The Rise of Functional Medicine
INTERVIEW
The American Chiropractor Staff
In the field of functional medicine, Dr. Ronald Grisanti is a well-respected doctor who is considered a pioneer in online education. He is the clinical director/CEO of Greenville Chiropractic, founder and medical director of Functional Medicine University, and creator of FMFogics™.
He has been a doctor of chiropractic since 1981 and holds a master’s degree in nutrition. Dr. Grisanti is a Diplomate of the American Board of Chiropractic Orthopedists and Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, and has been president of Functional Medicine University (FMU) since 2008. With his hard work, sincerity, and dedication, he is sought after by doctors throughout the United States and abroad. His university for functional medicine is recognized and respected throughout the United States and in 68 countries. In an interview with The American Chiropractor (TAC), Dr. Ronald Grisanti (RG) explains his role in Funcional Medicine.
TAC: Dr. Grisanti, what is functional medicine?
RG: Functional medicine is patient-centered medical healing at its best. Instead of looking at and treating health problems as isolated diseases, it treats individuals who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances, and dysfunctions. A named disease, such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia, might be visible above the surface, but according to functional medicine, the cause lies in the altered physiology below the surface. Almost always, the cause of the disease and its symptoms is an underlying dysfunction and/or an imbalance of bodily
systems. If health care treats just the tip of the iceberg, it rarely leads to long-term relief and vibrancy. Identifying and treating the underlying root cause or causes, as functional medicine does, has a much better chance to successfully resolve a patient’s health challenge. Using scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing, and treatments other than drugs or surgery, functional medicine restores balance in the body’s primary physiological processes. The goal is the patient’s lifelong optimal health.
TAC: How is it different from other medical sciences?
RG: Functional medicine requires physicians to dig deep into the patient’s history, seeking to identify environmental toxicities, hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, toxic stress (anger, shame, frustration, envy), mitochondrial dysfunction, adrenal stress, and infections (viral, bacterial, fungal), to name a few. Standard medicine commonly requires physicians to follow a specific algorithm that has been set by their academy. In reviewing thousands upon thousands of medical records, I have rarely seen a patient’s condition looked at from the previous perspective. In almost all cases, the doctors offer this drug for that disease. The appropriate application of drugs is of value, but the problem reveals thousands, if not millions, of people with unresolved health challenges.
There is a growing dissatisfaction with simply treating symptoms. People want answers to their health issues. The beauty of functional medicine lies in its unique ability to remove clinical loads on one’s physiology, allowing the body to have the greatest opportunity to heal.
Functional medicine is just a different thinking process. It deals with looking at the root cause. It’s a step beyond alternative medicine. The bulk is about completing a good case history and a review of the past three years of the patient’s medical records. Once the condition is identified, treatment protocols may include nutritional intervention, lifestyle changes, chelating agents to rid the body of toxins, and, at times, pharmaceuticals. Functional medicine practitioners often work with the patient’s primary care physician or specialist. A resolution can be found in about 60% of patients, while there’s a slowing of the progression of disease in others. The typical patient is someone who has been to a number of physicians and been told there’s not much more that can be done. My chiropractic training is well aligned with the thinking process in functional medicine. Many chiropractors believe that the source of disease stems from a malfunctioning spine. Although I strongly believe in the identification of subluxations, I realized there were other facets that needed to be evaluated to handle many of the most difficult cases. It took my own suffering with anxiety to lead me to these other facets of clinical evaluation.
TAC: Why did you choose to become a functional medicine doctor?
RG: I was suffering from full-blown anxiety that my family doctor, along with many other practitioners, were treating with a variety of drugs. I went searching for answers. My illness was so debilitating that I was no longer
able to function professionally and personally. After being diagnosed with anxiety, I was prescribed Ativan and Zoloft, but I didn’t want to go through life simply getting refills to cope. It wasn’t until I ran into a functional medicine practitioner that I found another solution. He compiled an exhaustive medical history, conducted a physical exam, and ordered a battery of tests before concluding that I had toxic mercury levels in my body and compromised cortisol levels as well.
Since I started taking the oral chelating agent DMS A, stopped consuming foods like tuna that contain mercury, began taking herbal supplements to improve my cortisol function, and started a new fitness program, I’ve been doing well. After treatment that included some nutritional and lifestyle changes, my anxiety resolved. Slowly but surely, I retested myself and found that my levels started balancing out— mercury levels came down. It was at a turning point in my life. What led me to start Func-
tional Medicine University (FMU) was quite basic, though difficult. Fourteen years ago, I attended a functional medicine conference and had a vision.
