Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the frequently asked questions below. If you don’t find the answer to your question, feel free to contact us.

Functional Medicine FAQ

Functional Medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.

A diagnosis can be the result of more than one cause. For example, depression can be caused by many different factors, including inflammation.
 

Likewise, a cause such as inflammation may lead to a number of different diagnoses, including depression. The precise manifestation of each cause depends on the individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle, and only treatments that address the right cause will have lasting benefit beyond symptom suppression.

The Functional Medicine model evolved from the insights and perspectives of a small group of influential thought leaders who realized the importance of an individualized approach to disease causes based on the evolving research in nutritional science, genomics, and epigenetics. These thought leaders found ways to apply these new advances in the clinic to address root causes using low-risk interventions that modify molecular and cellular systems to reverse these drivers of disease.
For injuries, pain, and most common problems, like headaches, functional medicine can be an excellent solution. Your doctor at Today’s Integrative Health prescribes the most natural yet powerful solutions available, including options like herbal medicine, IV therapy, and meridian therapy. Functional medicine is also an excellent approach to preventive care. Your Today’s Integrative Health provider can help you avoid hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and other severe and potentially life-threatening conditions. If you’re at risk for any kind of chronic illness based on the results of your testing, your doctor can prescribe natural treatments and lifestyle changes that allow you to stay healthy.

Care typically includes comprehensive blood tests, which allow your doctor to identify potential health problems before symptoms begin. You could also have other noninvasive tests to help your doctor identify illness and predict potential problems.

The functional medicine approach focuses on what makes you unique, including your personal history, your individual physiology, your lifestyle habits, your social environment, and much more.

The traditional approach, the one that’s still used by many general practitioners, only takes a few things into account, with a major focus being on family history. Your doctor understands that you’re a complex individual and that you deserve treatment based on that.

Active Release Technique FAQ

Active Release Technique is a soft-tissue treatment for damaged muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, and fascia. It’s the only treatment of its kind, and only highly trained practitioners like those at Today’s Integrative Health can perform this treatment. Active Release Technique can help with a variety of conditions that commonly occur after overuse or trauma during sports or some other type of strenuous activity.

Active Release Technique works through specific tissue manipulations. Your doctor uses precise directed tension and highly controlled motions to break apart the adhesions (scar tissue) that are binding your tissue and causing pain or other problems in your body.

The exact motions used depend on where the injury is and what your symptoms are. Active Release Technique has individual protocols for more than 500 specific areas in your body. While Active Release Technique is similar to therapeutic massage, it’s far more advanced and much more specific to the injury.

After a soft-tissue injury, whether it was sudden or was gradual due to overuse, you’ll see the following natural progression.

  • Inflammation around the injury for one to three days
  • Stringy-feeling lesions within the injured area for a couple of days to a couple of weeks
  • Lumpy feeling tissue around your injury for two weeks to around three months
  • Leathery-feeling hard tissue around your injury after three months

Once the tissue reaches the final stage, the leathery feel, it’s surrounded by adhesions and it’s quite likely that you’re experiencing significant problems like pain and impaired movement. However, you might notice pain and impaired movement much earlier than that.

As soon as you have pain or movement problems, speak to your doctor at Today’s Integrative Health about Active Release Therapy. Depending on how advanced your soft-tissue injury is, you could get relief in as little as a few treatments. Your doctor at Today’s Integrative Health designs treatment plans just for you, so you’ll get an Active Release Technique protocol that’s based on your specific injury and symptoms.

Chiropractic Care FAQ

Chiropractic care is a form of healthcare concerned with the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system. Both Dr. Leo and Dr. Rosenberg are chiropractors with decades of experience in caring for people with musculoskeletal complaints, whether chronic pain, sports injuries, or general discomfort.

Chiropractic treatment aims to relieve muscle and joint pain and discomfort while improving the function of the entire musculoskeletal system. Dr. Leo and Dr. Rosenberg utilize Active Release Technique, spinal manipulation, and other specialized techniques to relax muscles, increase joint range of motion, relieve pain, and address injuries.

Extensive research indicates that chiropractic care is an effective alternative to pain medications, like addictive opioids, for many types of back, neck, and muscle pain. At Today’s Integrative Health, the doctors utilize chiropractic care in conjunction with other therapies to help you feel your best.

