When it comes to healthcare, many patients feel stuck in a cycle of short visits, prescription meds, and temporary fixes. If you’ve ever left a doctor’s office with more questions than answers—or felt like your symptoms were being managed but not truly understood—you’re not alone.
That’s where functional medicine comes in. It’s a different way of looking at the body, and a different way of delivering care. At Inertia Health Center, we combine functional medicine principles with hands-on chiropractic work to help you get real answers and long-term results.
Here’s a breakdown of how functional medicine compares to conventional care—and why this approach might be exactly what your body needs.
1. Conventional Care: Diagnose and Prescribe
In conventional healthcare, the primary goal is to diagnose a condition and match it to a treatment—often a medication, surgery, or protocol.
This approach can be life-saving in acute situations, like infections, trauma, or emergencies. But when it comes to chronic issues like fatigue, inflammation, pain, hormonal imbalances, or digestive problems, this model often falls short.
It focuses on what the problem is—not why it’s happening in the first place.
2. Functional Medicine: Ask Why, Not Just What
Functional medicine digs deeper. Instead of asking, “What disease does this person have?” we ask, “What imbalances are contributing to these symptoms?”
It’s a systems-based approach that looks at the body as one integrated whole. We explore how things like gut health, blood sugar regulation, inflammation, stress, sleep, nutrition, and movement are all interconnected.
This lets us identify the root causes of dysfunction—rather than simply masking symptoms.
3. Conventional Care Is Often Reactive
In conventional care, you often wait until something is wrong to get help. It’s designed to treat illness, not necessarily to support wellness. Most appointments are short, focused on one issue, and often end with a prescription or referral.
4. Functional Medicine Is Proactive + Personalized
Functional care is preventative by nature. We work with patients to optimize how their body functions before issues arise—and to correct imbalances before they become disease.
It’s also highly personalized. There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol, because no two people have the same history, lifestyle, stressors, or genetics. Your care plan might include targeted supplementation, lab testing, nutritional strategies, movement recommendations, and lifestyle adjustments—all built around you.
5. It’s About More Than Just Feeling Better
Functional medicine and chiropractic care aren’t just about symptom relief—they’re about giving you the tools to take control of your health for the long haul. It’s not a quick fix; it’s a partnership.
When you work with a functional provider, you don’t just get adjustments and supplement plans—you gain the background, knowledge, and confidence to truly understand your body.
We’ll teach you how to listen to your body’s signals, how to support its healing process, and how to make sustainable changes that reduce inflammation, regulate your nervous system, and promote lifelong wellness.
Because the goal isn’t just for you to feel better today—it’s for you to know how to stay well tomorrow.
So Which Is Better?
It’s not about one being “better” than the other—it’s about using the right tools together, in the right context.
Conventional medicine is excellent for acute care, diagnostics, and emergencies. Functional care complements it by addressing the underlying patterns that contribute to chronic symptoms—things like inflammation, stress load, nutrition, and movement dysfunction.
At Inertia Health Center, we believe the best care happens when we work with other providers—not in place of them. We value collaboration with primary care physicians, specialists, and other healthcare professionals to help patients heal more completely. Our goal is to bridge both worlds: using hands-on, functional strategies to support the body from the inside out, while respecting the vital role that conventional care plays in a patient’s health journey.
Because ultimately, it’s not about silos—it’s about you getting the comprehensive, informed care you deserve.
Curious if functional care is right for you? Let’s talk.
We’d love to help you build a plan that supports your health goals.