Symptoms never appear out of nowhere. More often than not, they have hidden root causes that can impact other parts of your life. From chronic issues to unprecedented ones, getting effective treatment is about understanding why you’re experiencing what you’re experiencing – and, more importantly, how to effectively treat not only your symptoms but their root causes. This requires much more than the standard 15-minute primary care visit; it requires a holistic approach. Functional medicine is the key to holistic health improvement because it gets down to the underlying causes of the issues you’re experiencing, resulting both in symptom alleviation and effective care. To learn about what makes the functional approach the best option for holistic health improvement, keep on reading.

This idea is simple, but its implementation in conventional medicine is rare. No two patients are alike, so it follows that no two treatment plans should be identical. At the core of functional medicine is the understanding that every patient has their own one-of-a-kind history, lifestyle, genetic makeup, stress levels, and circumstances. These characteristics must be taken into account and uniquely understood in order for a truly effective course of treatment to be created.

The average primary care visit in the United States takes approximately 15 minutes, with patients speaking for a total of five minutes total. This severely limits not only what patients can do to describe their issues, but what doctors can do to do more than just treat the symptoms with standard prescriptions. Functional medicine visits, on the other hand, last between 60 and 90 minutes. During these consultations, patients and doctors speak at length about not just the most pressing symptoms, but about the patient’s unique lifestyle and circumstances. This gives functional care physicians much more to work with, enabling them to create more holistic treatment plans for their patients.

Conventional medicine aims for symptom suppression: patients are conventionally perceived as a sum of their body parts and symptoms. These symptoms are isolated and treated with prescription medicines that are generally effective. Functional medicine, on the other hand, operates with the foundational knowledge that symptoms are never isolated; all parts of the human body work in tandem, including when something isn’t right. This patient-first functional approach sees symptoms as a small part of a complex whole that must be addressed.

Often, patients in a conventional primary care visit are asked about their medical history and potential allergies. During a functional care visit, patients are also asked about these factors – as well as about their diet, exercise routine, sleep schedule, stress levels, current emotional circumstances, and other psychosocial factors that could be significantly impacting their mental, emotional, and physical health.

In the world of functional medicine, your treatment does not begin and end with a prescription. Functional medicine physicians weigh medicine as a possibility for treatment, along with changes in patients’ diet, exercise routine, sleep schedule, off-time, hydration levels, and much more.

With the rise of functional medicine comes an increased emphasis on genetic testing. Looking at patients’ genetic makeup allows physicians to have an unprecedented insight into genetic factors contributing to their symptoms. And we now know that there are many things we can do to alter genetic expression. It also opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to preventive and proactive care.

One of the most important pillars of functional medicine is not only in diving into the root cause of symptoms but looking at markers that indicate something is out of balance or that disease may be on the horizon. By shifting the focus to lifestyle changes, genetic information, and doctor-patient dialogue, functional medicine empowers physicians and patients alike to take preventive measures that have major long-term ramifications. From catching serious illnesses in their early stages to addressing genetic markers for issues down the line, functional medicine gives patients an invaluable glimpse into – and even more valuable control over – the future of their health.

Functional medicine is the key to holistic health improvement for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its emphasis on getting to the root of patients’ symptoms. To learn more about functional medicine, be sure to take our free assessment. If you’d like to book an appointment with Dr. Stacey, just click here.