Connect
To Top

Meet Trailblazer Jessica Kelner, DO

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Kelner, DO.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I took a hard fall during the last thirty seconds of a college intramural basketball game which, when the buzzer sounded, left my team tasting the sourness of defeat while I reeled in agony from a back sprain. It was through the intense pain and my search for relief that I learned and was first inspired to pursue a career in Osteopathic Medicine. After exhausting without effect all conventional methods of pain control, I went to see a doctor who was well known for treating these types of injuries. He performed osteopathic manipulation on me and finally, after three visits and two months of suffering, I was healed. At the time, I wasn’t aware of the vast realm of osteopathic manipulative medicine, but I knew I was captivated by his technique and sense of touch.

My interest in sports medicine and osteopathic manipulation evolved during college when I volunteered to help rehabilitate handicapped children. Through employing techniques that increased strength and mobility, I assisted them in overcoming their previous limitations in movement. The impact and alteration it made in their everyday lives further kindled my interest in osteopathy and the pathophysiology of injury and rehabilitation. A Masters in Exercise Physiology seemed the next logical step in the evolution of my life’s path.

As I began to discover how the biomechanics of injury was intimately related to an in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology, the osteopathic mindset began to cultivate in my mind. During my Master’s internship working with cardiac rehabilitation patients, I had the opportunity to see how vital the mind, body, and spirit was to healing the heart and preventing further injury. I worked closely with these patients, guiding them in performing exercises to strengthen their heart. I was moved by the transformation of their physical health and how it was so intertwined with the emotional. This experience reaffirmed my thirst for more knowledge about the human body and solidified my decision to attend an Osteopathic Medical School.

As I leaped into my first and second year of medical school, OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) soon became one of my hobbies. While interning with a D.O. who used OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) in his family medicine clinic, I saw how essential OMT was in a physician’s ability to fully treat a patient. OMT is a hands-on treatment that can help treat physical ailments, headaches, pain, even asthma. And it works right away. This made a lot of sense to me and I knew I wanted to use this to help patients. I began to learn the use of OMT in helping to rehabilitate injuries and free up tissue restrictions during the healing process. To be able to provide tangible, effective options for the mitigation of pain before invasive techniques or medications are employed is tremendously satisfying. To see, whether it is immediate or gradual, these improvements in a patient’s quality of life is for me, the ultimate reward.

While I was in medical school, I saw a broken healthcare system where people were not getting the care they needed or deserved. I saw a great need for patients to be cared for through a different approach than the traditional medical model. As a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, I already had the mindset that the whole body was connected and in order to truly help someone, you had to take a whole-person approach and truly listen to your patients.

During my residency, I was able to learn about regenerative medicine (Prolotherapy, Stem Cell Therapy, and Platelet Rich Plasma) for treatment of injuries that the body couldn’t heal on its own. I was blown away by this type of treatment because it uses your body’s own healing mechanisms to fix the problem without surgery or drugs. This type of treatment has been vital to helping my patients heal injuries, recover faster, thus resolving their pain.

Back to basic biochemistry and physiology, I realized that if the body isn’t getting the correct nutrients or the immune system is inflamed, people are more likely to be sick. It makes sense that the only way to heal people is to spend the time finding and treating the root cause of the issue. This involves a lot of time during the first visits with a patient, going through their history, examination, and lab tests to look at all of the potential facets that could be contributing to the issue. The traditional medical system doesn’t typically allow for that time to be spent with the patient.

After searching for jobs after residency, I realized there was a huge need for more doctors to practice this type of medicine. The type of medicine I’m referring to involves Osteopathic Medicine (whole person approach and hands on treatment), Functional Medicine (optimizing the body’s systems), and Regenerative Medicine. Instead of taking a job in a traditional based hospital system, I decided to take on the huge undertaking of starting a medical practice to help heal those patients that were searching for solution to their injury or illness. I decided to call the practice FORM Medical. FORM stands for Functional Osteopathic Regenerative Medicine.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My journey has been challenging in so many ways.

