Holistic doctors have a distinctly different approach to health and medicine when compared to conventional doctors. But what exactly makes holistic doctors different? We explain some of the most important aspects of a holistic physicians practice of medicine.
Here are the three main topics:
Top-down verses bottom up refers to the model the doctor uses to diagnose and treat. A top-down approach looks very closely at the person and frames the symptom or condition in the context of the whole person. A bottom-up approach looks very closely at the symptoms or condition and later looks at the person. The result of such different approaches is quite obvious. Looking at symptom or condition rather than the person does not allow the doctor to tailor treatment to the person. They may also miss or overlook important aspects of a person's condition by not fully looking at how it is manifesting in them. With a top-down approach holistic doctors look more at the person with the symptom or condition rather than the symptom or condition itself.
Treatment for health conditions need not be invasive and destructive to other areas of your body. Holistic doctors know and practice this. In western science we compartmentalize the systems of the body to better understand their functions. Yet each system is not separate from the other systems of the body. They all work together and depend on one anther to function at full capacity.
A good analogy for this is how a team functions in a cohesive unit. When one team member is weak or not functioning properly the others have to compensate for it. The same is true for your body. When one organ system is not functioning properly the others suffer and have to compensate for it. For instance if your digestion is not functioning well, the rest of the body will suffer from lack of nutrients. When medications are given with the intention to improve function in one system, it is important to understand the effects in other systems. If there are treatment options that arrive at the same health improvement effect yet don't have negative effects on other parts of the body, that is the treatment you want. Sometime this is not possible even with holistic medical approaches. Your holistic doctor might give you a medicine that can cause problems to other areas of your body and therefore give you something in conjunction with it. Antibiotics and probiotics are a good example of this.
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