The Functional Medicine Difference: Finding Your Path to Lasting Wellness

Functional medicine (FM) is a patient-centered approach to medicine that views the body as an interconnected system. FM focuses not on merely managing symptoms of chronic disease but on determining the root cause(s) of that disease and developing a treatment plan to address it.

FM lies at the intersection of lifestyle factors and advanced lab testing, which allows for deeper dives into what’s ultimately causing the problem and how to fix it. Practitioners work holistically, looking at the big picture of your physical, mental, and emotional health and how they interrelate.

At Interventional Pain Center, anesthesiologist and fellowship-trained interventional pain medicine physician James Stephens, DO, and pain specialist Tyler Phillips, MD, both offer functional medicine approaches for their patients at their new location on Interstate Drive in Norman, Oklahoma. 

Here’s what they want you to know about FM and how it can help you achieve lasting wellness.

Who can become a practitioner of functional medicine?

Functional medicine “practitioners” have a variety of backgrounds and expertise. Some are doctors of medicine (MDs), like Dr. Phillips. Some are doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO)s, like Dr. Stephens. A DO, like an MD, has done residencies, is licensed to practice medicine, and can become board certified.

However, some professionals who practice FM are not doctors. Physician assistants and chiropractors, for example, are frequent FM providers, but they haven’t gone to medical school. They usually take additional courses specific to functional medicine, but the American Association of Family Physicians has accredited some, though not all, functional medicine courses.

It’s important, therefore, that you research your practitioner before seeking treatment, as some may not have the necessary training. Rest assured that the doctors at Interventional Pain Center are highly qualified and certified to provide functional medicine services to their patients.

Benefits of FM for patients

Functional medicine expands the patient communication and evaluation process and prioritizes accessible lifestyle-based therapies that enhance your treatment plan. The doctor strives to understand your unique medical history and evaluates how interactions between environmental, lifestyle, and genetic factors influence your overall health and wellness.

This understanding of the patient as a whole helps the doctor identify the root causes of any dysfunction and design a care plan that’s tailored to your unique needs and that can help you reach your health goals.

In the FM model, the patient becomes an active partner in improving their health and changing disease outcomes. This partnership informs the best pathway toward those goals, which may include therapies and lifestyle modifications that aren’t traditionally used in Western medicine.

Since FM practitioners focus on the interconnectedness of bodily systems, evaluation involves extensive patient histories, assessments of lifestyle factors, and social determinants of health. These, together, help them identify patterns that may contribute to an unbalanced system and disease.

Therapeutic interventions not only include those found in traditional medical practices, such as medication and surgery, but they may also include a combination of diet, exercise, stress management, pharmaceuticals and botanicals, and other lifestyle modifications.

According to the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), because FM involves a partnership between patient and physician and the physician considers all factors that contribute to patient health, the practice improves patient satisfaction, patient outcomes, and provider well-being.

If you’re struggling with a painful condition and haven’t found an answer with traditional medicine, Interventional Pain Center can help with its functional medicine approach. Call the office at 405-759-8407, or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation with Dr. Stephens or Dr. Phillips today.