn more about it. I, too needed to learn more, wanted to be better personally for myself and family, and wanted to be a better physician with the ability to change lives.
I started the National Athletic Healthcare Association not because I know everything, but simply because I wanted to learn everything. I want to hear the stories, the experiences, the ideas, the opinions, and provide information and resources in a central place we can all go and teach each other. We are an organization with a passion for health, learning, and improving the lives of individuals and communities. We are an evidence -based group with a social mission that our members can rely on.
The NAHA was developed for every individual that needs or wants to learn more about health in any of its four domains, biological, psychological, social, or financial. Our goal is to be a global leader in the conversation of health and hope you will join us in leading this cause for generations to come. Future generations rely on the legacy we start today.
Today is the tomorrow we spoke about yesterday.
Take Our Pledge and Join our Movement. We cannot do this without you.
Shawn Wallery
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