Clearly, the “pill for an ill” approach of the current healthcare model is not impacting our health trajectory, as evidenced by the ever increasing burden of chronic disease on our lives (and budgets). That’s why personalized medical care is being called the future of healthcare. It fulfills our need to take charge of our own health and work in partnership with an evolving and visionary generation of health  professionals.

You’ve probably heard the terms “integrative” or “functional” medicine, but you’re not really sure what they mean. The first thing you need to know is that integrative and functional medicine both work to promote the body’s natural healing response, they simply use different strategies to get there. 

In essence, integrative medicine seeks to address the individual as a whole and applies many different therapies to achieve wellness. Functional medicine uses the latest in research and nutritional and laboratory science and knowledge-gathering to further create personalized treatment plans that address the root cause of illness.

But of course, there’s much more to it than that. Today we’re going to demystify the similarities and differences between integrative medicine vs functional medicine to help you decide which personalized approach is best.

The Origins of Integrative Medicine

What is integrative medicine? What is alternative medicine? What is holistic medicine? What is functional medicine? These terms can be confusing and are often used interchangeably. To understand these terms and shed light on them we need to look at things from a more historical perspective.

Once upon a time, humans in families or in groups would use the natural world around us to try and solve problems of dis-ease. Healing traditions are diverse and organically come from the place and time where people developed strategies to treat the problems they confronted. 

There was no separation between the mind and the body. For example, in Chinese medicine, organs are taught as housing seats of emotion. In Chinese medicine the liver houses anger, the spleen houses worry, the kidney houses fear, and the lungs grief. 

In the textbook Integrative Medicine, Dr. David Rakel and Dr. Andrew Weill, both prominent leaders in the field, review a history of integrative medicine. They describe the split between mind and body as a key defining moment to understand how we have these paradigmatic differences between modern medicine as we know it and integrative medicine.

“It was not until the 1600s that a spiritual mathematician became worried that prevailing scientific materialistic thought would reduce the conscious mind to something that could be manipulated and controlled. René Descartes (1596-1650), respecting the great unknown, did his best to separate the mind and the body to protect the spirit from science. He believed that mind and spirit should be the focus of the church, thus leaving science to dissect the physical body.” 

This philosophy led to the “Cartesian split” of mind-body duality. Shortly afterward, John Locke (1632-1704) and David Hume (1711-1776) influenced the reductionist movement that shaped our science and medical system. 

The idea was that if we could reduce natural phenomena to greater simplicity, we could understand the larger whole.” [Integrative Medicine, David Rakel, Pg. 2]. This reductionist thinking ushered in a time of great discovery and advancement in Western culture.

“The scientific model led to greater understanding of the pathophysiologic basis of disease and the development of tools to help combat its influence. Subspecialization of medical care facilitated the application of the new information.” [Integrative Medicine, David Rakel, Pg. 2].

The Evolution of Integrative Medicine

The success of medical science in the 20th century also came with high costs. 

“The system encourages patients to believe that tools are the answer to their physical woes and discourages them from paying attention to the interplay of mind, community, and spirit. Technology is the golden calf in this scenario. We have become dependent on it, and overuse has widened the barrier of communication between patient and provider. The old tools of the trade—rapport, gestalt, intuition, and laying on of hands—were used less and less as powerful drugs and high-tech interventions became available.” [Integrative Medicine, David Rakel, Chapter 1; “Philosophy of Integrative Medicine”, page 3]

What the field of medicine had lost in its modernization, Integrative medicine was created to reclaim and restore. It refers to a re-integration of mind, body, and spirit reclaiming tools from a diverse and profound history of healing traditions and strategies, which put the patient in their entirety of existence, in the center of the care model.

As the need for integrative medicine approaches increased, the need to also understand its tools from an evidence-based and mechanistic perspective also arose.

Where does functional medicine come in?

I had studied several traditions of medicine from Ayurveda [Ayurvedic Healing, A Comprehensive Guide, David Frawley], to Western Herbology [Heal Your Life with Home Remedies and Herbs, Hanna Kroeger], to native American herbology [Cleanse and Purify Thyself, Rich Anderson], to Chinese Medicine [The Spark In The Machine, How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine; by Daniel Keown]. 

