E L I J A H S A C R A
Elijah Sacra is a US Marine Corps Veteran, a career health and wellness practitioner, trainer, consultant and educator with over two decades of experience. He works in concert with physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and mental health practitioners while delivering services to populations under clinical care. These include individuals living with chronic pain, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Post-Traumatic Stress, amputees, Neurodegenerative diseases, cancer patients, the blind, and patients recovering from surgeries and burns. Elijah’s coaching philosophy and methodology is grounded in Functional Medicine and Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching and Burris Functional Emotional Fitness Coaching. As an Exercise Physiologist and Human Biomechanics Specialist, he guides his clients to eliminate pain, decrease injuries, and enhance athleticism. He teaches integrative movement systems which facilitate Neuromuscular Re-education and focus on conditioning Functional Movement and Myofascial Sling Systems with an emphasis on structural integrity and postural alignment to correct joint dysfunction and restore evolutionary movement patterns.
Elijah currently works with members of US Special Operations Command, Military, and Law Enforcement units and personnel through his consulting business Wellness Solutions Group LLC. In 2009, Elijah founded Warrior Wellness Solutions (WWS), a GuideStar Platinum 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization. WWS has also achieved recognition as an America’s Warrior Partnership Four Star Alliance Program of Excellence, and as a Great Nonprofits “Top-Rated Nonprofit”. WWS has provided integrative health and wellness education and training to thousands of Wounded, Ill, and Injured service members, veterans, their caregivers, medical and support staff, and was recognized with an award for their service with the US Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment. Elijah has delivered professional military education and pre-and post-deployment human performance and resiliency training to active duty War Fighters.
Elijah has served on the Executive Roundtable and Vision Sharing Board for Non-Profit and Community Participation in Achieving World Class Standards of Care and Services for Wounded Warriors at the New Joint Services Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and as a coach for TEAM Marine Corps for the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games. He has been educated in Pain Care Skills by members of the Department of Defense Wounded Warrior Pain Care Initiative based at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Elijah served for several years as Board Treasurer for the North Carolina Veterans Business Association, worked as a Staff Accountant for Ernst & Young in Expatriate Tax Accounting, holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University and is trained in Logic Model Reporting by the RAND Corporation. In 2017, his personal story and professional advice was published by Consumer Reports in a VA wide publication on Non-pharmacological Interventions for Chronic Pain. He is a 2018 Patient Scholarship Recipient for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute for his valuable perspectives and expertise on Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs patients, caregivers, and patient representatives focusing on the theme “From Evidence to Impact: Putting What Works into Action.” Elijah was chosen to present at the Institute of Functional Medicine's (IFM) 2019 Annual International Conference (AIC) on Stress, Pain, and Addiction: Transformative Treatments and Innovative Solutions, where he will be presenting researchers and clinicians the myriad of ways in which these issues, individually and collectively, impact health and speaking on "Pain In the Military: Patient and Practitioner Perspectives".
CURRENT POSITIONS
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Medical Advisory Board / Director of Functional Movement and Rehabilitation on the Task Force Dagger Special Operations Forces Health Initiatives
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Veteran Research Engagement Panel – Durham NC VA Center of Innovation for Health Services Research and Development Services Research in Primary Care
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Subject Matter Expert / Veteran Research Engagement Panel for National VA study: PCORI - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute in concert with the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development for Chronic Pain and Opiate Addiction in Veterans. Veterans’ Pain Care Organizational Improvement Comparative Effectiveness (VOICE) Trial Minneapolis VA Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research / University of Minnesota
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Cadre Instructor for TMACS / Combat Strength Training with Delta Force Veteran Pat McNamara
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