Struggling with chronic pain, recurring health issues, or Lyme disease symptoms that conventional medicine can’t seem to resolve? There’s a growing movement toward treating root causes rather than just symptoms—and one surprising therapy is showing documented clinical response rates for conditions doctors previously called “untreatable.”
Healthcare doesn't have to be a constant cycle of symptom management and prescription medications. For families seeking a different approach—one that treats the whole person and gets to the root of health challenges—traditional wholistic family practice offers an alternative that combines the best of both worlds.
Traditional medicine before the mid 1980's often focused on root cause discovery with treatments aimed at that cause, current medicine offers a "cook book" approach to care and often focuses on managing symptoms rather than understanding why they occur in the first place. Holistic family medicine takes a fundamentally different approach by examining the interconnected systems within the body. This means looking at how nutrition, lifestyle, stress levels, and environmental factors contribute to illness and health.
The mind-body connection plays a crucial role in this approach. Mental and emotional stress can manifest as physical symptoms, while chronic physical conditions often impact mental health. By recognizing these connections, holistic practitioners can develop more effective treatment strategies that address multiple aspects of health simultaneously.
Rather than simply prescribing medications to mask symptoms, holistic medicine seeks to restore balance and support the body's natural healing processes. This might involve nutritional interventions, lifestyle modifications, stress management techniques, and natural therapies alongside conventional treatments when necessary.
One of the greatest advantages of holistic family practice is the personalized attention each patient receives. Mercy Family Health provides wholistic care that recognizes every individual has unique health needs, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle factors that influence their wellbeing.
Cookie-cutter treatment protocols don't work for everyone. Holistic practitioners spend time understanding each patient's complete health picture, including their medical history, family history, current symptoms, lifestyle habits, and personal health goals. This thorough assessment allows for treatment plans that are specifically tailored to address individual needs rather than applying one-size-fits-all solutions.
The individualized approach extends to treatment timing and methods as well. Some patients respond better to gentle, gradual interventions, while others may need more intensive approaches. The flexibility to adjust treatment based on patient response and preferences leads to better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction.
Holistic family medicine truly serves the entire family, from newborns to grandparents. This continuity of care allows practitioners to understand family health patterns, genetic tendencies, and how different family members' health challenges might be interconnected. Children can receive preventive care and natural support for common childhood issues, while adults benefit from wellness planning and chronic disease management.
Having one healthcare provider who knows the family's complete health history creates trust and improves communication. Family members are more likely to discuss sensitive health concerns with someone they know and trust, leading to earlier intervention and better health outcomes.
When safe and effective natural treatments are available, holistic practitioners prioritize these approaches over more invasive interventions. This doesn't mean avoiding conventional medicine when this approach is necessary, but rather using natural therapies as first-line treatments when appropriate and combining them with conventional approaches when needed.
For chronic conditions, natural treatments often provide sustainable long-term solutions with fewer side effects than conventional medications. Acute illnesses may respond well to natural support that strengthens the body's immune response while providing symptomatic relief.
Nutrition forms the foundation of health, yet most people receive little meaningful nutritional guidance from their healthcare providers. That is in part because most health care practitioners receive scant training that is misrepresented as both comprehenisive and definitive. Clinical nutrition goes far beyond basic dietary advice to include assessment of nutritional status, identification of deficiencies, and targeted supplementation protocols.
Vitamin D deficiency has reached epidemic proportions, yet many healthcare providers still recommend inadequate doses that guarantee continued deficiency. Professional assessment involves testing current vitamin D levels and developing appropriate supplementation protocols that actually restore healthy levels.
The critical missing piece in most vitamin D protocols is vitamin K2 with it's multiple subtypes. These nutrients work together synergistically—vitamin D increases calcium absorption while K2 directs that calcium to bones where it belongs rather than soft tissues where it can cause problems. Without adequate K2, vitamin D supplementation can potentially lead to calcium being deposited in arteries and other soft tissues.
Most adults need significantly higher vitamin D doses than traditional recommendations suggest—often 5,000 to 10,000 IU daily rather than the typical 400-800 IU found in most multivitamins. Professional monitoring ensures optimal levels are achieved safely.
Depression often has nutritional components that conventional treatment overlooks. Research suggests a link between low vitamin D levels and depression, particularly in northern climates where sun exposure is limited for much of the year. Correcting vitamin D levels can provide significant mood improvements for many people.
