Functional Neurology vs Conventional Neurology
The Difference between Functional Neurology and Conventional Medical Neurologist
Although its applications have been practiced for generations, ‘Functional Neurology’ as a healthcare discipline is a relatively new concept gaining wide acceptance as a powerful treatment option for disorders of the nervous system as well as a proactive brain performance strategy. The practice of functional neurology spans multiple disciplines including chiropractic, psychology, medicine, optometry, audiology, nutrition and physical and occupational therapies.
The key difference between a Functional Neurologist and a Conventional Medical Neurologist lies primarily in the treatment applications available to each of them. The Conventional Neurologist is classically focused on the diagnosis of structural pathology and utilizes pharmaceutical and surgical interventions to treat disease; the Functional Neurologist views the nervous system as a moldable, changeable entity that can be affected in its function through virtually unlimited types of environmental or receptor stimulation he or she can deliver. This concept of the brain being able to change its function throughout life via environmental stimulation is termed “neuroplasticity” and is at the very core of a Functional Neurologist’s clinical methodology.
As defined:
Neuroplasticity:
The ability of the brain and nervous system to change structurally and functionally throughout life, for better or for worse, as a result of input from the environment.
The Chiropractic Neurologist is in fact the embodiment of a Functional Neurologist at the highest of levels as their extensive training and rigorous certification processes ensure a higher level of clinical efficacy and public safety with their functional therapeutic interventions. They are the clinical neurologists of tomorrow and their services are needed now more than ever as many conditions of the nervous system have little, if any, effective long term clinical success with conventional interventions; and humans are now living longer than ever due to advances in medicine allowing for increased incidence of neurodegenerative disorders where the safety of long term medication usage is highly questionable.
