If you had a bad tooth that was causing a headache, would you continue to take pain relievers to relieve the headache or would you address the tooth? Most of us find the latter to be far wiser.
As the US faces down a dire opioid crisis, we're reminded of a vast population actually living with "Chronic Pain", otherwise classified as a severe, oft-inexplicable discomfort that lasts beyond 12 weeks. Traditional medicine defines Chronic Pain as a condition that can be treated but not cured. Functional Medicine becomes essential then to the Chronic Pain sufferer, because of the work done to identify and heal the source of the pain, not simply treat the manifestation.