What Types of Lab Tests are Commonly Used for Functional Medicine? Functional Medicine is just that, it’s Functional. Functional Medicine takes a look at your whole body, not just one blood test, not just one symptom. Functional Medicine Doctors want to know everything that is going on in your body. That’s why, when you see us at The Healing Center Denver, you won’t just get one test, you could need several because our Functional Medicine Doctors look at everything. If you have ever said, “I still don’t feel good, but my lab tests look normal,” you NEED a functional medicine doctor! Basic/General Labs: Blood draws can tell the Functional Medicine and Traditional doctors a lot about what’s going on in your body. That is why getting a Comprehensive lab test done once a year is encouraged to make sure that there aren’t any crazy things happening. At the Healing Center Denver, the doctors will do a CBC/Differential, Metabolic panel, Lipid Panel, Vitamin-D, plus a FULL Thyroid panel (this includes TPO antibodies and all the T’s: T3, reverse T3, T4, etc.) among other things. Full comprehensive blood panels can tell us so much about our bodies. Is your thyroid low? Is your metabolism broken? Do you have an infection? Is your body inflamed? How are your kidneys doing? And your liver? There is a large range of possibilities and answers to these questions. Food Antibody Testing: If you are tired of guessing what foods are causing you reactions and which ones are safe to eat, then this next test is for you. The food antibody tests will give you a clear...
What is Chiropractic Care and Why it Matters as a Part of Functional Medicine? As functional medicine practitioners, our job is to have as many tools in our toolbox as possible and to know which is appropriate to use and when. One tool we use at The Healing Center is chiropractic care. A chiropractic adjustment is a manual therapy technique we often think of as treating pain. Chiropractic is amazing at getting rid of neck pain and headaches, pain and stiffness in your jaw, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, as well as pain in the hips, pelvis, knees, and ankles. But it is much more than just that. When you are adjusted it resets the nervous system so your brain can properly see what is happening throughout the body and recalibrate function as needed. Research shows adjustments positively affect immune function, blood pressure, and stress responses, actually, all things your nervous system regulates are impacted by an adjustment. You are an intricately self-regulated system and to heal we don't want interference at the level of the nervous system. Pain is just the last resort to tell you to pay attention…much like the oil light in your car. Stiffness and tightness are the first indicators of dysfunction at the level of the spine which affects the nervous system input and output and eventually leads to issues in the gut, thyroid, pancreas, etc. Misalignments or restrictions in the spine, called subluxations, can interfere with the normal function of the nervous system and surrounding tissues. Chiropractic adjustments aim to correct these misalignments or restrictions, thereby reducing nerve irritation and restoring proper joint function. This can alleviate pain,...
