About Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores optimal health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual.
The Functional Medicine Approach
The Functional Medicine model is an individualised, patient-centred, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.
Functional medicine requires a detailed understanding of each patient's genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages client data to direct personalised treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.
By addressing the root cause, rather than symptoms, practitioners become oriented to identifying the complexity of the disease. They may find one condition has many different causes and, likewise, one cause may result in many different conditions. As a result, Functional Medicine treatment targets the specific manifestations of disease in each individual.
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.
As illustrated in the diagram below, a diagnosis can be the result of more than one cause. For example, depression can be caused by many different factors, including inflammation. Likewise, a cause such as inflammation may lead to a number of different diagnoses, including depression. The precise manifestation of each cause depends on the individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle, and only treatments that address the right cause will have lasting benefits beyond symptom suppression.
What is Functional Medicine?
Watch the video below by IFM Certified Practitioners explaining how Functional Medicine treats the whole person by addressing the underlying causes of disease. Functional Medicine is an individualised evidence-based and systems-based approach to patient care. By focusing on the root causes of chronic illness and sustainable lifestyle change, Functional Medicine expands the diagnostic and treatment options of providers. Visit IFM.org to learn more.
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