NIH studies have confirmed that over the last ten years, there has been significant growth in the holistic healthcare setting. The number of adults using at least one complementary health approach rose from 19.2% in 2002 to 36.7% 10 years later, with increases for things like online growth, pain management, and specific approaches, including massage therapy and yoga. Projections indicate that over the next 5 years, it will continue to grow at nearly 24%.
Within that field, a functional medical doctor provides a unique systems-based approach that focuses on treating causes rather than symptoms, taking into consideration holistic alternatives like yoga or massage therapy, as well as diet and environment and the impact these can have on emotional, physical, and mental health. But what do functional medicine doctors do?
What Is a Functional Medical Doctor?
Functional medical doctors are doctors who take a personalized, root-cause approach to health, how this differs from conventional care. This differs from seeing a functional doctor in Dubai in that a functional medicine doctor will focus on the interconnectedness of all your systems, work to understand the root cause of any ailments or issues, and provide a holistic solution.
-Core Philosophy
The core philosophy of functional medicine has to do with identifying the root causes of an illness, not just symptoms. The body has many interconnected systems, so an imbalance in one system can lead to an imbalance in several systems, which might manifest as unique symptoms that would, with conventional medicine, be treated as individual symptoms with individual medicines rather than treated based on supplements, lifestyle modifications, and nutrition.
-How a Functional Medicine Doctor Dubai-Based Differs from General Practitioners
A functional medicine doctor in Dubai differs from a general practitioner in one key way: they focus on finding the root cause of an illness, whether that is the environment, lifestyle, genetics, or an imbalance in another system, rather than providing care based solely on acute symptoms.
For example:
Mary is complaining about indigestion and other digestive-related symptoms to her general practitioner. Her conventional doctor looks at these as a set of symptoms and prescribes medication designed specifically to reduce things like gas and diarrhea.
This focuses on the symptoms, specifically the digestive-related symptoms, but it does nothing to figure out, let alone treat, what the actual cause of those symptoms might be.
With a functional medicine doctor in Dubai, Mary might be prescribed a series of allergy tests or food intolerance tests to see where lifestyle and diet might be contributing to symptoms. Findings could indicate food intolerances to alcohol and other foods that Mary regularly eats. As such, her functional medicine doctor might help suggest lifestyle changes like no longer drinking alcohol, exercising more, and changing her nutrition in order to reduce the underlying cause of her symptoms.
In some cases, Mary might still need medicine to help reduce those symptoms, but that prescription would be a part of her care plan, not the entire plan.
What Do Functional Medicine Doctors Actually Do?
So what is it that functional medicine doctors actually do? Based on Mary's example, we can see that they do many things.
-Deep Patient Histories and Advanced Testing
The first thing that a functional medicine doctor will do is take a deep patient history, take the time to actually get to know a patient, their history, their current environment, and lifestyle, as well as a history of any medical conditions or symptoms in their family to help better understand how genetics might be used to optimize health.
Part of this often includes advanced testing, things that test for underlying conditions and not just the presence or lack thereof of a specific illness.
For example, if Mary were to visit her conventional doctor, the doctor would likely ask about her current symptoms and nothing more and then order a series of basic tests, like blood tests to rule out cancer, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), or Celiac disease.
Once those tests came back negative, the doctor would likely tell Mary that she didn't have these conditions and she could go on as normal.
With functional medicine, other tests would be ordered to look at more advanced potential causes like food intolerances, and this could help better reveal the causes of her underlying issues and provide a more holistic form of treatment that supports her natural healing processes.
-Personalized Treatment Plans
As mentioned, personalized treatment plans are a big part of what a functional medicine doctor does, particularly when it comes to treating underlying causes and not just acute symptoms.
-Focus on Diet, Lifestyle, and Long-Term Wellness
Part of these personalized treatment plans not only include medicine where appropriate but also lifestyle changes and nutritional changes that could support long-term wellness. In some cases, holistic and integrative therapies would be combined with conventional treatments and include things like supplements, yoga, or stress management techniques.
Key Differences from Conventional Care
There are several key differences between conventional care and functional medicine.
-Conventional
Conventional medicine is often summarized by quick visits, where doctors ask about symptoms and, within ten minutes, write prescriptions. These prescriptions are meant to treat the symptoms and not necessarily the underlying issues or causes. In fact, conventional medicine, by design, is there to treat acute symptoms.
This means that a patient looking to improve their long-term wellness with preventative methods, like diet changes or lifestyle adjustments, won't get the answers they need from a conventional doctor who is more concerned with alleviating immediate pain.
-Functional
By comparison, functional medicine is more time-rich, there to listen to patients and learn more about their environment, their lifestyle, eating habits, and more. This type of holistic care is more of a preventative approach, something that looks at potential causes and how those might Advance if left untreated and, from there, what type of lifestyle modifications or personalized treatment plans could help support the body's natural healing processes and optimize overall health.
Why Functional Medicine Matters Today
So why does functional medicine matter today?
- It helps address chronic issues, particularly things like fatigue, gut problems, and autoimmune conditions. These are things that are affecting higher and higher numbers of people across the UAE but are not as easily treated through conventional medicine.
- It also helps patients to feel seen, heard, and empowered. When you have a functional medical doctor who really listens to you, you will feel empowered to take what they say seriously, to use their advice in terms of your holistic treatment approach, and to incorporate things like lifestyle modifications and dietary changes as necessary.
But what can you expect when you reach out to a qualified functional medical doctor?
Functional Doctor in Dubai: What to Expect
Research indicates that the use of alternative or functional medicine in UAE has seen significant growth over the last ten years, with projected growth expected to rise another 12% by 2030. A big part of the demand for a functional doctor Dubai based is in part because functional medicine incorporates traditional healing practices and longevity.
When you reach out to a functional medical doctor in Dubai, the processes won't be as unfamiliar as you expect. You can expect to meet with a certified medical professional who will review your history, get to know you and what your main concerns are, and ask questions to better understand your current lifestyle, eating habits, and so forth.
From there, you might undergo a series of tests that could include saliva tests or blood tests, depending on what is called for, and receive your results and personalized treatment plan after the fact.
Summing Up
What do functional medicine doctors do? They focus on their patients, tailoring treatment plans based on needs, values, and preferences. They look for underlying factors that might contribute to the disease instead of just treating the symptoms of a disease using integrative therapies to help the body return to its optimal function.
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