Functional medicine is a practice that treats the root cause of disease and dysfunction, rather than just the symptoms. It addresses the body as a whole, using the latest innovations in lab testing to help practitioners identify underlying causes of chronic health problems. In this guide, you’ll learn how functional medicine is used in assisted living in Ridgeland, MS and why it’s important for a resident’s overall well-being.
Get a Full Health History
The first step in functional medicine is getting a full health history. This includes asking about family history, lifestyle habits and diet, exercise patterns, medications, sleep patterns, and more. By knowing the factors that affect your overall wellness and the health of someone who lives with you, you develop a complete picture of what’s going on and make smart decisions about moving forward.
Don’t Ignore the Impact of Lifestyle
You’ve heard it before, but lifestyle greatly impacts your health. You may be doing everything right in the diet and exercise department, but if you’re still not feeling well, consider adjusting your lifestyle to find the root of your problems. Here are some examples of lifestyle factors that affect health:
- Your job
- The people you spend time with
- Your hobbies
For example, if you work at a desk all day and don’t get much activity during the work week, it’s important that you make time for physical activity outside of work hours. If you don’t have friends who eat healthy food, or exercise regularly, consider joining an organization with similar interests as yours. Or meet with groups where everyone shares similar views about healthy living.
Look for Root Cause
When looking for the root cause of a problem, it’s important to look at factors that may have caused the issue. For example, if someone has high blood pressure and is on medication, there could be many causes: maybe they don’t exercise enough, or they eat too much sodium. The doctor would want to know what lifestyle changes can be made in order to reduce their risk of having another episode of high blood pressure. The same principle applies when looking at any chronic health condition in assisted living communities. You need to ask yourself why something happened in order to prevent future occurrences from happening again.
Create a Comprehensive Treatment Plan
When you have a treatment plan in place, you should be able to address all aspects of the patient’s health and create a comprehensive plan. For example, if you have high blood pressure, consider incorporating exercise and eat a balanced diet. If other issues arise during the course of treatment, or additional symptoms appear later on, it’s important to get another comprehensive evaluation done as soon as possible. This will allow you to adjust your treatment plan and find ways to improve your overall feelings.
Check in Regularly and Make Adjustments
The point of functional medicine is to work with the body as it is, not against it. That means you shouldn’t expect to get better overnight. But it also means you should check in regularly and make necessary adjustments. As your health improves, there will be other areas where you can improve as well.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found this guide to be helpful and informative. Whether you live in a senior living community, or want to find one, we encourage you to contact us at 601.207.8258. We offer free consultations and services to help make your daily life easier, safer, and more enjoyable.
