Holistic Veterinary House-Calls between Jupiter & Stuart, Florida

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What is a Holistic Functional Veterinarian?

What is Holistic Medicine about?

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Although Dr. Matt Parker started out as a Conventional Western Veterinarian, he has become what he calls a Holistic Functional Veterinarian.

Before we can go any further in describing the practice philosophy and what we offer, we must first understand the true definition of this terminology and dispense with any preconceived misconceptions that Modern society has formulated.

 

Holistic:  Most of Modern Western society thinks ‘alternative’, ‘additional’, ‘secondary’, ‘second-class’, ‘not real’, ‘non-science-based’, or just ‘weird’, when they hear the word ‘Holistic’.  They also usually expect the ‘Holistic’ practitioner to be ‘a little strange’, or ‘a hippie’, or ‘on the fringe’, or extremely opinionated.

This is because so many people claim to be ‘Holistic’, when in fact they are just strange or on the fringe or extremely opinionated.

By definition, in the context of (Veterinary) Medicine, to be Holistic means to entertain & employ all known methods & modalities.  To be Holistic is not to be solely ‘Alternative’ with complete disregard for Modern Western & Conventional Medicine, instead it means to use the concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Aboriginal Medicine, Indigenous & Folk Medicine, Energies, Chiropractic & Rehab, Modern Western Conventional pharmaceutical drugs & vaccines & X-Rays & blood work, nutrition, exercise, mental & social stimulation, photobiomodulation (LASER), everything possible to diagnose and treat the patient.

 

Functional:  Basically to use any combination of the modalities and philosophies described above to find the root cause of chronic problems and try to correct the underlying causes while also treating the immediate symptoms.  A common example of this would be ‘skin allergies’ or ear infections:  I may use a microscope and cytology and send the ear sample to a modern lab for a culture & sensitivity as I use mainstream Modern pharmaceutical drugs to treat the current infection,  to affect immediate relief for the patient and client, but I will also delve deeper into nutrition and chiropractic-based, or Traditional Chinese Medicine-based, imperfections and other ‘alternative’ principles that reveal the underlying long-term cause of said ear infections or skin allergies.

 

Veterinarian:  Animal Healer; a medical professional who should be observing the Hippocratic Oath of “First, Do No Harm”.  I ensure that whatever I am doing to help the patient is not causing future harm to the patient.

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In other words:

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While acupuncture was Dr. Matt Parker's first real introduction to non-Conventional Medicine (everything NOT included in Modern Western Medicine) and he still incorporates acupuncture and many Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, his approach is truly Holistic in that it is not just acupuncture or Chinese Medicine, it's also whole foods nutrition, chiropractic and body work, massage & rehabilitation, exercise, lifestyle, past physical & medical & emotional trauma- we must incorporate every aspect to have the best chance at helping your pet heal... And to be truly Holistic means that we cannot completely ignore Modern Western Medicine.

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Dr. Matt Parker understands the limitations of Conventional or Western Medicine (what regular​ Veterinarians do), and he also understands the limitations of "Holistic" or "Alternative" Traditional Medicines (what we do!).

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So, What is a Holistic Veterinary House-Call?

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We come to you & your pet in your home, or we meet a local public place, but it is somewhere that is comfortable & relaxing for your pet; NOT the typical veterinary clinic.

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While our passion & focus is long-term health and treating chronic disease through Holistic principles, we also offer modern lab work and testing and the judicious use of vaccines on a case-by-case basis.

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Philosophy of Holistic Modalities & Methodologies

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Dr. Matt Parker, Holistic Functional Veterinarian uses Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM), Spinal manipulation and other Holistic/Functional principles to help your pet maintain physical & neurologic and Constitutional balance- this helps to not only correct and restore health & function, but to also prevent or minimize illness & disease and stress or anxiety.  We do this because we want to help your pet to live the longest and healthiest life possible.

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Holistic medicine treats the entire individual animal, whereas Conventional Western medicine treats a disease without much regard for the individual. This explains why the same Conventional treatment for arthritis or skin allergies might work great for one dog and not at all for another. Traditional Chinese Medicine and other Holistic Modalities identify and understand the different constitutions of individual pets and the different patterns of disease that make each case unique. Thus explaining why two individuals may need very different treatments for the "same" ailment.​

 

Acupuncture was Dr. Matt Parker's first real introduction to non-Conventional Medicine (everything NOT included in Modern Western Medicine).  He still incorporates acupuncture and many Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, but his approach is truly Holistic in that it is not just acupuncture or Chinese Medicine, it's also whole foods nutrition, chiropractic and body work, massage & rehabilitation, exercise, lifestyle, past physical & medical & emotional trauma, and more...  We must incorporate every aspect to have the best chance at helping your pet heal.  And, to be truly Holistic means that we cannot ignore Modern Western Medicine when it is needed. (Our goal is to do all that we can to provide immediate comfort and relief while working to correct long-term chronic imbalances.)

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'Chiropractic' is a much more modern theory than Traditional Chinese Medicine and some of the other Tratitional & Holistic modalities, but unlike Conventional corporate-controlled Modern Western Medicine, Chiropractic is also a very Holistic concept.​

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Did you know that Chiropractic adjustments are not just for sore muscles and aches & pains! Restrictions (that's what gets 'adjusted' during spinal manipulation) can affect not only the movement of the skeleton and limbs, but can also affect all of the organs and processes inside the body. This is because every organ in our chest and abdomen and every endocrine organ and hormone in our (and our animals') bodies are controlled by nerves that leave the spinal cord and then pass through little openings between the vertebrae. If the vertebrae are not perfectly aligned then the nerves passing through the tiny spaces between them are going to be affected, and that obviously affects the muscle/joint/organ/hormone that is controlled by that nerve!

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We're talking about mere microns of misalignment. They can't be seen on X-ray or MRI because they are actually caused by adhesions and spasms in adjacent muscles and other tissues that restrict the normal movement of vertebrae and any other joints. Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation and Massage releases these restrictions to restore normal movement and motion, which also improves nerve and organ and whole body function!​

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Lastly, and perhaps most-importantly, all of these modalities affect the central nervous system- the brain.  All of them- acupuncture, chiropractic, rehab, massage, social stimulation, nutrition... And, the brain controls everything that happens in or with the body (Although, this is still a very Western concept!).  All of these modalities cause neurologic input to the brain which stimulates the aging or poor-doer brain to become more active, provides input that can calm the over-active (anxiety) brain, and by improving brain function through stimulation of the sensory neurons in the skin & muscles & joints, we cause better neurologic input to everything the brain controls including internal organs and digestion and hormones!

 

The neurologic input can improve digestion, but also improved nutrtion can improve neurologic function...

Everything Dr. Matt Parker does as a Holistic Functional Veterinarian is therefore dependent on nutrition & neurology!

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The point is:  All of the other non-Conventional or non-Western Philosophies see the whole body as an integral part of the surrounding environment, meaning that EVERYTHING in your surrounding world affects your health & Well-being, including the myriad of 'stuff' that we do not yet understand or that we do not yet realize exists!