Other nutritional factors that impact mental health include B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, and amino acid balance. Rather than immediately turning to psychiatric medications, natural approaches can address underlying nutritional deficiencies that contribute to depression and anxiety.
Chronic pain affects millions of people who often feel trapped between ineffective treatments and potentially dangerous prescription medications. Non-surgical pain management offers hope for people who have exhausted conventional options without finding relief.
StemWave shockwave therapy represents a breakthrough in non-invasive pain management. This technology uses focused acoustic waves to stimulate the body's natural healing processes at the cellular level. Unlike temporary pain relief methods, shockwave therapy actually promotes tissue repair and regeneration.
The therapy works by increasing blood flow to injured areas, breaking down scar tissue, and stimulating the formation of new blood vessels. These biological processes support genuine healing rather than just masking pain symptoms. Many patients experience significant improvement after just a few sessions.
Knee pain from all causes, including osteoarthritis, sports injuries, and overuse conditions, responds well to shockwave therapy. Clinical studies show documented very good response rates for various knee conditions. This non-invasive approach offers hope for people facing knee replacement surgery or relying on pain medications for daily function.
Peripheral neuropathy, particularly common in diabetic patients, has traditionally been considered irreversible nerve damage. However, shockwave therapy may help improve symptoms by stimulating nerve regeneration and improving circulation to affected areas. Patients who had resigned themselves to progressive worsening of symptoms often experience improvement.
Back pain affects nearly everyone at some point, yet conventional treatments often provide only temporary relief. Back pain management addresses both immediate pain relief and underlying causes that contribute to recurring problems.
Shockwave therapy for back pain targets trigger points, reduces muscle tension, and promotes healing of damaged tissues. Combined with postural corrections, strengthening exercises, and lifestyle modifications, this approach offers lasting relief rather than temporary symptom management. The biomechanical balancing that is part of Mercy Family Health program minimizes the stresses that cause pain in the first place.
Lyme disease presents unique challenges that conventional medicine struggles to address effectively. The complex, multi-system nature of Lyme infection requires treatment approaches that go beyond standard antibiotic protocols while incorporating appropriate medical care. Unfortunately in the United States the official position of the CDC and infectious disease experts is that Chronic Lyme Disease from chronic infection does not exist. The clinicians at Mercy Family Health integrate the insights from practitioners in countries which recognize that Chronic Lyme Infection is a very real entity. Again getting back to root cause issues: if one does not recognize the cause of the problem, the solution will remain elusive if it is sought at all. Unfortunately most clinicians, though well meaning, have been taught to not look for evidence of a chronic infection so they do not find it.
Neurological Lyme disease affects the nervous system and can cause symptoms that may mimic other conditions. Peripheral neuropathy is common in Lyme patients, creating burning, tingling, and numbness in hands and feet. The connection between Lyme infection and nerve damage is often overlooked in conventional treatment.
Addressing neurological Lyme requires supporting nerve healing while treating the underlying infection. This may involve targeted nutritional support for nerve regeneration, detoxification protocols to reduce inflammatory burden, and immune system support to help the body clear the infection naturally.
Long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease can create challenges by destroying beneficial gut bacteria and potentially creating antibiotic-resistant infections. Biome restoration focuses on rebuilding healthy gut bacteria while using natural antimicrobials and biofilm disruptors to address persistent infections as part of a balanced treatment approach. At Mercy Family Health the strategies focus on attempting to minimize actual antitiotic use and rather use natural solutions to control the infection and corresponding symptoms.
The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune function, and restoring microbial balance supports the body's ability to fight infection naturally. This approach often produces better long-term outcomes when combined with appropriate medical treatment while avoiding some side effects associated with extended antibiotic use.
Integrative medicine combines the best of conventional medical science with proven natural healing approaches. This evidence-based approach ensures that treatments are both safe and effective while providing options that conventional medicine alone cannot offer.
The integration of traditional and alternative approaches creates opportunities for more personalized care. Patients benefit from having access to the full spectrum of healing modalities rather than being limited to conventional treatments that may not address their specific needs.
Evidence-based integrative medicine also emphasizes prevention and wellness rather than just disease treatment. By addressing health challenges before they become serious problems, patients can maintain better health throughout their lives while avoiding many chronic diseases that conventional medicine struggles to treat effectively.
For families in the DuBois PA and surrounding area seeking healthcare that addresses root causes and supports natural healing, Mercy Family Health offers traditional wholistic family practice services that integrate the best of both conventional and natural medicine approaches.
