Sarah Gates, FNP

05/25/2026

Thankful for the brave men and women who answered the call, protected this country, and sacrificed for our freedom ❤️🤍💙

05/17/2026

24 hours in Tampa and I’m coming home with a new non-narcotic pain management tool in my pocket 👊🏼

Spent the weekend training on Iovera — a technique that can help reduce pain signaling before knee or shoulder surgery, and in select cases offer an option for patients who aren’t surgical candidates.

I’m always looking for ways to support pain control that minimize reliance on medications that can carry risks like dependence, or long-term effects on the kidneys, liver, and GI system when used chronically.

This is another really interesting addition to the toolbox as we continue focusing on recovery, function, and overall patient experience.

Excited to bring this back to clinic—now with four providers at PCI offering this treatment.

Huge thanks to for an excellent learning experience and for continuing to invest in education that translates into better patient care 🙏

05/10/2026

Mother’s Day can be layered. Holding space for both joy and difficulty today, with compassion for wherever you are in it. Wherever you are, be gentle with yourself ✨💛

05/07/2026

I never had a second thought about becoming a nurse (in 1998!!!)… which is surprising considering how many questionable things I’ve willingly walked into since 😆
Still proud of this profession. Happy Nurses Day to all of you out there making things happen 🤍

04/25/2026

This is something I’ve been learning about lately in genetics 🧬 and thinking about a lot beyond the usual “social wellness” conversation.

The people you’re closest to don’t just influence your mood—they shape your nervous system over time. Your sense of safety. Your baseline stress response. Your energy ⚡️ Even how your body learns to recover and regulate itself.

And the same is true of the environments we choose to stay in. When stress is constant and unrelenting, the body doesn’t ignore it—it adapts to it. It learns it. It normalizes it. Even when everything on the outside still looks “fine.”

Which is why intentionality matters so much ✨

Not just in what you do—but in what you allow around you. The conversations. The energy. The relationships. The environments that either refill you or slowly deplete you.

This is where connection becomes biology 🧬

Epigenetics helps give language to this: gene expression isn’t fixed—it’s responsive. It adapts to repeated lived experience, including the emotional and environmental patterns we live in over time.

So those 3–5 close relationships?

They’re not just support.

They are one of the most powerful forces shaping how you feel, function, and heal 🤍

Community is medicine.

Research consistently shows that strong social connections are one of the most powerful predictors of health, resilience, and longevity. Not the size of your network, but the depth of your relationships. A few people who make you feel safe, seen, and supported can profoundly shape your biology.

Loneliness activates the same stress pathways as chronic disease. It drives inflammation, dysregulates hormones, weakens immune function, and accelerates aging. Connection does the opposite. It calms the nervous system, lowers cortisol, improves metabolic health, and even influences gene expression linked to longevity.

This is why community is a core pillar of functional medicine. Food, movement, sleep, and supplements matter, but without meaningful human connection, healing is incomplete.

Invest in your people. Nurture a small, trusted circle. Shared meals, honest conversations, laughter, and belonging are not soft interventions, they are some of the most powerful tools we have to extend healthspan and quality of life.

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04/10/2026

Most supplements aren’t tested the way you think they are 👀

Especially magnesium.

If you’re taking magnesium glycinate for sleep, anxiety, or muscle recovery… here’s what matters:

✔️ Not all “magnesium glycinate” is actually glycinate
✔️ Some are mixed with cheaper forms (like oxide) that don’t absorb well
✔️ Doses on the label aren’t always accurate
✔️ Heavy metal contamination can happen

So how do you know what you’re actually getting?

👉 Look for the USP Verified seal

USP (United States Pharmacopeia) means:
• The supplement contains what the label says
• It’s been tested for contaminants
• It meets quality and purity standards
• It actually breaks down and absorbs in your body

And here’s the kicker…

🟡 Most magnesium glycinate supplements are NOT USP verified

One of the few you can grab easily at places like CVS or Target:
→ Nature Made Magnesium Glycinate

It’s not fancy. It’s not influencer-branded.
But it’s been independently tested—and that matters.

✨ Many local pharmacies and chiropractors also carry pharmaceutical-grade supplements that go through more rigorous third-party testing. These can be great options too—just at a higher price point.

Bottom line:
If you’re going to spend money on supplements, make sure you’re actually getting what you paid for.

Quality > hype. Every time.

