Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach. Our society is experiencing a significant increase in the number of people who suffer from complex, chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness, and autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto’s disease or rheumatoid arthritis. Functional Medicine seeks to identify the root causes of disease, and to prevent future illness.
The concept of “functional medicine” springs from the idea that the body is one integrated system, not a collection of independent organs divided up into variou medical specialties. Rather than simply addressing different symptoms across separate areas, Functional Medicine seeks to treat the underlying issues that altogether affect the unified system of your body.
The principles that characterize Functional Medicine care are as follows:
- Functional Medicine practitioners spend time with patients, listening to their comprehensive histories and analyzing genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health.
- Functional Medicine encourages patient-centered care. By listening to each patient and learning each story, the patient becomes part of the discovery process. Treatment can then be tailored to address each patient’s individual needs.
- Functional Medicine integrates traditional Western medical practices with what is sometimes called “Integrative” or “Alternative” medicine. This creates a focus on disease prevention through nutrition and lifestyle components, while also allowing us to use cutting edge diagnostic techniques, genetic analysis, and combinations of botanical, pharmaceutical, and pharmaceutical supplementation.
- Functional Medicine practitioners look “upstream” to consider the complex web of interactions in a patient’s history, physiology, and lifestyle that can lead to chronic illness. Each individual’s unique genetic makeup is taken into consideration, along with internal (mind, body, and spirit) and external (physical, lifestyle, and social environment) factors that can affect overall functional health.
Through the Functional Medicine approach, patients who have been searching for solutions to their medical problems for many years are able to finally find hope. Rather than being treated with medications that only address the symptoms, Dr. Storch’s team diagnose medical problems at a root cause level and begin treating these underlying causes, allowing the body to begin the healing process and find long-term relief. Since the founding of his practice, Dr. Storch & the AMFM team has helped countless patients heal from life-altering conditions such as brain fog, chronic fatigue, autoimmune conditions, chronic digestive disorders, thyroid conditions, metabolic disorders, adrenal/hormonal imbalances, and so much more.
Whether Advanced Metabolic & Functional Medicine Center is the first medical practice you are visiting for treatment, or the most recent one, we’ll do everything in our power to find an effective and appropriate treatment for you and to ensure that this is also the last stop you’ll need to make.
Take The First Step Today On Your Journey Back To Health
Maybe you have some questions you’d like to ask before you make a decision on becoming a patient. Our patient care coordinator is standing by, happy to answer any questions you have to see whether or not AMFM Center is right for you.