In fact, I remember the feeling that came over me. Here I was, a chiropractor, who woke up every day to treat patients with severe pain. They came to me for help, they trusted me, and they were desperate to leave with relief. I believe that I was a great chiropractor and that I did every thing in my power to bring relief to my patients, but, when I discovered functional medicine and what it would offer my patients, my world opened up. The possibilities became endless. I knew it was the future of medicine. It was also the beginning of FMU.
The concept of finding the “root” cause of one’s illness and pain was far more rewarding and made so much more sense than simply treating a patient’s problem. I realized that it wasn’t just chiropractors who could fuse functional medicine into their practices; it was physicians, acupuncturists, dietitians, nutritionists, nurses, and even dentists. I knew that the majority of experts in these specialties went to school to become educated in helping people. Since launching in 2007,1 have confirmed that the reason many practitioners are moving toward functional medicine is that they want to help people live healthier lives.
■ "They came to me for help, they trusted me, and they were desperate to leave with relief.??
Over the past nine years, I have had more than 2,500 students enroll and more than 30,000 physicians, chiropractors, nurses, dietitians, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and dentists subscribe to my newsletter. I am known to many as the “medical detective.” I no longer practice as a chiropractor, nor do I have time to take on new patients seeking functional medicine as an alternative. My days are now consumed with educating other practitioners so that they can learn about and offer functional medicine as an option for their patients. I work 12 hours a day, six days a week. I could have never imagined the level of satisfaction I would get from speaking with my students and graduates. Their enthusiasm inspires me every waking moment.
TAC: Dr. Grisanti, why the surge toward functional medicine?
RG: The industry of healing is coming full circle. The early days when a doctor had to think and figure out the issues are now becoming the norm, but more importantly, patients are demanding answers. If it were only chiropractors introducing functional medicine into their practices, I would have a different answer. As we know and have understood for years, chiropractors often look to diversify their practices and have
done so by supplementing their practice with vitamins sales, physical therapy, and other optional revenue-producing services/products. This is quite common due to higher overhead, dealing with insurance companies, and competition. Having additional revenue streams becomes essential to survive. This can be viewed as a distraction, however success is not guaranteed by simply being a great doctor. You must possess a great business mind.
The fact is that physicians, pharmacists, acupuncturists, nurses, and even dentists are introducing functional medicine into their practices. What this says to me is that the tides are changing and doctors who initially went to school to learn how to heal are going back to their roots. I know, for myself, that the options I am able to offer patients are so much more rewarding and give patients a new outlook on being pain-free. Although many other practices are adding functional medicine, chiropractors make up the majority. Part of me believes that patients view a doctor of chiropractic as someone who cares more and someone who is willing to take other approaches, whereas physicians traditionally diagnose and write a prescription. As I recognize the commitment and number of physicians that are becoming students of FMU, I am adding CME category one credits to our program. It’s just another way the industry is changing.
As a leader in online functional medicine education, I meet and speak with many doctors. I ask them what the burning
‘* Although many other practices are adding functional medicine, chiropractors make up the majority. J J
desire is for them and why they were driven to practice functional medicine. I also want to understand what they feel is the most difficult component of fusing functional medicine into their practices. The answers are many, but their goals are almost always the same. They all want to be able to offer more to their patients.
TAC: What characteristics should a chiropractor possess to be successful as a functional medicine doctor?
RG: Doctors are of the most respected members of any society. A chiropractor must have a great desire to become a functional medicine doctor because this career is challenging and demanding. A doctor must also have a driving passion to help people, to learn new methodologies, and to sacrifice his or her time and energy for the health care of the patients. Integrity, desire to solve problems, and a “can do” attitude are all necessary to enter the science of functional medicine. Practicing functional medicine requires great intelligence, integrity, competence, and social skills.
TAC: What traits and personality make a great functional medicine practitioner?
RG: In every field or profession, there are good, better, and the best. This also applies to doctors. One trait in functional medicine that guarantees failure is a procrastinator. I have written about this topic quite often and the best functional medicine doctors are like detectives, gold miners, and even explorers. Every waking moment becomes a time to find answers. Searching for clues through extensive blood tests, or navigating deep into a patient’s history begins to pave the road to healing and recovery. Last week, my brother and I were discussing annual physicals. He shared with me that his annual takes up to two and a half hours, whereas most patients are in and out of the annual physical in a matter of minutes. I do not know his physician, but after speaking with my brother, the only thing I could think about was: How do I find a doctor like this? Sure, it could be about the economics or that his doctor is a smart businessman, but I would believe it is accurate to say that his physical is far more valuable than mine, especially as we are now older. His description of his physical could be defined as his doctor was searching for things that need attention.