The healing traditions of the world are incredible to delve into and to apply in clinical practice. However, to match the mechanistic and systematic detail that became the standard language of science, there grew a need to understand integrative medicine through the lens taught to physicians in modern practice, i.e., the biochemistry and mechanics of the application of plants or practices or nutritional strategies to specific dis-ease states.

However, our knowledge base as humans continues to evolve. In the words of Jeffrey Bland, a leader in the field of Functional Medicine: “Disease is a delusion, one that has been shattered by the still-emerging science of genomics. Breakthrough discoveries over the last decade of the twentieth century and the first decade-plus of the 21st have demonstrated that your heart disease is not the same as mine, that everyone with type 2 diabetes is not just like everyone else with type 2 diabetes, that the people with rheumatoid arthritis or Alzheimer’s disease are not all similar to others with the same diagnosis. Rather, these so-called diseases are dysfunctions of each individual’s physiological functioning; they are due to varied causes, and they demand treatment approaches as different from one another as are the individuals.” [The Disease Delusion, by Jeffrey Bland (Part one, The Context)].

What Dr. Bland is describing is not just applying healing traditions to disease states, but asking ourselves, what is an individual’s sum-total of exposures (physical/genetic/environmental/nutritional/emotional/spiritual/ancestral) has resulted in a state we call a disease state but represents an imbalance and can be addressed in a bio-individual way as opposed to an empirically prescriptive way.

Functional medicine takes integrative medicine and further “integrates” it with our growing understanding of how our bio-individuality interacts with our exposures to lead to imbalance, where the greater our consciousness of the bio-individual drivers (supported by ever-growing to appreciate these in an evidence-based way) the greater our ability to unravel disease drivers and restore optimal health.

Functional medicine no longer aims to understand the body in terms of its organ systems alone (lungs, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, endocrine, nervous, immune, etc., but rather as a network of systems working in concert in incredibly complex networks to achieve the core physiological processes that define how we function:

• Assimilation and elimination
• Detoxification
• Defense
• Cellular communication
• Cellular transport
• Energy
• Structure

Functional medicine represents the next organic evolution of medicine, where it thinks about how all our systems relate to one another. Functional medicine continues to remedy the shortcomings of the reductionist Western model that Integrative Medicine answers but evolves it to include this relational systems thinking, with evolving bench research especially in the interplay between our genetic blueprints and our environment, a burgeoning field dubbed “omics” for short.

What is integrative medicine in modern times?

Integrative medicine doctors make use of all appropriate therapies to treat the underlying cause of disease. Treatment options may include homeopathy, herbal medicine, bodywork, chiropractic care, acupuncture, energy work, and behavioral therapy.

Integrative practitioners evaluate the patient as a whole, not just a disease. The patient’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs are considered equally important because each one affects the others, as well as the entire well-being of the patient.

Practitioners and patients are equal partners in the healing process and treatments are tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Less invasive, more natural interventions are preferred over medication and surgery, and all healing sciences are utilized to support the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Integrative medicine is a specialty that emphasizes the integration of complementary therapies and conventional treatment. It’s like getting the best of both worlds, with a priority on evidence and safety. 

Integrative medicine also teaches healthy skills and behaviors that support the patient’s ability to care for their health and remain disease-free for their lifetime.

What are some examples of integrative medicine?

• Acupuncture for chronic pain, neuropathy, or hot flashes
• Healing touch therapy/Bodywork for anxiety or chronic pain
• Diet and supplement recommendations for general health
• Lifestyle interventions such as yoga and meditation to reduce stress

What is functional medicine in modern times?

The beauty of functional medicine is how it partners with the evolution of our forward-thinking society. In many ways, it’s like a bridge between integrative and conventional medicine.

Functional medicine seeks to address the underlying cause of illness related to gut health, genetic predispositions, and the environment in which the patient lives. Functional medicine centers around the principle that one condition can have many causes, or there could be one cause for many different conditions. 

For example, depression can be caused by a combination of things, such as low thyroid, overuse of antibiotics, and vitamin D deficiency. On the other hand, chronic inflammation could be the cause of a number of inter-related conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and depression. 