Medical training was incredibly challenging on its own. The amount of responsibility and knowledge you have to not only retain, but then utilize every day seemed impossible. I remember thinking, “I will never be able to know everything”, questioning myself, “could I really do this?”
Challenges of medical school went beyond just information; The sleep deprivation, giving up a social life, and years of your life seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye. Something that isn’t talked about much is the issues that surround being a female medical student. Yes, in this day and age, it is still a problem. I went to medical school and residency in Florida, so experiences may differ elsewhere. As a female student in an “old boys club”, you are treated differently at times because you’re not a man. There were times, I wasn’t given the opportunity to do the same procedures as my male counterparts. I was told to “toughen up” multiple times by male attending physicians. Having a heart and showing empathy for some male doctors is a weakness. Even though I knew there wasn’t anything wrong with showing this to patients, it is still challenging to be told this often. You’re basically never allowed to be sick as a doctor, so you’re forced to fight through your illness with a smile on your face.

As soon as I started FORM Medical, I realized I was being treated differently because I was a female. At every step of the process, I was faced with had challenges involving men not taking me seriously because I was a female. It became frustrating at times and was eye-opening. I realized I had to be tough with people and firm. I learned that patience and kindness wasn’t the best approach always. Sometimes, you have to terminate relationships or contracts when the business or person is not performing or completing work, wasting time and/or resources. I learned that being an overly trustworthy person doesn’t really bode well for the business world.

My advice to other women who are just starting their journey would be to never give up on the things that you are most passionate about. Do not let gender roles stand in the way of a career or decision to start a business. If your thoughts or ideas are different than others, that is a good thing, we need more of that in this world. Education is priceless, learn as much as you can when you have the opportunity. You don’t have to do everything alone. Ask for help when you need it. Supportive family and friends can be amazing.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about FORM Medical – what should we know?
My goal with patients is to get to the root cause of their issue. I practice Functional Medicine, Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, and Regenerative Medicine. I take a whole person approach to resolving patient’s issues, making sure to look at the issue from every angle. I also use a multifaceted approach to treatment, which is necessary in many cases.

Functional Medicine is an integrative, science-based healthcare approach that engages both the patient and the physician in a therapeutic partnership. Through this partnership, the underlying cause of disease is addressed and overall wellness is promoted using a systems-oriented approach. Since the focus is on the partnership, the patient is empowered to take ownership for his or her own healing. Through this practice, I can focus on understanding the unique fundamental physiological processes that happens inside the cells that influence health and disease. Together with the patient, we create a treatment plan that is tailored specifically for the patient to address the root cause of the problem and get rid of it, for good!

Through Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment or OMT, I am able to use my hands to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury while encouraging the body’s natural tendency toward self-healing. Osteopathic physicians use diverse techniques to achieve movement in muscles, joints and other tissues. Techniques such as stretching, gentle pressure and resistance are used to help alleviate pain, promote healing and increase mobility. This type of treatment alone can often resolve a patient’s pain or issues. OMT is not only effective in treating muscle or joint pain, but it is also beneficial for patients with other health issues such as asthma, carpal tunnel, migraines, and menstrual pain. Utilizing OMT is important because it is able to complement – even replace – medications or surgery used in standard medical care, lowering overall healthcare costs for the patients.

Regenerative Medicine encompasses treatments like Prolotherapy, Platelet Rich Plasma and Stem Cells. These treatments involve the use of injection techniques that stimulate repair, strengthen ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissues to achieve total healing in record time. Prolotherapy and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) work through a very simple principle. The injection of the stimulating solution at the site of the injured, broken-down tissue, stimulates the body to grow new collagen, the building blocks of connective tissue. The body is capable of repairing and rebuilding tissue though its own natural ability to heal. During this repair process, the body will make stronger and more functional tissue. Stem Cells provide new cells for the body to incorporate into the damaged tissue. They also help reduce inflammation and speed up the healing process.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
As a child, I was never allowed to give up when something was challenging. My dad always encouraged me to keep trying and do my best. He always told me to do something that I loved. He said, “If you are passionate about it and do your best at it, you will find success”.

Being a very active child, I did gymnastics, danced, played basketball, and was on the swim team. I had many injuries throughout my childhood. This has given me tremendous empathy to know intimately what it is like to be injured and to not be able to do the things you love to do. Knowing how debilitating this can be drives my passion for helping patients heal. This still drives me to encourage patients to stay active and do what they love.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Jessica Kelner

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in