In case you missed the February 23, 2004 cover of Time magazine:
The Secret Killer:
Inflammation is the body's first defense against infection, but when it goes awry, it can lead to heart attacks, colon cancer, Alzheimer's and a host of other diseases.
In fact, inflammation is now known to be the primary underlying cause of virtually all chronic degenerative diseases. The Inflammation Clinic specializes in seeking out and correcting underlying sources of inflammation. By eliminating sources of inflammation, chronic degenerative conditions can be improved at the source of the problem, rather then simply covering up symptoms with medications.
Over the past several decades, much has been learned about how the body actually functions. Yet this knowledge is slow to be incorporated into the day-to-day practice of medicine. Much of this new understanding in physiology has been integrated with the best of traditional medicine into a new way of looking at a patient with chronic medical problems. Rather then focusing on finding a "magic bullet" to help some isolated, compartmentalized named "disease", "Functional Medicine” focuses on measuring and correcting underlying physiological imbalances. By improving these imbalances, the body is better able to "fix itself".
A large but finite number of imbalances can lead to the common body response we know as inflammation. Identification and correction of underlying physiological imbalances causing inflammation generally proves quite effective in improving "diseases" arising from inflammation.
Traditional medicine and pharmaceutical companies are currently researching and promoting drugs which control inflammation as a potential treatment for a growing number of degenerative diseases. Problem is, inflammation is a critical part of the body's immune system used to fight off infection, cancer, and a host of other problems. Inflammation is also a critical component of structural healing and integrity (which is why an orthopedist and sports medicine doctor became interested in it!). Cutting off the body's ability to appropriately produce an inflammatory response will predictably increase one's susceptibility to infection, cancer, and result in poorer healing of all injuries (including surgery).
Correcting inflammation without the use of drugs is the primary focus of natural sports medicine, the primary clinical interest of our founding medical director, Dr. John Bowman. Dr. Bowman is a Mayo clinic trained orthopedic surgeon. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. As a practicing surgeon, Dr. Bowman is by definition not an "alternative medicine" doctor. Like all orthopedists, Dr. Bowman formerly used a variety of drugs to treat inflammation, including nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), oral steroids, and steroid injections. Unfortunately, research has know shown that the widespread use of these medications has had many more side effects then was previously appreciated. In the mid 1990s, Dr. Bowman began studying why some people get inflammatory conditions such as tendonitis, bursitis, and arthritis, and others don't.
In summary, we don't treat most specific diseases. We seek out underlying physiological imbalances common to many degenerative diseases, and focus on improvement in the underlying physiology of the body. There are known, measurable, and correctable sources of chronic inflammation in the body. Focus your energy on seeking out and correcting the underlying sources of your inflammation. Then let your body heal itself.
Want more information? Check out some of the links below:
Functional vs. Traditional Medicine?
I often view functional medicine as what traditional medicine would have been had it not sold out to pharmaceutical companies. For example, anemia (low blood count) can be due to iron deficiency. It would be considered poor medical practice to give a patient with anemia a transfusion if all they really needed was a little iron. This is a condition where "traditional" medicine actually does practice functional medicine, finding the actual cause of the problem and fixing it.
But what about magnesium deficiency:
1. Over 75% of Americans are magnesium deficient; 2. Magnesium deficiency can manifest itself by over 50 different symptoms, including chronic back pain (increased spasm) and SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH! What is your magnesium level?