Functional medicine recognizes that all of the body’s systems are connected. What affects one system generally affects them all. Therefore, when one system isn’t functioning correctly, it can throw the others off balance.

The functional medicine doctor develops a connection with their patients, discovers unhealthy patterns, determines the root cause of those problems, and recommends personalized treatment plans and lifestyle modifications to address the underlying cause of illness.

Functional medicine dives deep into the patient’s history, environment, lifestyle, and biochemistry to determine what is causing the illness. The strategy is used to find imbalances that may lead to disease and restore maximum function between all physiologic functions of the body.

What are some examples of functional medicine?

• Specialized testing to determine the root cause of illness
• Nutritional and botanical supplements
• Tailored IV infusions
• Detoxification with colon hydrotherapy to promote balance and healing
• Hormone therapy
• Natural treatments over drugs or surgery
• Microbiome and immune system support

Frequently Asked Questions About Integrative vs Functional Medicine

• Are integrative and functional medicine holistic?

Holistic medicine is a beautiful and broad term used to describe a medical approach that is equally focused on physical, mental, and spiritual health. Functional and integrative medicine are both considered holistic because they utilize a big picture approach to whole-person health. 

• Is functional medicine legit?

Yes, functional medicine is 100% legit. Functional medicine doctors are board-certified medical doctors who have gone through the same rigorous medical school training required by all licensed physicians. In fact, many have also received additional specialized training. For example, Dr. Rahav is triple board-certified in the fields of internal medicine, functional medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine, and also holds an additional certification in acupuncture.

• How are integrative and functional medicine different from conventional medicine?

In conventional medicine, the body is viewed as a series of organ systems that are typically considered separately. The assessment, treatment, and even the practitioner are generally focused on the specific organ system the disorder is associated with.

This model of medicine has made spectacular advances in many areas, such as emergency medicine, surgical interventions, diagnostic radiology, and infectious disease. 

Unfortunately, it has also become the medical model applied to the entire spectrum of healthcare, including preventive medicine, nutrition, and chronic disease management… with less-than-ideal results.

Perpetual suppression of symptoms without addressing the root cause of illness has led to widespread dissatisfaction among practitioners and patients alike. Integrative medicine and functional medicine are becoming more mainstream in modern times as a result of this continued deterioration and dissatisfaction. 

The primary focus of integrative medicine and functional medicine is to provide symptom relief while also addressing the underlying cause of illness and promoting the body’s natural ability to heal itself, with the ultimate goal of achieving lasting wellness.

• What is alternative vs complementary medicine?

The term alternative medicine is generally used to describe a non-mainstream medical modality that is being used in place of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine simply means that an alternative medicine modality is being used in conjunction with conventional medicine.

Integrative vs Functional Medicine: What’s the Best Approach?

The human body is incredibly complex when it is in a state of good health, but when you add an imbalance or disorder to the mix, that complexity grows exponentially. 

Integrative and functional medicine each have their own merits, so choosing an approach that encompasses both modalities is the obvious choice. 

At Rahav Wellness, we use a combination of integrative and functional medicine to evaluate each patient and provide the optimal, personalized care required for treatment, recovery, and lifelong health. 

Our goal is to provide our patients with treatment options that help them avoid surgery and medication overload while empowering their ability to be their own best health advocate.

Resources

Are you interested in expanding your knowledge of the history and foundational principles of internal and functional medicine? Here is a bibliography of the books we’ve referenced in this article.

• Rakel, D. (2017) Integrative Medicine. Elsevier
• Frawley, D. (2001) Ayurvedic Healing, A Comprehensive Guide. Lotus Press
• Kroeger, H. (1998) Heal Your Life with Home Remedies and Herbs. Hay House Inc.
• Anderson, R. (2000) Cleanse and Purify Thyself. Christobe Publishing
• Keown, D. (2014) The Spark in The Machine, How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine. Singing Dragon
• Bland, J. (2014) The Disease Delusion. Harper Wave

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Neural therapy is a safe and effective therapy for the treatment of chronic pain. But even more than that, neural therapy is a wonderful complementary technique that offers a variety of benefits for conditions related to the autonomic nervous system, from digestive issues to menstrual irregularities and much more.

