What Is Functional Medicine?

America spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world and we have some of the poorest outcomes.

Rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic medical conditions have skyrocketed over the past two decades.  The last two years of the pandemic have revealed even more cracks in the system, with depression, anxiety and addiction also substantially on the rise.

The Western healthcare system is more strained than ever. Many specialists are booking out months in advance and, when a patient does finally get in, they often see that doctor for 10 minutes or less. 

At the end of the appointment, there will usually be one of two solutions offered: drugs or surgery.

If your problem cannot be solved with drugs or surgery, doctors may call it incurable or will even sometimes insist that the issue is “all in your head.” 

At The Osteopathic Way we have been focused on taking care of our patients on a deeper level from the beginning.  We embody the osteopathic tenets that include care for the body as a whole – mind, body and spirit. 

While our efforts have been mainly focused on musculoskeletal conditions, the addition of Amber Weiss, PA-C, LAc to our practice has allowed us to expand our approach. 

Many conditions that cause pain in the muscles or joints are rooted in systemic dysfunctions, and by bringing Amber on we are able to diagnose and treat those underlying issues successfully, allowing our patients to heal on a deeper level than before.

Functional medicine seeks to find the source of health dysfunction and correct it using a combination of lifestyle changes, supplements, and medication if needed.  We combine these with the treatments offered in our office – Osteopathic Manipulation, Regenerative Medicine and Acupuncture – creating even more opportunity for healing. 

Finding the source of dysfunction can involve a wide range of strategies, including detailed medical and personal history, a thorough physical exam, and appropriate lab testing (including some tests that most doctors never learn about). Once the underlying factors contributing to illness have been discovered, a skillful practitioner will be able to put that information into a plan with clear steps to follow. 

By following those steps, abundant health can once again become possible.

This approach takes time, much more than the usual 10 minute appointments that many doctors allow. 

If you are ready to get to the underlying root of your health concerns, we invite you to set up an initial 60 minute appointment with Amber Weiss, our Stanford trained physician assistant and licensed acupuncturist who has studied hundreds of hours of functional nutrition and is experienced with many functional medicine labs.

Western allopathic medicine has many strengths, including emergency medicine.  If someone is having a heart attack, stroke, severe infection, or car accident, the Western medical approach can be truly life saving.  However, once the bleeding has stopped or the infection has cleared, it is important to have a plan to get back to robust health.

While the allopathic approach has thrived in acute situations, drugs and surgery are often only a bandaid when it comes to chronic health issues. 

While most doctors do care deeply about their patients, their primary treatment tools are still drugs and surgery, which do little to address the underlying problems.  

In our office, we offer an innovative approach to medicine that integrates the best of osteopathic medicine with other holistic modalities and functional medicine. 

Would you like to feel less stressed?  Quit having pain or tension in your neck or jaw?  Lose that extra pandemic weight? Feel more rested and like you can do the activities you want? 

Call or text us today to schedule an appointment.