Functional Medicine Vs Conventional Medicine

 

Ever noticed how your conventional medicine practitioner’s appointments are generally brief and intended to classify symptoms into a diagnosis? Symptoms are targeted and then suppressed through medicine. Right? Unfortunately, this kind of approach leaves out a wide gap – that of restoring your overall health.

Unlike in conventional medicine, the primary focus in functional medicine is to find out what is causing the symptoms and therefore the problem. By finding out why you got sick, the functional medicine doctor seeks to rebalance the body and address the root cause that caused your symptoms to manifest in the first place.

Let’s see how exactly does conventional medicine differ from functional medicine:

• What is the philosophy: When a patient has experienced long-lasting or recurring symptoms, conventional medicine does not tend to address the underlying cause. Its philosophy is to find a quick solution, not delve deeper. The focus is on the symptoms, and treatment is often geared toward turning those symptoms off. Functional medicine looks away from the symptoms and focuses on the person instead.
• Looking at the body as a whole: Functional medicine follows the holistic approach to view the body as an interconnected matrix rather than a collection of separate systems. It is critical to look at all the body systems and how they work together.  A systems-based approach is extremely important to treat patients suffering from chronic illness.
• Doctor is a partner: Unlike in conventional medicine where the doctor’s diagnosis is the last word, in functional medicine, the doctor and patient are equal partners in medical care. Two-way communication is hard to accomplish in the average 10-minute conventional office visit, functional doctors talk at length to their patients and most importantly, they listen!
• Looking for the root cause: Functional medicine doctors look for cues by paying close attention to their patients’ histories and environmental and lifestyle factors that could be influencing their health. Where does the patient work and live? How is the air they breathe? What genetic issues might be present? To even begin treating chronic illness, a functional approach is essential! How can you possibly treat a patient if you don’t understand the “root cause” of their problems?