Meet Dr. Eric Olkkola
Dr. Eric Olkkola is a passionate healer that combines proven, scientifically based medicine with lifestyle enhancements as a means of notably improving his patients’ lives.
Dr. Eric not only practices on himself what he preaches to patients, but he constantly feeds his unrelenting desire to learn more.
Dr. Eric integrates both his quest for knowledge and his decades-spanning, higher-educational endeavors into each & every day - each & every patient.
Below are Eric’s credentials & takeaways from his years of training:
Graduated from LIFE Chiropractic College in 1981 receiving a Doctor of Chiropractic degree with honors, Cum Laude, DC.
What I learned in Chiropractic College: Essentially, the miracle of life. The structure and function of the body where we live and feel. I remember reading a chapter on kidney function that took 3 hours to read. I then had to pee and then, for the first time, I not only peed, I understood how the kidneys filter blood into urine. I could feel and be present to the process. That was a turning point for me and has induced an insatiable “need to know” that has lasted 40 years and counting. The process of the Life Event, converting energy to matter and matter back to energy directed by the accumulated intelligence of 4 billion years of evolution. And here we are, you and me at the leading-edge of evolution.
Now my focus is on intentionally supporting our body’s ability to convert food into optimal chemistries and cells that are imbued with vitality. BeingWell.
Over 200 hours in whiplash and spinal trauma leading to post-graduate certification by the International Chiropractic Association, CCST, 1992.
What I learned earning this post graduate certification: The following quote rings true for me as a result of this course taught by Dr. Dan Murphy: Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution- Theodosius Dobzhansky. This one statement expanded my understanding of evolutionary biology. Average fellow 15 to 20 thousand years ago -Cro-Magnon Man was 6 foot 2 inches, his head was 10% larger than ours, he could fit all his teeth in his mouth, where most of us modern day humans have our wisdom teeth removed. These days we are shorter and fatter with smaller heads. What happened? Profound question rarely asked.
This was taught in a class on spinal trauma and how tissues within the spine heal based on evolutionary biology. We may be done with the past yet I feel the past isn’t done with us. 35 years I still seek out this teacher’s seminars.
He profoundly influenced my strategies to induce the healing response in my circle of influence by focusing on the unfed state, insulin and the mechanism of improving the trajectory of the major killers of our time with lifestyle.
150 hours in the mechanisms and therapeutic protocols of addiction and compulsive disorders receiving post-graduate certification in the neuro-biological mechanisms of psychological pain with neuro-endocrine-immune origins by the American Academy of Addictive and Compulsive Disorders, C.Ad., 2002.
What I learned earning this post graduate certification: This course was about the neurological origin of feelings, both euphoric and dysphoric and how evolutionarily speaking, the ability to think showed up millions of years after feelings in the vertebrate nervous system. This is the origin of addiction. Addiction is defined as continued use despite negative consequences. For example, wanting a cigarette, or another drink, or a 2nd dessert are the old brain centers we share with other vertebrates like reptiles, that wants what it wants, when it wants no matter the consequence. The impulse control required for avoiding destructive behaviors lives in the newest addition to the vertebrate nervous system and that is in the forehead of humans. This is where our ability to choose our focus and feeling state resides. Addiction is a forced unchosen state of ill being, that worsens both mind and body with continued use. Thus, healing addiction is healing the entire person, body and mind.
Received post-graduate professional certification in Electro-Auricular Acupuncture, via the Auriculotherapy Certification Institute, 5/2004.
What I learned from earning this certification of ear acupuncture: Regarding addiction, which is the opposite of wellbeing, this form of electro-acupuncture is published in number of journals housed on PubMed acknowledging the efficacy of this form of non-drug intervention. I was amazed at how a tiny microcurrent applied to specific points on the ear could take a person locked in state of dysphoric craving into a relaxed pleasant state of curiosity, predictably. This allowed the individual to consider regenerative behaviors, potentially leaving the destructive habit(s) in the past.
Received Doctor of Natural Medicine from American Naturopathic Medical Institute, an affiliate of Breyer State University, July of 2005.
What I learned from this curriculum: When I was younger and not considered a senior citizen, I attended a week-long conference in La Jolla, California. The Institute for Functional Medicine headed by the father of functional medicine, Jeff Bland, PhD, one of my academic mentors, lectured on the healing capacity of the suffering individual. Speaking to a room full of medical physicians who are looking to prescribe food, timing of meals, sleep, movement and mindful skills as medicine. This inspired me to dive deep into learning the nuts and bolts of lifestyle medicine. A naturopathic curriculum provided the foundation towards that aim.
Received post-graduate diplomat status in Anti-Aging protocols from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Physicians, July of 2005.
This society of physicians is where I met a fourth-generation endocrinologist in 2002. His family started hormone replacement from the glands of our four-legged friends over a hundred years ago. Dr. Thierry Hertoghe, out of Belgian, lectures world-wide and has over a century of bio-identical hormone replacement knowledge and a lifetime of clinical experience regarding their mechanisms. A humble brilliant soft-spoken teacher, clinician and human being. Profoundly benefited my own trajectory of aging and learning the skills of lab analysis of these vital molecules.
Received Advanced Status in the protocols of Metabolic Typing per Dr. Harold Kristal, originator of the modified glucose challenge and author of Know Your Metabolic Type, 11/2004.
Firsthand experience measuring multiple markers in urine, saliva, and blood over a specified time frame after ingestion of a select quantity of a glucose challenge. Metabolism is a controlled fire turning simple molecules of amino acids into animated complex tissues and complex tissues breaking down into simple molecules to be reused. This testing process illustrates the efficacy of the foundational life sustaining behaviors of ones’ metabolism. I was amazed at how fast the repair of metabolism was with an elimination of inflammatory behaviors. Life can be quite irrepressible, if given the chance.
Miscellaneous post-graduate education in Applied Biomechanical Spinal Engineering, 40+ hours, Chiropractic Neurology, 350+ hours given by the American Academy of Chiropractic Neurology. 150+ hours of Functional Endocrinology and Blood Chemistries instruction accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education.
Employing Light Emitting Diodes (LED) or Laser therapy for the last 18 years. Used for joint and muscle rehabilitation, organic inflammatory dysfunction, addiction protocols, and accelerated healing of dermal injuries and infections. Recently utilizing LED therapy in reshaping of the body and rejuvenation of the skin.
Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice an education intensive given by the Institute for Functional Medicine in San Diego, California, November 28-December 3, 2005, that qualified for 40.25 AMA PRA category 1 credits. IFM is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) that governs qualification status of institutions providing medical educations for physicians.
In the last 16 years, since 2005 I have 576 hours in continuing education required by my board for relicensure. My focus during these 16 years since updating my curriculum vitae is the science and clinical application of utilizing energy and lifestyle medicine in the form of behaviors, Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields (PEMF) and laser and light emitting diodes at different power densities and frequencies to induce a healing response.