Don’t worry if that all sounds a bit confusing! We’re going to explain everything in detail, from the benefits of neural therapy and how it works to who can benefit from the treatment.

What is Neural Therapy?

Chronic illness and pain are often preceded by a dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System, or the ANS. In short, neural therapy is a treatment that repairs dysfunction in the ANS. 

The ANS is part of our central nervous system. It controls the automatic functions within our bodies. This includes, breathing, digestion, metabolism, regulating body temperature, hormone production, circulation, immune function, and much more. 

In fact, every cell in our bodies is connected to and controlled by the ANS. When there’s trauma in a certain area of the body, the ANS increases circulation to that area. If the circulation doesn’t eventually return to normal, interference fields develop.

Scar tissue is one of the most common causes of interference fields. The damaged tissue creates an abnormal signal within the ANS, which is then transmitted throughout the body. That’s why we sometimes experience pain in areas that aren’t close to the scar.

Interestingly, the ANS can sometimes react to interference fields in remote places of the body. For example, a scar from a C-section could be contributing to a patient’s chronic migraines.

Interference fields can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Chronic illness
• Physical and Emotional Trauma
• Surgery
• Infections
• Childbirth
• Vaccines
• Tattoos
• Cuts and Burns
• Dental Work

Neural therapy is used to correct interference fields and restore optimal function to the ANS. The treatment restores the body’s natural ability to heal itself and allows complementary therapies to work more effectively.

How Does Neural Therapy Work?

Now that you understand how the Autonomic Nervous System functions and what interference fields are, let’s explore how neural therapy works and how it all ties together.

The first thing you need to know is that the surface of the cells within an interference field have an abnormal electrical charge, which causes abnormal signals to be sent from the nerves to the brain. These signals trigger an abnormal response in the ANS.

During a neural therapy treatment, an injection of local anesthetic (usually procaine or lidocaine) is inserted into these abnormal cells, which normalizes their electrical charge. This improves cellular function and helps stabilize the system by allowing toxins to leave the cells and essential nutrients to enter. This reduces pain in that area and restores the cells’ ability to heal.

• How is a Neural Injection Treatment Performed?

Usually, a neural therapy injection is done into the subcutaneous tissue just below the skin’s surface with a very fine needle. The anesthetic is injected into an acupuncture point, nerve, scar, gland, or another trigger point. In some cases, a series of injections may also be utilized to cover a widespread area of pain.

Sometimes, a deeper injection may be required, depending on the location of the interference field and what is required to restore the body’s natural flow. Once the scar tissue is injected, a small amount of the anesthetic may also be injected into a vein to encourage stabilization of the autonomic nervous system.

• Is a Neural Injection Painful?

For many of our patients, the discomfort of a neural injection treatment is the equivalent of a mosquito bite. But for others the pain can be much more intense. The amount of pain you’ll experience from the injection comes down to the sensitivity of the area being injected, the depth of injection required, and the thickness of the scar tissue.

• How many injections are required?

The number of injections required varies from person to person, but most patients require around three to six injections. The good news is, many of our patients with chronic pain and health conditions notice that subsequent injections are more effective and the benefits last longer than the initial treatment.

The Benefits of Neural Therapy

Neural therapy is kind of like a reset button that restores the healing capacity of damaged cells. Our practitioners will take a complete medical history at your first visit and discuss your individual concerns before creating a customized plan specific to your individual needs.

Neural therapy injections can offer a variety of benefits for chronic symptoms, including:

• Restored Gut Health: Gastrointestinal and digestive issues are extremely common in our society. Unfortunately, the bulk of our immune system resides in the gut, so poor gut health can be at the root of many chronic health issues. Neural therapy injections over specific points of the abdomen can help to restore gut health. It’s beneficial for anyone suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), chronic diarrhea, and more. Neural therapy can also address scar tissue in the abdomen related to past surgery or injuries.
• Improved Organ Function: Neural therapy can improve organ function throughout the body. The result is improved overall health and relief of chronic issues like headaches, brain fog, high blood pressure, and much more.
• Relief of Chronic Lymph Congestion: Lymph system health is vital to overall health and overcoming chronic disease. Lymph congestion equates to toxic overload, infection, and eventually, chronic inflammation that can be difficult to overcome. Neural therapy can be used to remove stagnation from the lymph system, flush out toxins, and speed healing. It can also be used to relieve chronic sinusitis and sinus congestion.
• Reduced Joint and Muscle Pain: Neural therapy reduces inflammation, decreases muscle and joint pain, and encourages healing of the muscles and joints. In our experience, patients who receive neural therapy often achieve joint repair and stabilization without invasive surgery. The treatment is beneficial for both chronic and acute pain issues.

