One of the most talked-about topics in the past two years has been about the pandemic and the virus that caused it. That’s entirely understandable as literally, everyone in the world was dealing with it at the same time. Luckily, we live in an age where tech and other developments and achievements are on the rise, and it sometimes seems like not a month goes by that we don’t hear about some latest tech accomplishment or scientific breakthrough. As for the pandemic, this was great as not that much time passed until the vaccine was safe for us to take, and regardless of what some may think about it, it was at least a sign that soon, things are going to get better. Now, since everything evolves and changes so fast, most scientific fields follow this trend as well, and medical science is not an exception, which is why today we also have many branches of medicine.
Main medicine branches and fields
Every science differs in terms of how scientists look at some problem, and the same is here, as medical professionals are constantly working on improving themselves by using different approaches. That is why today, we have three main branches and many separate fields or subbranches within them. The main branches are the basic sciences, specialties, and interdisciplinary fields, and every one of them has many approaches that differ in practice. Basically, there isn’t an illness or virus or some special approach that can benefit us all that’s forgotten or unexplored.
Now, when we have learned that, let’s focus on the fields and approaches that help us improve and maintain our current health and the ones that are more about creating therapies for many illnesses that pose a threat to our overall well-being. Of course, this is a more plain way to explain it, but if you want to learn how these medical approaches are actually named, the first one is called an integrative and the second one is functional medicine, but, in order to get a better grasp on what they are and why they are important, let’s first learn more about them and then focus on their differences.
Integrative approach
The main idea of the integrative approach in medicine is that it is not enough to heal just the body and focus on disease, but we need to focus on our mind and spirit too. Focusing just on disease might help the patient, but it is not enough if they do not dedicate themselves to the healing of their whole body, and certain conditions or diseases can easily occur again. Regarding integrative medicine, complete healing is possible only if we use the traditional treatment methods and alternative ones together, and using just one of them cannot give the desired results.
The person cannot be healthy if only their body is healthy, and it is necessary to take care of mind and spirit too and focus on different aspects of being such as emotional, mental, and social. To achieve that, a person needs to take some traditional treatments and medicines, but combined with various alternative methods. These methods are popular today as they are focused on natural medicine instead of using various drugs, and they are good for our bodies. Besides natural supplements and medicines made of herbs, other methods are various therapies such as nutritional, detoxification, and behavioral ones.
Functional approach
When it comes to the functional approach, it is similar to the integrative one, it is based on a similar philosophy, but it is more focused on the body itself and its optimal function. Regarding the functional approach, every person is different, and it is necessary to focus on their needs and find the best treatment for each of them. Because of that, it is important to rely on research based on science and make sure that every organ in the body properly works since it is the only way to achieve the optimal functioning of the whole body. By using this approach and research based on science, we can easily find the problem and the best treatment based on the patient’s needs. Once the problem is found, it is crucial to cure it with natural supplements and use the traditional ones only when it is the only solution. Focusing on the mind and spirit is also a crucial part of functional medicine, and patients need to change their habits and lifestyle in order to remain healthy. That means the focus is on getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and trying to reduce a stress level to the minimum. There are various techniques that can be used to achieve that, and some of them are yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and everything based on improving the overall being. For those interested in this approach but are not sure where or how to find the best and most trustworthy clinic, Functional Medicine Toronto should be your first option, and if you are interested to learn more about that, make sure to visit thedempsterclinic.com.
The importance of functional medicine
We all take so much care about our overall well-being, and since that’s the case, following instructions and implementing practices of functional medicine should also be something we incorporate, as it will change and improve our lives so much. Even those with chronic problems and diseases can easily find a solution in functional medicine, which is the main reason why so many people are focusing on it. Scorpion Biological Services is an integrated contract research, and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on cell- and gene-based therapies and large molecule biologics.
The bottom line
Remember that many medical terms and fields did not exist just a century ago, meaning that many cures and vaccines were not an option back then. Doing so is perhaps the best way to get a better understanding of how much things have changed, and after reading everything mentioned above, it should get much clearer how integrative and functional medicine work and what they are. Also, since there was a lot of confusion regarding how they differ, hopefully, all that is in the past as you are now more familiar with both medical approaches.
