Functional Medicine Q & A
What is Functional Medicine?
“Functional medicine is the way chronic care treatment should be!”
What are the treatment benefits and and why should I pursue a Functional Medicine treatment plan?
While some practitioners focus solely on symptoms, functional medicine practitioners spend extended time with you to look beyond your symptoms and understand your specific challenges. We conduct a comprehensive examination of your body’s systems so we can identify the true root cause to your chronic health problem(s). Functional Medicine takes an investigative approach to your unique set of issues and uses the latest in diagnostic testing to find answers to your questions. Our goal is to treat the cause rather than just the symptoms.
For example, if you have Fibromyalgia, you may have been given that diagnosis after other diseases were ruled out. Furthermore, you may have been told there is nothing to do except treat the symptoms – fatigue, insomnia, pain, etc.
Functional medicine seeks to find WHY you have the Fibromyalgia syndrome and then treats the underlying problem(s), thereby putting the Fibromyalgia into remission. The goal of functional medicine is root cause resolution.
Why is this more effective than a conventional treatment method?
The current dominant healthcare system is ideal for a broken leg, a gash on your arm, a head injury, chest pain, and similar physical symptoms. Other providers may fix your injury and get you on your way. If someone is in a car wreck, that person will definitely go to the ER where emergency personnel will quickly assess how the person injured and stabilize he or she using whatever means necessary.
On the other hand, do patients go to the ER with any of the classic cluster of the middle-aged American patient disorders, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol? Generally, they will only go if they are experiencing severe complications from those diseases. Again, the current healthcare model is designed to stabilize and to get you back on your feet, not to address the underlying causes and fix those.
Some might say, "I would go to a specialist to address those disorders – an endocrinologist, a cardiologist, etc." Yes, that is what many patients do. However, it's important to uncover whether these patients are getting these problems resolved, or just managed.
To be clear, Innovative Healthcare Family Practice does refer patients to specialists when appropriate. As an example, we will do so when it is determined that a patient needs surgical intervention. Functional medicine knows its limits, and a shrewd practitioner knows when a specialist is the only person to do the job.
What kinds of conditions does Functional Medicine treat?
This is not an exhaustive list, but functional medicine practitioners treat the following:
- Autoimmune conditions – Hashimoto’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis
- Adrenal fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Irritable bowel/Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Hormone dysfunction
- Metabolic syndrome (Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Obesity)
- Food allergy/sensitivity
- ADHD and Autism
- Unexplained skin conditions
….. and many more.
In some cases, many of the conditions above are regarded by conventional practitioners as "not real" or "imagined" symptoms. If a conventional practitioner does diagnose one of the conditions above, they may give no hope for remission or recovery. Don’t you want to start on the path to recovery, and feel better? Don’t you want to find someone who understands and will impart to you the steps to health and wellness?
Call us or book online today to learn more. We'll looking forward to seeing you in the office.
Free Health Assessment
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Take Free Health
Assessment
STEP 2
Schedule Your Consultation
STEP 3
Complete Initial Consultation
STEP 4
Assess & Personalize Delivery of Program
Step 5: Follow Up to Mentor & Support
Our goal is to help you understand your current health to live your best life. We offer a free, non-obligatory health assessment that based on Functional Medicine guidelines and specifically personalized for you. By answering a brief online questionnaire, we will calculate and rate your Health IQ to determine your treatment moving forward.