In addition to back and neck pain, chiropractic can also help with:

  • Herniated discs
  • Degenerative disc disease
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Sciatica
  • Headaches
  • Sports injuries
  • Shoulder pain and rotator-cuff injuries
  • Hip and knee pain
  • Scoliosis

Dr. Leo and Dr. Rosenberg have advanced training to diagnose and treat the majority of musculoskeletal complaints, meaning care is not limited to the spine.

The three most common methods chiropractors use are the Gonstead technique, activator method, and flexion/distraction technique. The Gonstead technique uses in-depth techniques to analyze and discover pelvic, neurological, and spinal effects that have an impact on the vertebral subluxation, and thus the patient’s overall health. The activator method uses a handheld, spring-loaded instrument called an activator to help with adjustments. Flexion/distraction technique uses a special segmented table to allow the table to drop or move, allowing for your spine to be manipulated into the correct position.

Herbal Medicine (Botanical Medicine) FAQ

Herbal (or botanical) medicine is an age-old remedy for many illnesses. Some of the drugs found in pharmacies today contain botanical ingredients, but herbal medicine treats and manages illness using only herbal ingredients.

Herbal medicines, while completely natural, can also be very powerful. That means that it’s especially important that you work with a physician who’s highly trained in this area. The doctors at Today’s Integrative Health know how to customize herbal medicines to help you feel better, and to help you enjoy peak health.

Herbal medicine can help with a wide range of medical conditions. Some of the ways that herbal medicine can help with health issues include:

  • Aloe for burns and inflammation
  • Arnica for bruises
  • Chamomile for upset stomach and indigestion
  • Dong quai for health and stamina in women
  • Ginseng for stamina and energy
  • Echinacea for respiratory illnesses and colds
  • Garlic for fungal infections and colds
  • Ginger for nausea
  • Passion flower for relaxation without sedation
  • Peppermint tea for nausea and indigestion
  • Tea tree oil for fungal skin infections
  • Turmeric for inflammation, cancer protection, and Alzheimer’s protection
  • Valerian root for insomnia

Your Today’s Integrative Health doctor creates an herbal-medicine treatment plan just for you. It can include tonics, poultices, capsules, teas, and more. Herbal medicine can enhance your health in a variety of ways, so if your health concerns aren’t listed above, speak to your doctor about it. It’s very likely that there’s an herbal remedy that could help.

Homeopathy FAQ

Homeopathy focuses on safe, gentle, and effective natural healing. In homeopathic medicine, the goal is to help your body restore itself naturally using noninvasive methods. The doctors at Today’s Integrative Health have specialized training in homeopathic medicine so they can deliver safe and effective treatments to you.

Homeopathic medicine uses only natural treatments, avoiding traditional prescription medications. It’s well known that prescription medications can cause side effects, and that they’re not safe for everyone. Homeopathic remedies are safe for everyone, even young children, because they’re completely natural.

Homeopathic remedies are easily affordable, and can fit into the budget of most patients. This is a major contrast to prescription medications, which can sometimes cost hundreds of dollars or even more.

One of the reasons that patients feel so confident with homeopathic medicine is that it’s FDA regulated. In fact, it’s so well-regulated that only trained providers like those at Today’s Integrative Health can administer this type of medicine.

It can help with a wide variety of conditions, illnesses, and concerns. Some of the most popular uses for homeopathic medicine today include:

  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Depression
  • Migraines
  • Tension headaches
  • Anxiety
  • Skin disorders like eczema
  • Arthritis
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Thyroid disorders
  • Autoimmune-system disorders
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Crohn’s disease

Homeopathic medicine could help with many more conditions. If your health problems or concerns aren’t on the list, ask one of the doctors if homeopathy can help you get better naturally.

Many people have found help with long-term issues like allergies, depression, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome. It can also be helpful for minor issues like bruises, nausea, scrapes, coughs, toothaches, and colds.

Integrative Cancer Treatment FAQ

Integrative cancer treatment is a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment that includes traditional approaches and supportive therapies to decrease discomfort, improve strength, and increase your quality of life during treatment.

The integrative approach can benefit anyone with a cancer diagnosis. Cancer treatment can be difficult both physically and emotionally, so including integrative strategies can help you have a better experience and reduce the chance of treatment delays.

Many people don’t know how cancer treatment will affect them physically or emotionally. According to the American Cancer Society, people who receive supportive or palliative care as part of an integrative-treatment approach have fewer side effects than those who don’t get that support.

