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CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates - Signal Mountain

Accepting New Patients

1238 Taft Highway, Suite 170, Signal Mountain, TN 37377
Phone: (423) 886-2004
Fax: (423) 886-7803

Office hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates is a primary care practice focused on health promotion and illness prevention. Integrative medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between the medical provider and patient, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapies. 

Mary McKenzie, DO, Chelsea Ryan, DO, and Maggie Greene, FNP-BC welcome new patients ages 5 and above. Our practice offers a range of services to supplement primary care including nutritional counseling, clinical counseling, acupuncture, integrative soft tissue therapy, hormone replacement therapy and more. To schedule an appointment, call (423) 886-2004.

Our Team

Dr. Mary McKenzie

Family Medicine Specialist

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Dr. Chelsea Ryan

Family Medicine Specialist

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Maggie Greene

Family Nurse Practitioner

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Patrick Wortman

Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer

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Online Check In

Did you know that our practice allows you to check in online ahead of time? You can confirm your appointment via text message or email, and check in online prior to your visit. You can also check in on your own device when you arrive. Ask us about using mobile registration to make your next visit simpler and faster!

We are partnering with Phreesia to help you save time registering for your appointment. Use mobile check-in to register from any smartphone, tablet or computer from the privacy of your own home. Checking in on your device saves you time and ensures your information is always up to date!

Patient Portal

We care about our patients. Our goal is to provide you and your family with the best experience possible when interacting with our practice. We understand that it is not always possible to visit the clinic, leave message, wait on the phone, or update your personal health information. By offering online access to your health information we look forward to simplifying your healthcare experience.

Our Services

Our mission is to provide a healing oriented medical practice with a focus on the whole person. Our primary care providers act as the continuing focal point for all the needed health care services for any individual patient. We provide ready access to personalized care from your own established provider.

Services include health promotion and wellness, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic disease. We are well equipped to meet the needs of the vast majority of patients while also maintaining a close relationship with any number of specialists in the Chattanooga area if the need arises for specialty services.

At CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates, we seek to provide these primary care services with compassion, empathy and respect for individual beliefs and values. As an integrated practice, all of our primary care providers have a close working relationship with and an intimate knowledge of the services provided by our providers.

Managing chronic pain or overuse injuries is challenging for both patients and physicians. According to the CDC, an estimated 1 out of 5 patients with non-cancer pain or pain-related diagnoses are prescribed opioids in office-based settings, and it's well-documented that long-term use of opioid pain medications can be associated with abuse and overdoses. CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates offers acupuncture as part of their use of both conventional and alternative methods of facilitating the body's innate healing response. 

Acupuncture is an effective, non-invasive medical protocol focused on correcting imbalances of energy in the body. It's used to treat a wide variety of health conditions and helps people get and stay well. An acupuncturist activates the body's Qi to improve the body's function and promote the natural self-healing process by stimulating specific anatomic sites, commonly referred to as acupoints. 

For someone with back, knee or shoulder pain who doesn't want to be on medication, trying acupuncture is a great option. It's also proven helpful in my practice for people who are working with their physician to get off or lessen their medication dependence.

Cupping is an effective therapeutic method with a history of over 2,000 years in China. It is a simple treatment technique which can be used alone or in combination with acupuncture or moxibustion (the use of heat) to enhance the treatment. 

Cupping is applied by lighting fire into a glass bowl shaped cup to produce negative pressure in the cup, and then putting the cup on the body surface at a certain area or acupuncture point. The reduced pressure in the cup creates a vacuum and the skin will be drawn up by the suction forming a firm grip around the rim of the cup, promoting blood and qi (chee/energy) circulation…..and creating the now recognized round red marks.  Fire cupping is the traditional method, but there are also plastic suction cups and silicone cups where fire is not needed. Cupping is used to promote circulation, stop pain and swelling and increase range of motion. Other indications for cupping are headaches, dizziness, cough, asthma, indigestion, along with neck, shoulder and back pain.

There are different cupping methods:

  • Retention Cupping is the most common form. The cup is applied and left in place. Retaining time varies, as well as the number of cups used.
  • Flash cupping is characterized by repeatedly applying the cup and removing rapidly several times.
  • Moving or Sliding cupping is a method of applying the cup then sliding the cup back and forth to enlarge the treatment area of the body.

