Traditional doctors practice a reactive form of medicine. They examine patients only when symptoms are present, conduct tests to determine their cause, provide a diagnosis, then prescribe a treatment. While no one would claim that traditional medicine hasn’t dramatically improved people’s lives throughout history, this reactive approach often leaves patients with unmet needs.
The problem is that waiting for a disease to present with symptoms and then seeking a cure doesn’t help anyone to maintain an optimal state of health. Functional wellness is a field of medicine that seeks to fill the gap created by reactive care and help patients live their best lives when they’re healthy instead of only treating symptoms of illness.
What Is Functional Wellness?
The primary difference between traditional medicine and functional wellness is that while the former is reactive, the latter is proactive. When someone seeks out a Functional Wellness Center Near Me, he or she will get access to highly trained professionals who won’t just treat diseases but will also help to prevent them from occurring, to begin with. These professionals take a holistic approach to understanding the complex and interconnected systems within the human body and provide natural solutions to help correct imbalances that could be inhibiting optimal function.
The Principles of Functional Wellness
Five simple principles guide the practice of functional wellness. Some are similar to the principles of traditional, reactive medicine, while others are exclusive to the field of functional wellness. The five key principles that guide this field of practice are:
- Every person’s body is different, and unique genetic, biochemical, and psychological profiles can impact physical wellness.
- Science is invaluable to understanding the human body and its many interconnected systems.
- The human body is both intricate and self-sufficient.
- The human body is as capable of self-healing as it is of malfunctioning.
- The absence of disease should not be the only goal of medicine.
Because all practitioners of functional medicine apply these goals to their practice in some form, patients can expect to receive care plans designed with their specific bodies in mind. These care plans help to promote homeostasis and encourage self-healing when physical malfunctions are present. Because it takes a whole-body approach, functional wellness can also focus on psychological factors such as emotional balance, self-confidence, and others.
The Benefits of Functional Wellness
Some people are nervous about visiting functional wellness centers because they’re afraid it will be a waste of money. However, maintaining optimal physical, mental, and emotional health is well worth the investment. When healthy patients visit functional medicine practitioners, they can benefit from:
- Increases in energy
- Improved immune responses
- Balanced hormones
- Stronger muscles
- Fully functional organs
It’s Time to Experience True Wellness
Functional wellness can’t cure everything and it doesn’t replace the need for traditional medical treatments for patients who are suffering from chronic diseases. It can, however, help to promote healing and maintain optimal functioning in healthy people and make it easier for the human body to address common problems like joint pain, headaches, depression, sexual dysfunction, and certain types of digestive and liver problems. Schedule an appointment at a functional wellness center to experience the difference.
