When Is Integrative Medical Care A Wise Choice?

There are so many different fields of medicine and so many different approaches to medicine these days. There's western medicine, which tends to focus on diagnosing disease states and treating them with medications. There's also eastern medicine, which uses modalities like acupuncture and Reiki. Then, there are alternative medical techniques, such as chiropractic care and aromatherapy. 

What you might not realize is that you don't have to choose between these approaches. A newer approach to medicine, known as integrative medicine, seeks to use all of these different approaches together in whatever way most benefits the patient at the time. In what situations might you want to see an integrative medical practitioner? Here are some key examples. 

You're struggling with a chronic condition.

If you have a chronic health condition like arthritis, lupus, or IBS, the treatments you receive will generally focus on minimizing your symptoms rather than curing the disease entirely. And no single treatment is likely to completely get rid of your symptoms. Even with a good prescription, for example, you might have some lingering pain or discomfort. With an integrative medical approach, you can turn to other types of treatments to ease that lingering pain. For example, you can pair your pain relievers with acupuncture, chiropractic care, or massage to get fuller relief.

You're already working with numerous practitioners.

Maybe you're already seeing a primary care doctor, a chiropractor, and an herbalist, for instance. This can be a lot of different appointments and practitioners to keep up with. If you instead start seeking care from an integrative care center, you can receive all of your care from the same set of practitioners. This will save you a lot of driving around. It also makes it easier for your various practitioners to communicate with each other about your care.

You have had trouble finding an approach that works.

Maybe you've tried chiropractic care and didn't love it. Or perhaps you've tried western medicine and found it to be of limited use for treating your condition. If you're struggling to find an approach that works, heading to an integrative care center makes sense. This enables you to try all sorts of different treatment approaches and different combinations of those approaches in one location. This helps keep costs and inconveniences at a minimum when you're exploring care choices.

Integrative medicine is an excellent field and a good choice for many. Contact an integrative medical care center for more information.