To Brett Osborn, DO, FAANS, CSCS, most ailments of modern-day society can be prevented. The West Palm Beach neurosurgeon, author, and founder of Senolytix views good health as a privilege to be earned.
“Patients should not expect their doctors to keep them in good health,” he says. “Most patients could solve their problems by taking simple steps, like losing weight, exercising more, and eating better.”
Dr. Osborn founded Senolytix to help put patients on a path to extend the number of years of optimal body and mental health. From comprehensive assessments of a patient’s condition, he develops a plan built around better nutrition, proper exercise, and medications that may include hormone replacement therapy, supplements, and improved sleep.
The idea came to him during his seven years as a neurosurgery resident at New York University Medical Center.
“I realized that most of the diseases were, to a great degree, preventable, and most were man-made or environmental,” Dr. Osborn says. “For instance, degenerative disease of the spine is a common cause of workplace disability. Its development and progression can be thwarted with modalities such as strength training and proper nutrition.”
His chiropractor father inspired Dr. Osborn to pursue a career in medicine. After growing up in North Miami, he graduated from Brandeis University in 1992 and earned a degree in osteopathy because of its emphasis on preventive modalities and a holistic slant. Today, he is chief of neurosurgery at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach and has a private practice treating traumatic and atraumatic brain and spine conditions.
“While I love performing surgery,” he says. “I would much rather show people how to stay well and age well than have to operate on them.”
Dr. Osborn is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is secondarily boarded by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He also earned a CSCS honorarium from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Osborn is a competitive powerlifter and holds a Florida state deadlifting record in the Master’s II division.
According to Dr. Osborn, “Strength training not only keeps me strong and mobile as I age but also helps mitigate stress.”
“I am faced with daily stresses to which I have become accustomed,” he says. “Unchecked stress, though, not only results in poor performance but also harms one’s health. Until recently, this was underappreciated. Why? It is difficult to quantify. You can’t see it. It is an intangible. But it has the capacity to decimate your health, literally.”
Dr. Osborn believes that his colleagues in the medical profession would benefit from following his example. They would improve their mental and emotional stress – a big problem for many practitioners – improve their performance, and live longer and better lives.
“Directing patients to the right lifestyle is an important component of my practice,” Dr. Osborn says. “The best treatment of disease is prevention, not cures.”
He says the path to optimal health begins with knowledge and a belief that they can have a better life. It continues with technology that identifies and treats disease risk factors using science-backed protocols.
Depending on the level of concierge service, patients begin with an initial consult that includes diagnostic services such as a physical examination, laboratory tests, metabolic rate determination, and body anthropometry. Patients receive a vascular assessment, musculoskeletal diagnosis, and a cognitive screen for memory, reasoning, concentration, and language.
The results are used to formulate a plan of care: personalized macronutrient-based nutrition protocol, supplements, strength training, and medications, if appropriate.
One of the factors assessed is work-life balance.
“Too many people spend their lives working too hard for too many hours and too little time investing in their health,” Dr. Osborn says.
They attribute their failure to eat and exercise properly to “a lack of time.” Instead of enjoying the rewards of their wealth in mid-life, they develop a disease or other medical condition that shortens their lifespan and lowers their quality of life.
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” he says, “Good habits equate to longevity.”
Dr. Osborn can be reached at www.senolytix.io or (561) 935-9233.
