People seek functional medicine practitioners for a variety of reasons. Many suffer from longstanding, puzzling and debilitating health conditions that haven’t responded to medication.
The goal of functional medicine is to get to the root cause of your symptoms rather than masking them with prescription drugs. In a study, patients in a functional medicine clinic experienced better improvements in their health-related quality of life than propensity-score-matched family health center patients.
Identifying the Root Causes of Your Health Issues
Unlike conventional medicine that only seeks to match symptoms with a drug, functional medicine looks for the underlying causes of illnesses. Doctors in this field spend more time with patients and will usually collect a detailed history. They will then create a treatment plan to manage the multiple factors that are contributing to your health issues.
They will look at your diet, lifestyle, genetics, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, hormone changes and other things that may be causing your health problems. They view each person as unique and use a holistic approach. They believe that symptoms are alerts to underlying biological problems and try to resolve them naturally, without relying on prescription medications.
A functional medicine practitioner will identify the stressors that are over-powering your body and work to eliminate them. This will allow your body to return to its natural state of balance and heal itself. The result will be more energy, a clear mind and an improved impact on your life.
Getting to the Bottom of Your Symptoms
When you work with a functional medicine practitioner, they will spend time discussing your symptoms and their origins. They will also take the time to review your family and health history. This is all done in order to get a full picture of your health, which will allow them to diagnose and treat the root cause of your problems.
This method of identifying the root cause of your health issues is different than what you might expect from a conventional medical doctor. They will use a variety of tests to find out what is causing your symptoms. They will also take the time to discuss your lifestyle, including nutrition and exercise.
The goal is to improve your overall health and wellbeing, which will result in a better quality of life. Studies have shown that functional medicine can lead to improved health outcomes when compared to patients who receive primary care. This is especially true for those with chronic conditions.
Getting Back to Healthy Living
Unlike conventional medicine that often masks symptoms with medications, functional medicine practitioners focus on finding the root causes of your health problems. They spend a great deal of time with patients and gather detailed information on their condition. This information is analyzed and used to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient.
A Functional Medicine Practitioner will use a wide range of tests to get an in-depth understanding of your body. They will also take into consideration your genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors to identify possible imbalances.
Functional Medicine Practitioners believe that each person is unique. As such, they treat the whole person and recognize that mental health is just as important as physical wellness. Whether you need help recovering from burnout or are suffering from chronic stress, a functional medicine approach can provide the answers you’re looking for. This will improve your overall quality of life and allow you to lead a more fulfilling life.
Getting to the Root of Your Mental Health Issues
Many patients seek out functional medicine practitioners after experiencing longstanding, puzzling, or debilitating symptoms that have eluded other clinicians. This is because a functional medicine practitioner can get to the bottom of your symptoms using different tools than traditional doctors. They can identify mineral imbalances, assess inflammation markers and chronic infections, use a wider range of blood tests, and look for abnormal hormone levels (such as low cortisol), among other things.
They can also perform specialized brain health assessments, such as measuring your brainwaves, to see how your nervous system is functioning. Specifically, this technique looks at your levels of stimulating beta waves and relaxing alpha waves. For example, a patient with anxiety may have too many stimulating beta waves and not enough relaxing alpha waves.
Using a more holistic approach, functional medicine is proven to improve your overall health and wellbeing. In fact, a retrospective cohort study showed significant and sustained improvements in PROMIS global health scores when compared to conventional care.functional medicine austin