Cupping is used only when appropriately indicated and should be applied by qualified practitioners. Contraindications to cupping include: skin ulcers, high fever, areas over large blood vessels, edema, dermatitis, and abdominal and sacral regions of a pregnant woman.

Nutrition counseling focused on choices for optimum health and well-being, controlling or reversing chronic disease, or achieving your weight loss goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a primary family care practice (ages 5-99+) providing traditional, preventive, and wellness services as well as other healing practices - all under one roof.

  • Patient and practitioner are partners in the healing process
  • All factors that influence health, wellness, and disease are taken into consideration, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as the body.
  • Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative methods facilitates the body's innate healing response.
  • Effective interventions that are natural and less invasive should be used whenever possible.
  • Integrative medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.
  • Good medicine is based in good science. It is inquiry-driven and open to new paradigms.
  • Alongside the concept of treatment, the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness are paramount.
  • Practitioners of integrative medicine should exemplify its principles and commit themselves to self-exploration and self-development. 

Acupuncture

Most people can benefit from acupuncture. Many use acupuncture to relax and alleviate the stress of life. Others use it to treat conditions they have lived with for years, or acute conditions that come up. Many people find that they have at least one friend who has had acupuncture and can share a story about their experience.

The number of treatments and frequency is customized for each person and depends on several factors: constitution, the severity and duration of the person's condition, and the quantity and quality of a person's Qi. Some people experience immediate relief, while others require a longer treatment plan. A minimum of one month is expected to see significant changes. 

Each person has a different medical history, and that's why it's important to offer a variety of solutions based on that individual's needs. Wear and tear injuries, degenerative conditions, lifestyle, exercise level and age are all important factors I consider when developing a personalized treatment plan.

In Chinese medicine Qi, or vital energy, flows throughout the body and protects it from pain, illness and disease. It circulates through specific pathways called meridians. The quality, quantity and balance of Qi influences a person's health, and it can be affected by physical or emotional trauma, stress, lack of exercise, overexertion, seasonal changes and diet.

In Chinese medicine Qi, or vital energy, flows throughout the body and protects it from pain, illness and disease. It circulates through specific pathways called meridians. The quality, quantity and balance of Qi influences a person's health, and it can be affected by physical or emotional trauma, stress, lack of exercise, overexertion, seasonal changes and diet.

Many patients feel nothing, and others may feel a small tap followed by a sensation of warmth or heaviness. Most patients find the sensation of acupuncture pleasant and leave feeling relaxed. We can adjust our needling technique for hyper-sensitive, weak or older patients.

After taking a full health history including symptoms and lifestyle, an acupuncturist completes a physical exam of a person's pulse and tongue. This helps the practitioner create a structured treatment plan and detect any imbalance of Qi that may contribute to health problems. 

Once the imbalances are detected, hair-thin, solid, surgical stainless-steel needles are inserted to unblock the obstruction and balance Qi. The insertion creates micro tears in the tissue, sending signals to the body to send elastin and collagen to that specific location to aid in healing. Patients may experience a heaviness, tingling or dull ache where the needle is inserted. This is known as the 'Qi sensation' and is a completely normal sign that the treatment is working. With Qi freely circulating throughout the body, adequate nourishment is reaching the body's cells, organs, glands, tissues and muscles. This can eliminate pain and restore balance and the body's ability to heal itself.

 A typical office visit will last from 45 minutes to an hour. You should eat something before coming and wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes.

Acupuncture is recognized as an effective treatment for a range of conditions, including: 

  • Abdominal pain
  • Allergic rhinitis
  • Anxiety 
  • Bell's palsy
  • Chronic gastritis
  • Diabetes
  • Earache or headache
  • Facial pain or spasm
  • High blood pressure
  • Morning sickness and induction of labor
  • Insomnia
  • Knee or shoulder pain
  • Nausea or vomiting 
  • Neck, spine or low back pain 
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Post-operative pain
  • Prostatitis 
  • Rheumatoid arthritis 
  • Sciatica
  • Smoking cessation
  • Sore throat 
  • Stroke
  • Tennis elbow
  • TMJ dysfunction 
  • Ulcerative colitis

CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates - Signal Mountain

CHI Memorial Integrative Medicine Associates- Signal Mountain