When Moorestown Spine Sports & Wellness opened for business this past summer, the grand ambition of its founder Dr. Malini Khanna was to offer South Jersey residents a truly unique medical model not widely available anywhere else in the area. Motivated by her desire to truly connect with patients on a personal level while addressing their issues – and inspired by a close friend who shared her goals and dreams – she has accomplished exactly what she set out to do.
Dr. Khanna, who specializes in nonsurgical orthopedic care for injuries in the lower back, hips, elbows, knees and shoulders, has been practicing in the region for over a decade. But after growing weary of the approach taken by large health systems, she longed to start her own independent, holistic wellness center with spa-like amenities.
“I was frustrated with health care and the way appointments are set up every 15 minutes, where you see patients one right after another and you don’t really get to spend much time with them,” she says. “As a physician, that really limits what you can offer. So I’ve created a place with a wellness program. When you are done with your traditional medical care, we offer a maintenance program to keep you out of pain, which includes health coaching focusing on lifestyle changes.
“Our wellness center has a self-care room, mats set up for stretching, high-end massage chairs for relaxation, and a space for meditation. I want patients to focus on mindset, movement and nutrition – that is my vision.”
Patients are invited to use the wellness center for preventative use or to decompress before an appointment. The massage chairs are especially beneficial prior to undergoing injections. Athletic teams have also booked the space, while Dr. Khanna and her team begin every day with a morning meeting there, with staff also utilizing it before they head home after a shift.
Like many busy professionals, Dr. Khanna had been guilty in the past of not prioritizing her own wellness, focusing on her work as well as her husband and children. She discussed that topic often with her coworker and friend Jennifer Ward, and together they dreamed of one day creating a practice with a Zen room. Tragically, however, Ward became ill with stage 4 cancer and eventually passed away before Moorestown Spine Sports & Wellness came to fruition.
“I made this room in honor of her, but unfortunately she didn’t live to see it,” Dr. Khanna says. “I talked about it with her for a long time and I wanted to make it a reality in her honor. Taking 10 minutes out of the day can really reset your body and get you in the right mind space.”
Dr. Khanna passes on those tips, along with comprehensive care for a number of ailments, to patients ranging in age from early teens to 90 and older. The most common reason for people to visit is lower back pain, followed by tennis elbow and shoulder issues.
There are multiple spine injections she offers, including epidurals for pinched nerves.
“A lot of times you can’t even move or do physical therapy because you’re in too much pain,” she says. “The injections will calm down the pain, but you need to go physical therapy to treat the underlying cause. Then you return to us for our maintenance program.”
Another treatment for back pain involves a series of facet joint blocks followed by a radiofrequency ablation. “What that does is burn the pain nerve in the lower back,” she explains. “It’s a completely safe procedure because the nerves do grow back, but while they’re deadened, you have relief from the pain. It helps people function, especially those with arthritis.”
Platelet rich plasma, or PRP, is yet another treatment offered at the practice that is used for various conditions. It works well for rotator cuff partial tears, arthritis, trigger points, knee injuries and tendon issues including tennis elbow.
“It’s a holistic procedure that uses a sample of your own blood,” Dr. Khanna says. “We spin it down in a centrifuge and the plasma and the platelets separate, and the platelets are re-injected into the body at the point of injury. It actually creates an inflammation in your body using your own cells, and recruits other blood to the area to help heal the area. It works really well for any joint, tendon or muscle issue.”
No matter what type of problem a patient is experiencing, Dr. Khanna has assembled a team of like-minded individuals who share her philosophy of personalized care.
“We’re not a large corporation, so we know your first name when you walk in,” she says. “We’re a small office, so I have time to spend with each patient. I think that has been a huge help, taking the extra five to 10 minutes to really get to know the patients. I know this is a new concept and I’m excited to show the world what I offer. I think it’s very unique.”
Moorestown Spine Sports & Wellness
Moorestown
(856) 661-7900
MSSWNJ.com
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 7.
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