Thrive, don't just survive: Finding the reason you are sick, tired or in pain
Most acute and chronic diseases are created by exposure to toxins, microbes, allergens, poor diet, stress and mechanical injury. Any perturbation to the body by any of those six items will cause a change in how the body functions: an adaptation for the good or bad. Overtime with consistent attack from one or any combination of those items the body falls ill. Functional medicine involves the use of all the tools available: laboratory testing, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, supplements, herbals, vitamins/minerals, genetic testing and most importantly listening to the you, the patient.
Using the various tools within functional medicine, we can determine the why you are feeling tired, sick, stressed, out of control, lost, depressed, wired and in pain. We then determine what to do about those issues we find by treating the blood, lymphatics, immune system, hormonal balances, nervous system and energy production. Within those six systems we are able to work with you on your issues and get you on the mend.
Each of the tools we use for care, as noted in the first paragraph, has an affect on the bodies systems noted in paragraph two. Picture it as an intertwined web of interactions: toxins, microbes, allergens, diet, stress and mechanical injury cause changes in the blood, lymphatic, immune, hormones, nervous systems and the production of energy. The different systems all influence each other, one does not go out of balance without the others being perturbed.
The response over time is the domino effect. If one system goes down another is sure to follow: like diabetes, cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and dementia sequence. The patterns of sequential systems failure is easy to follow when talking with patients about their health issues. Many layers build upon each other, but taking each part individually does not correct the systems, it makes the pattern fail further.
The ability to find the patterns while observing you as a whole person and then applying the tools are the keys to successfully returning you to thriving and not just surviving. In my practice, sometimes it is a simple adjustment to correct a mechanical issue like pain. Often I am seeing long-term build up of processes that we must peel back all the overlay of systems failure while we are getting to the core of the problems, these conditions can require many (if not all) of the tools I have to aid in getting you back to thriving.
Jerry Bailey is a Chiropractic Physician, Certified Acupuncturist and a Functional Medicine provider. He holds a Masters of Science in Nutrition and Functional Medicine. He is also a professor of Neuro-Endocrinology at the University of Western States in the Masters of Science in Nutrition and Functional Medicine. Dr. Bailey works with patients on their health issues including IBS, Crohn's, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hormone imbalances, stress, fatigue, chronic pain/fibromyalgia, headaches along with back pain, neck pain and arm/leg pain. Visit www.lakesideholistic.com for more information.