Though modern medicine has introduced advances in treating chronic illnesses, today’s health care model is still lacking. The approach with most medical practices is reactive: fix it once it breaks. At the Metabolic Institute in Spokane, WA, we use a functional medicine model that treats the root cause of illnesses and not just the disease itself.
Functional medicine is a personalized, integrated approach to healthcare that empowers patients and practitioners to use the best of modern and traditional medicine as well as science to achieve the highest level of health.
An Overview of the Functional Medicine Model
Approximately 50% of adults suffer from at least one chronic illness, and half of those have more than one chronic condition. Instead of treating the disease, the functional model treats the patients. Together, the doctor and the patient work to achieve long-term wellness instead of managing the illness itself.
The functional framework uses an integrative, patient-centric approach to healthcare that examines all networks involved in a patient’s well-being. This comprehensive approach to patient care catapults patient care from disease management to wellness. Functional medicine believes:
Each Individual Is Different
Functional medicine takes a science-based approach to treating patients. The model sees each person as a unique being, both genetically and biochemically. The medical professional devises a health care treatment unique to the individual, treating the person and not the disease.
The Gap Between Research and Care Is Too Wide
Scientific research outpaces conventional medicine. Traditional doctors lack the training necessary to leverage scientific findings with patient care. Functional medicine examines the complexities of how illnesses affect each individual. All available data is used in the patient’s best interest.
The Body Is Capable of Self-Regulating
Functional medicine respects both the patient and the body. The body is viewed as a self-regulating system that can heal and prevent most age-related diseases.
Health Is a State of Vitality
Most health care practices define healthy as a patient free of disease. Under the functional model, the practitioner seeks to bring the person’s spiritual, mental, and emotional outlooks into their optimal state as well.
We Need an Integrative Approach to Treatment
Doctors who use the functional model integrate the best of all medical practices, including traditional and alternative medicine. Treatment focuses on prevention with the following applications:
- Nutrition, diet, and exercise
- Proactive diagnostic testing
- Use of alternative and conventional medicine
- Application of detoxification programs
- Incorporation of stress-management tools
- Health care is about treating the patient and not the disease.
Change Your Healthcare Outlook
If you are tired of being an object of treatment instead of a subject for wellness, make an appointment with The Metabolic Institute in Spokane, WA. Take the step to live your best life. Together we will come up with a comprehensive wellness plan built specifically for you. We look forward to partnering with you. Call us today!