What sets functional medicine apart
February 28, 2018
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We get this question a lot: “What is functional medicine?” While awareness of this medical approach has been growing over the years, many people still don’t know all of the benefits associated with functional medicine. In short, functional medicine seeks to restore your body to optimal levels of health through a patient-centered approach.
Now, you may be wondering, “But doesn’t traditional medicine focus on a patient-centered approach?” Not always. In fact, traditional western medicine is generally more disease-centered. Traditional approaches focus more on a treatment rather than a cure; on a diagnosis rather than prevention.
When you visit your family physician, generally your appointments are governed by your insurance reimbursement. Lab results focus on ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ ranges when assessing specimens and tests. In these settings, the doctor is focusing on disease management.
At a functional medicine clinic, you will find a far different approach. Rather than focus on the disease, we focus on the patient. Appointments are longer and they seek to find the root cause of your ailment and eliminate it, rather than throw pills or procedures at it to simply ‘keep it at bay.’
Functional medicine treatments are based on the individual. Each person is unique, each person’s body is different, and as a result, when a lab test is completed, the values we seek aren’t simply ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal.’ In a functional setting, we aim to get them inside the ‘optimal’ range. Treatments are optimized for your body.
With the sharp increase in diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, mental illnesses, and a wide range of autoimmune diseases we see today, there is a need for a new approach, and functional medicine is just that. We don’t seek to supplant traditional medicine but to work with it, providing another way to address complex medical conditions.
To learn more about what sets functional medicine apart and how it can help you address chronic conditions without unwanted side effects or pills, follow this link to visit our website or call us at (972) 930-0260.
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