Functional truly means “how” you function. The functional medicine approach is to find an underlying root cause of your condition and get you back to homeostasis or within harmony with your body. This does not mean you have a life-threatening disease, but it could be a chronic disease, or you have been to every doctor without answers, and you’re simply sick of being sick and tired.
Functional medicine is the application of a detailed history that consists of how, when, where, and why you are seeking help. Things that could contribute to a condition or disease include genetics, lifestyle, food allergies, environmental allergies or toxins, and many others. A functional medicine (FM) physician should provide a complete physical exam, neurological testing, and, if needed, blood tests. Most FM physicians will typically want a patient to change their diet and medication and also add or increase exercise, but you already know that. Dr. Trites does not perform functional medicine because, in Texas, he is licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic. What does this mean? Chiropractors are not licensed to perform medicine in Texas. Instead, he assesses whether your condition is structural and therefore requires structural corrections. However, you could have chemical, electrical, organic, even stress-related causes or a combination of any of these. A plan for your recovery and maintenance is created individually for you so that you may function, and age, at your optimum ability. Dr. Trites will create a truly customized, individual plan for you.
Traditional medical doctors are not trained for this type of service, and in managed care, you most likely have a condition that is affecting more than one of your body’s systems. Our medical community specializes in cardiovascular, neurology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, dermatology, and other disciplines. They are trained for acute infection, acute trauma, acute inflammation, and they are best for emergencies. It gets complicated for patients when their condition covers multiple systems. Name a condition that isn’t? Chronic conditions go even beyond what is taught in current Functional Medicine classes.
Most FM practitioners take six weekends on digestion, detoxification, hormone, immune, cardiovascular, and metabolism and pass a test. While these are great classes, if you don’t have a functioning nervous system to help you digest properly, your success rate goes down. If you can’t ambulate properly, all of these systems are going to be under stress, and the nervous and digestive systems can be inhibited and less efficient. Research shows that we must evaluate blood chemistry, the nervous system, and joint function to set up a plan for success.
Dr. Trites is a diplomat in the American Board of Chiropractic Internists and is board-eligible with the American Board of Clinical Nutrition and the American Board of Chiropractic Nutrition. He is certified in acupuncture, natural family medicine, and chiropractic sports medicine and is on pace to complete coursework in functional neurology and is integrating all of this into functional connectivity. These systems must be working for a patient to heal properly, and all systems within your body must be connected. Dr. Trites is known for helping his patients attain their health goals and unlock their potential. Our thorough approach incorporates facets of physiology, brain function, nutrition, and laboratory monitoring that enables us to help thousands of patients heal from a myriad of conditions. The bottom line—we help you get well