Posted on: November 19, 2019
Functional Medicine Defined
“Functional Medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.” ~Institute for Functional Medicine
The results of a study conducted by The Cleveland Clinic, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, found that patients treated with the functional medicine approach reported a much higher level of satisfaction than those treated with the conventional method.
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Of the 7,252 participants, 1,595 patients were treated at The Cleveland Clinics Center for Functional Medicine, and 5,657 patients were treated at conventional care facilities. These patients were tracked for 2 years and questioned via the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (or PROMIS) questionnaire on different aspects of their well-being. While standard medicine treats the specific problem, functional medicine digs at the root cause of the problem. Even after only 6 months, the results already showed that the functional medicine approach improved 31% of the patient’s PROMIS results and only 22% for the patients receiving conventional treatment.
This study is the first of its kind and has produced thought-provoking results on the potentially transformative benefits of this approach. While more research is needed to fully understand it, perhaps in the future, functional medicine will be integrated with conventional medicine and a more holistic approach to health will be commonplace.
Could You Benefit from Functional Medicine?
I am double board-certified and an expert in functional medicine. If you live near Myrtle Beach, SC and would like to discuss if functional medicine may be appropriate for you, schedule an appointment with me here.
