Jacksonville Drs and Health Practioners

Dr. Randall Haas, a member of the American Chiropractic Association, has been healing whole bodies with spinal adjustments and physiotherapy since 1978. In addition to observing traditional methods of alignment correction, he also practices Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), a non-surgical therapy that treats ailments while the patient is in a twilight sleep. Dr. Haas also dispenses advice on nutrition and exercise, advising clients to bench press more fruit as they take a preventive approach to their health.

EyeElements Eyecare Associates' experienced optometrist, Dr. Manish Patel, brings experience as a clinical research optometrist and instructor as he updates glasses and contact prescriptions, diagnoses diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, and conducts diabetic evaluations. Helpful employees are on hand to help shoppers with critical eyewear choices, taking lifestyles and face shapes into account to pick frames that are both stylish and suitably durable. Customers choose from the boutique’s style-savvy eyewear gallery, which includes frames from Coach, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana, all ready to be fitted with prescription lenses and bristly Groucho eyebrows.

Working to help improve patients' overall health and confidence, Avicena Family Care's staff draws on board-certified Dr. Asim Nouman's specialization in medical weight loss and aesthetics. Patients come in for an assortment of procedures, such as intense pulsed light treatments and microdermabrasions, designed to treat issues ranging from skin blemishes to unwanted hair growth. An advocate of lifestyle intervention to prevent chronic diseases, Dr. Nouman makes sure to spend extra time chatting with patients during each primary-care visit, learning about everything from their health history to their hobbies to their favorite nonmusical sound. Avicena Family Care is conveniently from 3–7 p.m. on weekdays and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dr. Steven Read’s patient feels fine, but he could die within minutes. After taking x-rays of his new patient’s lower back, the chiropractor spots an aortic aneurysm, a thinning along the aorta’s walls that can lead to rupture. The patient, taken aback, agrees to go to the hospital, but stops to see his primary physician first. The doctor disputes Read’s diagnosis, claiming there’s no way an x-ray could spot an aortic aneurysm. Still, the patient checks into the hospital, where surgeons confirm the aortic aneurysm and immediately prep the patient for surgery. After the successful treatment, the patient sends Dr. Read a thank-you card, saying his surgeons confirmed that had the aortic aneurysm ruptured, he would have bled to death in three to four minutes.

Such episodes, though dramatic, don’t surprise Dr. Read, who discovered the power of chiropractic medicine as a college wrestler in need of help overcoming his injuries. Now, with a degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic—among the oldest chiropractic colleges in the United States—Dr. Read helms a team of physicians that integrates therapies such as chiropractic adjustments, hormone replacement, and anti-aging treatments. Through relieving spinal subluxations and bringing the brain and nervous system into harmony, the doctors treat conditions that range from back pain and muscle spasms to numbness and the inability to laugh at slapstick comedies.

A Parker College of Chiropractic graduate, Doctor of Chiropractic Alan Smith was unsure where to begin his chiropractic practice, so he let fate decide for him by throwing a dart at a map. He settled in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2001, opening a practice based on the five axioms of heath: chiropractic, exercise, positive mental attitude, nutrition, and sleep. After a decade, Dr. Alan relocated to Florida, where he continues his mission to restore bodies to their optimal states of wellness with noninvasive techniques such as massage, acupuncture, yoga, and nutritional counseling.

Dr. Alan thoroughly explains chiropractic science to all who enter his practice and discusses expectations and results before each patient undergoes any treatment. This complimentary consultation helps Dr. Alan and his patients work together to develop a customized-treatment plan based on the patients’ individual needs, from extinguishing lower back pain to brainstorming uses for their prehensile tail.

For Sarah Wilde, therapy is both a passion and a pursuit. Her journey of healing began when she was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago and found her paintings to be a form of personal therapy. She splashed acrylics onto canvas and mixed them with bits of sand and leaves, creating swirling gases in the cosmos as a way of connecting her inner life with the outside world.

Once Sarah’s studies came to an end, she directed her passion into massage therapy to help people to achieve the same wellness she felt while painting. She explored a variety of Eastern medicine techniques, including acupuncture, reiki, and energy medicine treatments, and she founded Dancing Phoenix, named for a mythical bird that, according to a Chinese proverb, ushers in peace and tranquility when it dances and does the Worm.

The wellness center's walls, washed in a light teal hue, couple with Hindu and Buddhist statues to help to evoke that peace. Patrons sip complimentary tea and wine while they wait for treatments in a room bathed in the soft glow of tea lights and filled with the scent of eucalyptus and lavender aromatherapy oils.