Beyond all of that, neural therapy offers a viable and effective solution for chronic pain without the need for surgery or harmful and addictive drugs. The patient can avoid the expense of surgery or lifelong prescription medication.

Of course, the treatment is also much more convenient than surgery since it’s done right in our office. And, there’s no need for hospitalization or weeks of missed work. 

What Conditions Can Be Treated with Neural Therapy?

Patients with a variety of conditions can be treated with neural therapy injections, including those suffering from:

• Lymph congestion

• Scarring and scar tissue due to surgery or injury

• Chronic joint, muscle, and nerve pain

• Musculoskeletal pain, including acute shoulder pain and low back pain

• Mold toxicity

• Fibromyalgia

• Acne and other skin conditions

• Gastrointestinal/digestive issues, including GERD and IBS

• Brain fog

• Chronic headaches and migraines 

• Sinusitis

• Lyme disease

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

• Infertility and menstrual issues

• Thyroid and hormonal issues

• Depression

• Neuralgia and numbness

• Allergies and asthma

Does Neural Therapy Really Work? What Does the Science Say?

We’ve seen the benefits of neural therapy firsthand in our patients, but you don’t have to take our word for it. The science shows that neural therapy is an effective treatment for chronic pain and a variety of other chronic health conditions.

For example, this study showed that patients received relief not only for their physical symptoms after a series of neural injections, but also for their emotional symptoms as well. Research published by Science Direct reports that neural therapy is helpful for acute back pain, hip and knee pain, and inflammation of connective tissues.

Neural injections have also been shown to be effective for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injury. According to the Journal of Pain & Relief, neural therapy and the treatment of scar tissue can have a profound effect on the Autonomic Nervous System, including a reduction of nausea, improved circulation, tissue repair, and especially, relief of chronic pain.

Additional research validates the effectiveness of neural therapy for chronic conditions like fibromyalgia, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and much more.

Are There Any Risks, Contraindications, or Side Effects?

The effectiveness of neural therapy treatment can vary depending on the patient’s overall health and lifestyle. The following conditions may diminish the results:

• Chronic fatigue
• Drug use, particularly any drug that inhibits the function of the ANS
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Toxic overload from environmental factors, drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes

We may recommend complementary therapies, such as IV hydration therapy, detoxification, and lifestyle support to correct the above issues and improve the patient’s response to neural therapy.

The side effects of neural therapy are minimal. However, some patients do experience minor bruising or increased pain after the initial injection. Some patients may also feel a bit faint right after an injection, which is due to a temporary slowing of the heart rate caused by the anesthetic. This side effect only lasts a few minutes.

If you are allergic to anesthetics like procaine and lidocaine, you may not be able to receive neural therapy injections. As with any injection-based therapy, there is a risk of infection. However, our highly trained staff uses only sterile equipment and proper medical protocol, so this risk is very slight.

If you have any health conditions or take any medications, be sure to let your practitioner know, just to be safe.

Final Thoughts

In addition to neural therapy, our skilled practitioners may also recommend IV therapy, colon hydrotherapy, or ionic detox footbaths to support the detoxification process and boost the long-lasting effects of neural therapy.

Neural therapy provides remarkable and nearly instant pain relief, as well as a host of other health benefits. The ease of use, low cost, and convenience of neural injections are a major benefit for many of our patients. It’s an excellent complementary therapy for anyone suffering from chronic pain or illness.

At Rahav Wellness, we utilize a combination of holistic therapies, modern medicine, and lifestyle support with the ultimate goal of enhancing the body’s innate ability to heal itself. You can learn more about our integrative treatment options here.

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