The patient is unwell and seeked treatment from a hospital or clinic, got a host of diagnostic test done (all results report normal), then return home none the wiser of what ails them. Even the doctors were not able to identify what’s wrong, but both patient and doctor knows that it’s not all right. Sounds familiar? We call this the disease-centered focus approach.
The standard model of treatment works well for acute diseases, trauma, infection, and emergencies but not for chronic diseases.
Functional medicine is a new approach that is patient centered, focusing on holistically treating the patient’s source of ailment rather than the symptoms. It treats the patient’s body as a whole system, rather than in isolation. It supports the natural healing mechanism already built in to our system rather than attacking the disease directly. It’s an approach that not only treats but considers prevention of these diseases.
Functional medicine has found it’s place particularly in treating chronic diseases such as allergic, digestive, hormonal, metabolic and neurological problems, which conventional medicine have not found an answer to. Ailments such as low thyroid, diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, fatigue, allergy and gastro intestinal diseases are currently being conventionally treated with drugs or hormones, with no permanent solution in sight. This is the result of the disease centered approach where the physicians diagnose a disease and match that disease with a corresponding drug.The standard model of treatment works well for acute diseases, trauma, infection, and emergencies but not for chronic diseases.
Physicians who are trained in Functional Medicine would take a completely different approach in treating diseases. They would spend time with their patients, listening to their histories, mapping their personal timeline, and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex chronic disease. This approach better matches the need to improve the management and prevention of chronic diseases.
Functional Medicine is science based with latest research indicating what happens within the body is connected to the various systems in our body. Understanding those relationships allows us to see deeply into the functioning of the body and provide accurate and preventive treatments.
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