Our bodies are a combination of different systems working together. When the systems work in harmony, we feel healthy and great. When one part of the body is suffering a disease, the rest of the body suffers too. That is why we seem to feel unwell everywhere even when there is only one body part or system out of alignment.

The typical medical approach is to treat the affected part with medicine, surgery, or other therapies. While this has been successful for some acute injuries and short-term illnesses, chronic conditions don’t respond well to targeted treatment. New medical studies increasingly suggest that treating the whole body – even when only one part or organ is affected by a disease – can be beneficial. The idea is that the body cannot be divided into separate parts. For example, a low-functioning kidney will affect your brain and mental alertness. Optimal health depends on the body functioning as a complete system.

Functional medicine combines conventional medical interventions such as medical drugs and surgical interventions with alternative techniques such as lifestyle changes, therapies, and dietary supplementation. Functional medicine also shifts focus from disease-centered care to patient-centered care. Rather than focus on fighting a disease in isolation, functional medicine seeks to create the necessary conditions for the body to heal itself. 

The result of functional medicine is true relief. Functional medicine relieves apparent and hidden negative effects of the disease on the body.

True relief cannot be achieved through a one-off event like taking a pill for a week. Functional medicine is a process that involves exploration and paying attention to how you respond to different therapies. Therefore, if you believe functional medicine is for you, you’ll benefit more if you can find a functional medicine provider within your region that you can visit for regular appointments.

True Life Medicine is Castle Rock’s trusted functional medicine provider. True Life Medicine is conveniently located in the area and has flexible appointment scheduling to fit your calendar.

So, why should you care about finding a functional medicine facility in Castle Rock, CO?

Read on as we explain what functional medicine is all about and why True Life Medicine is at the top of the service in Castle Rock.

What does a functional medicine doctor do?

A functional medicine practitioner’s goal is to understand the patient thoroughly. The focus is on the patient, not the disease. The disease is treated as a symptom of sub-optimal systems functioning. To guide the patient to relief, the doctor will ask questions about medical history, family history, lifestyle, tests, and diagnostic activities. 

The doctor seeks to understand before they can diagnose or prescribe.

Does insurance pay for Functional Medicine?

More often than not, insurance will not pay for functional medical care. Now that might sound bad, but a deeper look will, in fact, reveal that the insurance model popular with conventional care is most probably inferior to the functional medical care model.

Insurance companies are for-profit institutions that don’t want to pay for your medical expenses. For doctors and hospitals to get their insurance reimbursements, they need to show a clear data-tracked intervention. That is why doctors will limit their consultation time and prescribe medicine. Spending quality time with a client doesn’t make financial sense for most conventional doctors. The insurance will only want to pay for about 15 minutes of consultation since that’s the time they believe it takes to diagnose an illness and prescribe a drug. Additionally, the doctor wants to prescribe medicine because medicine is easy to track and account for, unlike an alternative prescription such as a lifestyle adjustment or medication.

Functional medical care is about healing the person; patients will often sit with the doctors for over an hour getting to the root of their discomforts. Insurance is unlikely to pay for that long of a consultation. But who do you think will have the clearest understanding of the patient’s condition? The functional doctor, of course! 

This is why a functional medical revolution is urgently, even desperately, needed.

Does functional medicine really work?

Yes. Functional medical practitioners are not looking to treat a disease; they are looking to heal the person. The metrics are different. The functional medical approach refuses to dissect the body into near-independent anatomical parts by encouraging consideration of the body as it really is; connected and interdependent.

Functional medical approaches work best because it embraces all healing approaches including alternative treatments. A patient in Castle Rock, CO, is getting far better care with functional medicine.

Do functional medicine doctors go to medical school?

Yes. Functional medicine practitioners are trained and qualified doctors. However, the staff is not limited to medical doctors. Exercise is important for the body’s well-being, as is rest and sleep, among other activities that do not fit into the conventional definition of a doctor’s professional purview. That is why the trained and qualified doctor will be supported by a qualified yoga instructor or a qualified nutritionist, for example.

With functional medicine, you get to enjoy a deeper level of care from a wide range of professionals working towards your well-being.

The Difference Between Functional Medicine and Integrative Medicine

A functional medicine practitioner prioritizes finding the best possible set of solutions for a patient. The integrative medical approach seeks to find how the body-spirit-mind connection impacts health. The functional medicine approach is about finding the best treatment plan for a specific patient. Functional medicine is more likely to apply therapies and lifestyle adjustments, while integrative medicine is more likely to prescribe medication and other holistic treatments for the patient.

Reclaiming your health

Health is not a static target; it is a moving target that requires consistent effort to maintain. Successful relief from health problems is not easy. The functional medicine approach is about addressing the root causes of ill-health. The functional medicine model is built on the firm foundation of traditional medicine, conventional doctors, specialized training, and medical research. However, the model benefits from additional reinforcement embodied through a holistic approach. Alternative medicine allows doctors to address a wide range of health challenges, ranging from chronic illness to family medicine. The functional medicine institute embraces all healthy remedies in their quest to heal the underlying causes of pain and discomfort. An individualized approach gives Castle Rock patients and patients from other areas in CO the best chance at finding relief and reclaiming their health.

You can get started on your reclamation journey right now. We at True Life Medicine are happy to consult and get you started on your journey to your optimal self.