Integrative Medicine's approach to Musculoskeletal Health
Our joints and muscles are very crucial to everyday life. Every move we make is made because of them and sometimes they can give you signals like they “talking” to you. We can all benefit by becoming aware of these signals and investigating some tools and strategies to take care of this important part of ourselves. If we ignore the signs that our body may give us, they may eventually manifest into a larger issue. Integrative and functional medicine emphasizes a focus on prevention and root cause treatment using both alternative and traditional treatment modalities. While there is a wide range of musculoskeletal dysfunctions that could occur throughout a lifetime, we will provide a cursory look at an integrative medicine approach to caring for one’s musculoskeletal health.
Prevention
As mentioned earlier, a large part of the philosophy of integrative and functional medicine stems from prevention. The two most important general suggestions for protecting your muscle and joint health are to incorporate exercise into your daily routine and follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
Exercise
Movement and weight-bearing exercise are important for keeping your musculoskeletal system well oiled and functioning properly to prevent future disease. Regular exercise is good for people of all ages and there are many forms it can take. We suggest finding a way that works for you to fit physical activity into your routine.
Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle
Inflammation drives disease processes. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system can manifest most commonly as osteoporosis and arthritis that often result in a host of other quality of life issues such as chronic pain, fractures, and disability. Preventing inflammation stems from healthy lifestyle habits like eating a nutritious diet and supplementing for deficiencies. The health of our joints is greatly affected by the quality of the fats that surround and lubricate them as well as the quality of our surrounding tissues. The quality of these fats and tissues is traced back to our digestive health.
Treatments
Team-based Approach
An integrative and functional medicine practitioner is able to test, diagnose and treat certain things. A team-based approach to care is important because there is a wide array of other modalities that are able to serve the individual needs of the patient that one sole practitioner is not able to offer. For musculoskeletal health, modalities like physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic care are important considerations for a well-rounded approach to root cause care.
Root Cause Approach
A disease of the musculoskeletal system may have its roots due to another cause such as nutrient deficiency. Integrative medicine has specialty tests that can check for nutrient deficiencies to determine if that may be the root cause of your musculoskeletal dysfunction. Once we determine a root cause it can be treated with a targeted nutrition plan, supplements, or medicines. We often help post-menopausal women address osteoporosis risk due to estrogen deficiency with these methods.
At PIM, we offer diagnostic tools that examine what your body is absorbing and what it can’t absorb. We also offer Functional Nutrition appointments to support you along the way!
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If you or your loved one needs help, perhaps you are suffering from the effects of ongoing stress, mood or hormone imbalance, including thyroid imbalance, or you or they are already working with a doctor to address a condition but want a more comprehensive, empowering approach to medicine? Schedule a 20 minute free consultation or an appointment with Zoie Phillips, MSPA, PA-C or Lynda Sherland, CRNP, FNP-C today! Not quite ready to schedule and have questions? Quickly get in touch with us today!
Sources:
https://medicine.iu.edu/expertise/musculoskeletal-health/what-is-musculoskeletal-health
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8775582/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5643776/#:~:text=Postmenopausal%20women%20are%20susceptible%20to,than%20formation%2C%20resulting%20in%20osteoporosis.