04/08/2026

Tell me you love your shoulder replacement without telling me… 😂

This patient is thriving after her reverse total shoulder less than a year later 🙌 At PCI I work side by side with Dr. Eyberg, who fellowship trained in upper extremity surgery under Mark Frankle —one of the nation’s leaders in shoulder replacement —so our patients get expert care every step of the way. 💪🩺

📞 Call us today to learn more or schedule your visit: 319‑398‑1545

04/05/2026

Downshifting❣️

We often think inflammation is mostly about food.

Eat less sugar.
Take the supplement.
Add the anti-inflammatory ingredient.

But when researchers studied the world’s longest-living populations, they found something bigger:

The people aging best were not stress-free.
They just did not stay stressed all day.

That is a major difference.

Because stress is part of life everywhere, including in the Blue Zones. But Blue Zones researchers found that these communities tend to have daily rituals that help bring stress back down, including prayer, napping, ancestor remembrance, and time to gather with others.

Blue Zones describes this pattern as “downshift,” and notes that these rituals help reduce the inflammation linked to chronic stress.

That matters because chronic stress affects the entire body.

Research has linked chronic psychological stress to ongoing low-grade inflammation, and that kind of inflammation is tied to many of the diseases people fear most as they age.

The National Institute on Aging also describes chronic, low-grade inflammation, sometimes called inflammaging, as a feature of aging that contributes to age-related disease.

In other words:

It is not only the stress itself.
It is whether your body ever gets the signal that the stress is over.

That is where modern life goes wrong.

So many women spend the entire day activated.

Rushing.
Scrolling.
Working.
Caretaking.
Worrying.
Pushing through.
Then collapsing at night without ever truly coming down.

That is not resilience.

That is overload.

And over time, overload has a cost.

The Blue Zones pattern offers a different model.

Not a perfect life or a life without stress.
A life with built-in recovery.

What this looks like in the Blue Zones:
A pause.
A prayer.
A nap.
A slow meal.
A walk with someone you love.
A moment at the end of the day when your nervous system is allowed to exhale.

That is one reason this pattern matters so much for healthy aging.

The women who age the slowest do not just avoid inflammatory foods.
They interrupt inflammatory living.

And that is a lesson many modern women desperately need.
Because the goal is not to become a person with zero stress.

The goal is to stop carrying the same stress signal from morning to night, day after day, year after year.

What this can look like in real life:
- 10 quiet minutes before the day starts
- a short walk without your phone
- prayer, meditation, or deep breathing
- sitting outside in the evening
- one meal eaten slowly
- calling a friend instead of staying in your head
- resting before you are completely depleted

It does not have to be dramatic.
It just has to be daily.

Healthy aging is about the signals you give your body over and over again:

You are safe.
You can slow down.
You can recover now.

In Blue Zones, that recovery is not treated like a luxury.
It is part of how life is lived.

And that may be one of the most anti-inflammatory habits of all.

For more on the best natural ways to reduce stress, see the full guide here: https://bit.ly/402gcFp

Follow along for more practical, natural steps to slow biological aging and live a longer, fuller life.

04/02/2026

Magnesium might be one of the most underrated tools in your health toolbox 🧰

It’s not flashy—but it touches everything:

✔️ Supports bone health + structure
✔️ Keeps bowels moving (without harsh laxatives)
✔️ Helps regulate muscle function (hello fewer cramps)
✔️ Can support sleep + a calmer nervous system
✔️ Plays a role in pain modulation

Here’s the kicker: it’s involved in 300+ enzyme reactions in the body 😳

And yet, many people don’t meet recommended intake. We just don't eat enough magnesium rich foods such as dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains.

To supplement, I usually recommend patients start with magnesium glycinate—it’s gentle, well-absorbed, and the form I take myself. It's also readily available and inexpensive.

I use magnesium strategically depending on goals:
→ Bowels? Different form
→ Sleep + stress? Different form
→ Muscle recovery or pain? Yep—different form

It’s not one-size-fits-all.

Simple. Foundational. Effective.

Sometimes the basics are the real flex 💁‍♀️

Disclaimer: Always check with your primary care provider before starting supplements, especially if you have kidney issues or take other medications.

03/30/2026

Big milestone today 🎉

I completed A4M Module I: Advanced Endocrinology —advanced training focused on hormone health, metabolism, and the connections between stress, thyroid, and s*x hormones.

This is part of a bigger personal goal I set for 2026 to go all-in on continuing education—just crossed 80 CME hours and counting 💪

While orthopedic surgery will always be a core part of my work, I’m passionate about expanding how I support patients beyond the OR—especially those dealing with fatigue, weight changes, and hormone-related symptoms that don’t always show up clearly on standard labs.

Excited to keep building this and bringing a more complete approach to patient care.

More to come 💫.