What Is Functional Medicine And Why Do We Need It?
Functional Medicine is gaining more popularity and becoming easier to access thanks to medical practices like STAT Wellness, but what exactly is Functional Medicine and why is it critical for our health system?
What Is Functional Medicine?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology, Functional Medicine is a healthcare model less concerned with what we call the disease, and more focused on the dynamic processes that result in a person’s dysfunction. In essence this is referring to a long-term, root-cause approach to medicine that investigates the multiple variables leading to illness.
In functional medicine the goal of the provider is to understand what is causing the illness so they can treat the cause and not just the symptoms. Functional Medicine providers are trained in a whole-person approach when devising a treatment plan and work with patients to understand multiple body system challenges. Personalized medicine is at the core of Functional Medicine, every human body is different and having a treatment plan for your unique needs is essential to for long-term, positive health outcomes.
Why Do We Need Functional Medicine?
A Functional Medicine approach provides a healthcare system that works to reverse illness, promote health, and optimize function by addressing underlying causes, symptoms, and imbalances in interconnected biological networks. Functional Medicine also addresses the social determinants of health, including the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of wellness and disease. This holistic view designs care plans inclusive of challenges that influence a person’s health.
One study compared the patient satisfaction scores of care from a Functional Medicine practice and a traditional practice. The study found patients who had functional medicine care had higher satisfaction scores with their experience, even when asked 12 months after their initial visit.
As the incidence of chronic disease continues to rise along with healthcare related costs the Functional Medicine model of care provides a unique operating system to reverse poor health outcomes and set individuals on a trajectory for positive wellness.
Our Functional Medicine Practitioners are trained through the Institute of Functional Medicine. This organization has a great graphic of how one condition can be related to many causes and how one cause can cause many conditions. See below.
During our Functional Medicine visits, it is important to gather a full health timeline to understand variables that may be playing a role in your health. For example, if you were a c-section baby, on a ton of antibiotics for ear infections growing up, and now struggle with eczema and allergies- your gut microbiome is potentially your root cause. Another example could be if you had a super stressful childhood, started your menstrual cycle at 10 years old, struggled with heavy cycles your whole life and insomnia- your female hormones may be imbalanced related to adrenal dysfunction.
Ready to come in?
Our new patient visits are 60 minutes and include a thorough health history, body composition scan, and lab draw (the actual labs are processed through insurance). Our passion is our membership which includes 5 Functional Medicine visits per year, unlimited health coaching, quarterly Dietitian consults, body composition scans, no lab draw fees, and 10% off all services + supplements. We believe the best results are seen when you utilize all members of the team and really take a holistic approach.
We are always here for you if you have any questions. We are here to help you feel your BEST!
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