The most valuable trait is being a great listener, and by combining this with a chiropractor who is empathetic, you have the two most necessary tools to become a great functional medicine practitioner. During my 36 years of practicing as a chiropractor, I have seen so many patients who have lived their lives in pain. They came to me with the hope that I could heal them and rid them of their pain. I know that I was a compassionate doctor, but I could only do so much with regards to treating them as a chiropractor. Functional medicine offers so many more options.
TAC: Does a chiropractor have an advantage over an MD with regards to practicing functional medicine?
RG: Absolutely. Let me explain. The thinking process of a chiropractor has always been in looking for the cause of the problem, whereas an MD is not looking for the cause of the problem. Most MDs are practicing the temporary suppression of systems through medications. I know this firsthand because many of my students are MDs, and in speaking with them at functional medicine conferences, they all share the same thoughts. I believe that chiropractors were born for functional medicine. In fact, they are primed for functional medicine. It goes along with the thinking and philosophy of what a chiropractor went to school for. They went to school thinking, “Let’s find the cause of the problem.” Many chiropractors only had one tool in their toolbox. If you fix the spine, you are going to fix every health problem, but the common thinking process of the chiropractor was, “Let’s find the cause of the problem.” What chiropractors now have is a more diversified toolbox. I like the analogy of a chiropractor who practices functional medicine as a chiropractor with a larger set of tools.
TAC: Besides the economics of diversifying and fusing functional medicine into a chiropractors practice, what other notable benefits are there?
RG: Chiropractors practicing functional medicine can now develop a practice that can be applied anywhere, whereas simply offering chiropractic services must be done in an office and all patients must be present. Today and over the past eight years, the majority of my functional medicine patients are consulted over the phone. Chiropractors are fairly limited to how they can earn additional income. Many offer supplements and vitamins. Functional medicine opens up a whole new division or source of revenue that is much greater than the revenue and potential of selling supplements, and one that was not available until the introduction
of functional medicine.
A chiropractor’s main income source is through adjustments, X-rays, and selling nutritional products, but there is a lot of income that can be made through ordering lab tests, which in return will develop into substantial added revenue. I have a student who has been overly successful with the introduction of functional medicine into his chiropractic practice. His practice evolved from practicing chiropractic full time to practicing only three days per week. During these three days, he is averaging 140 patients, and he is not only burnt out but feels that he is in a dilemma. His earnings are far and away greater for the two days versus the three days he is seeing patients. The only solution was to hire an assistant. This is not always the case, however many doctors are learning that functional medicine not only increases revenues, but it is far and away more rewarding due to all of the options.
TAC: Dr. Grisanti, what is your vision for the future of functional medicine for chiropractors?
RG: I’d like to start by sharing that I believe the future for chiropractors is different from the future for other practice areas, especially physicians. For many years, there has been a division between chiropractors and physicians, whereas chiropractors have tried to create this bridge in working with MDs by educating them that they specialize in back and neck
pain. The problem is that MDs do not think about chiropractors when they think about back and neck pain. They think of a physical therapist, an orthopedic doctor, or a neurosurgeon. What functional medicine has done is allow chiropractors to create a bridge, which I believe is the future. This bridge is where a chiropractor practicing functional medicine can now work in conjunction with an MD. The reason behind this is that now they are speaking the same language. Throughout my years practicing functional medicine, I have attended and participated in many conferences where both chiropractors and MDs were present. What I always observe is that a unified bridge is being created by traditional doctors who are now moving in on functional medicine. They now have that common bond or unified language, as I said earlier, and what’s so promising about this observation is that MDs will have a greater trust and respect for chiropractors. This is actually going to help the chiropractors because they will now get more referrals from MDs as they share the more common road map to healing. Of course, both MDs and chiropractors have to practice functional medicine in its purest form.
Clinical Rounds is a great resource for Chiropractors interested in Functional Medicine, and it is a free to them. Clinical Rounds offers doctors an opportunity to read Functional Medicine case reviews and articles.
8 77-328-4035 / FMUHelpffgmail. com www.FunctionalMedi cine University, com www.ClinicalRounds.com (Free Subscription)
