Your functional medicine practice, Part three: Relieve pain

At the core of your functional medicine practice is correcting dysfunction so that patients’ symptoms, especially their acute and chronic pain, abate and their vibrant good health is restored.

Get your patients out of pain or significantly reduce it, and you will have yourself some loyal patients who will eagerly spread the word about what an amazing healer you are, which is great for your practice.

Safe, fast, effective pain relief is always in demand

You already treat pain. Having a safe, effective, biochemical way to get your patients out of pain will only enhance your new functional medicine practice. Even if you have a predominantly musculoskeletal practice, you can add this without changing your daily routine by much.

First, do no harm: Get patients off NSAIDS

NSAIDs do more harm than good, so youou need to convince your patients to stop taking them. About 40% of NSAID users have stomach and intestinal symptoms, and research has linked NSAID pain medications to high blood pressure, kidney failure, heart failure, ulceration of the GI tract, and some NSAID drugs even interfere with bone repair.^1-3

The intersection of diet and pain

Diet is perhaps the best and most inexpensive way to reduce inflammation. Carotenoids and polyphenols in fresh vegetables are powerful antioxidants that can improve or help treat digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative conditions and cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have shown carotenoids and polyphenols reduce inflammation.^4-10

The chemicals that create and suppress inflammation are oil-soluble, so the type of fat in patient’s diet can promote or suppress inflammation. Avoid hydrogenated oils, trans fats and highly refined vegetable oils.

Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and for salads, and take vegetable-sourced omega-3 fatty acids for maximum benefits. For example, linolenic acid from flax seeds will reduce inflammation as well as improve blood sugar control.^11-20

Pancreatic enzymes can outperform drugs

Taking enzymes with a meal will help digest the food, plus a host of other benefits. Enzymes have been extensively studied and have demonstrated an ability to reduce pain and inflammation when taken on an empty stomach. They also speed healing, and do so with few, if any, side effects. Studies have shown enzymes to be comparable to NSAIDs in their ability to relieve pain, ease joint stiffness and improve function.^21,22    

Other studies have shown enzymes to be effective for managing arthritis. In some studies, they outperform drugs.^23-25 Enzymes have also been used to reduce pain and improve healing after surgery.²⁶

In one study involving patients who had undergone cosmetic surgery, the authors stated, “Systemic enzyme therapy with its pharmacological effects represents a preventive and curative option for inflammatory process including healing. Excellent results were presented, namely, in the treatment of secondary lymphoedema.”²⁷

Pull together a pain relief plan

In addition to addressing whatever injury or dysfunction seems to be the source of a patient’s pain, discuss the above concepts with them, strongly encourage them to stop taking NSAIDS if they are in that habit, and then suggest the patient follow this plan:

• Adopt the Roadmap to Health diet (see part two of this article): As much as possible—I understand that dietary change is always a negotiation.
• Take two pancreatic enzymes twice a day on an empty stomach: Make sure illigrams of chymotrypsin (otherwise you need to take a LOT of them to see results). Email me for other recommendations.
• Supplement with flax or sunflower oil: 1,000 milligrams twice a day.

Final thoughts on functional medicine

Congratulations on your plan to start a functional medicine practice. It is fairly simple to begin and keep learning as you take on more patients and encounter their simple and complex health conditions. Make open communication and patient education a priority and line up several go-to solutions for tackling pain, and you will be well on your way to becoming a natural practitioner patients can trust to handle all their healthcare needs, not just musculoskeletal issues.

PAUL VARNAS, DC, DACBN, is a graduate of the National College of Chiropractic and has had a functional medicine practice for 34 years. He is the author of several books and has taught nutrition at the National University of Health Sciences. For a free PDF of “Instantly Have a Functional Medicine Practice,” a PDF of his book Roadmap to Health or a patient handout on the anti-inflammatory diet, email him at paulgvarnas@gmail.com.

References

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2. Jokioja J, et al. Anthocyanin-rich extract from purple potatoes decreases postprandial glycemic response and affects inflammation markers in healthy men. Food Chem. 2020;310:125797. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31818516/. Accessed January 28, 2025.
3. Singh G, et al. Gastrointestinal tract complications of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis. A prospective observational cohort study. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156(14):1530-6. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8687261/. Accessed January 28, 2025.
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13. de Lorgeril M, et al. Mediterranean alpha-linolenic acid-rich diet in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Lancet. 1994;343(8911):1454-9. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7911176/. Accessed January 28, 2025.
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15. Barre DE, et al. High dose flaxseed oil supplementation may affect fasting blood serum glucose management in human type 2 diabetics. J Oleo Sci. 2008;57(5):269-73. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18391475/. Accessed January 28, 2025.
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27. Dower JI, et al. Supplementation of the pure flavonoids epicatechin and quercetin affects some biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation in (pre)hypertensive adults: A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. J Nutr. 2015;145(7):1459-63. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25972527/. Accessed January 28, 2025.