Choosing an integrative-care team to support you during cancer treatment can be a difficult, personal choice. Your doctors at Today’s Integrative Health want to provide you with every possible option for support during your treatment.

Integrative Health Care FAQ

Integrative healthcare is a medical specialty that covers the prevention, detection, and treatment of adult illnesses. At Today’s Integrative Health, Dr. Leo and Dr. Rosenberg take the time to understand your health thoroughly – from your first consultation through diagnosis and treatment – to help you achieve better health and an improved quality of life.

Integrative health care is also a term used to describe an approach to health that incorporates both conventional Western medicine and complementary health practices.

With integrative health care, your doctors utilize natural treatment methods whenever possible and follow evidence-based guidelines to help you achieve optimal health.

In addition to traditional doctor’s visits that cover your medical history, comprehensive physical exam, and general laboratory testing, integrative medicine also incorporates diet, lifestyle, and exercise. Dr. Leo and Dr. Rosenberg utilize the functional medicine approach to integrative health care.

With the functional-medicine approach, your doctors work with you to identify all the factors that contribute to your well-being – mind, body, spirit, and community – and areas for improvement in your health. This information helps your doctors understand your beliefs, habits, and strengths in order to develop health care strategies customized for you.

Internal / General Medicine FAQ

Internal medicine is a branch of adult health care concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult health concerns. Often, internal medicine doctors – called internists – have advanced training to understand complex disease processes and chronic illnesses.

Internal medicine can also be called general medicine because it treats the entire body, including all organs and how they function together. At Today’s Integrative Health, Dr. Leo provides internal and general medical care for all adults in the Rockville area.

Dr. Leo has decades of experience as an internal medicine specialist with a special interest in integrative health and functional medicine. His goal is to support your overall health by preventing or reducing the severity of chronic diseases and developing strategies to improve your quality of life.

Internists care for people with complicated health issues, including:

  • Diabetes
  • Emphysema
  • Heart disease
  • High cholesterol
  • Hypertension
  • Menopause
  • Osteoporosis
  • Pneumonia
  • Sleep apnea

When these health concerns overlap, which is common, you need a specialist who understands what you’re going through and how to help you. As an internist, Dr. Leo prides himself on truly listening to you to understand your situation and how he can help you.

Treating Lyme Disease can be very complex, but when using a comprehensive integrative medicine approach, the practitioner considers the whole body’s health to help treat imbalances in the body that lead to disease. Our office uses a wide array of treatments to name a few: medications, herbal medicine (also known as botanical medicine) to support healing and wellness. When working with one of our practitioners, we will customize a treatment plan specific to your unique concerns. The treatments can act as supporting remedies in your healing journey.

IV Therapy FAQ

IV therapy helps you get the vitamins and minerals you need for optimal cellular function. This type of therapy is provided in the Today’s Integrative Health office and is virtually pain-free thanks to the use of very small needles. 

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IV therapy can help when you’re suffering from an illness, dealing with a chronic condition, or when you’re trying to recover from injury. It’s a popular treatment for:

  • Viruses, including the flu
  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Upper-respiratory infections
  • Migraines
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Detoxification
  • Hypertension
  • Hepatitis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Fibromyalgia

Some patients have regular IV therapy sessions to maintain general wellness, even when they aren’t suffering from an illness or injury.

A Myers’ Cocktail is intravenous vitamin therapy that is made to deliver high concentrations of vitamins and minerals right into the bloodstream, allowing for faster absorption than if the vitamins were taken orally. The Myers’ cocktail contains high doses of vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, and calcium mixed in sterile water. The infusion typically takes 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the cocktail’s volume and the size of the person’s veins.

Yes, our office does offer IV Therapy to assist in healing from injuries or illness, provide overall health support, and much more.

Meridian Therapy FAQ

Meridian therapy is a traditional Chinese medical practice that’s based on restoring optimal energy flow throughout the 12 meridians in your body. Those meridians act as a kind of energy highway within your body. Your body’s essential energy (called Qi, in Chinese medicine) must move through these meridians freely for you to enjoy optimal health.

If your meridians are blocked, it can cause an imbalance in your body and mind, and the results can include pain, lethargy, and overall feeling of being unwell, along with many other problems. Meridian therapy restores your energy flow using gentle and natural hands-on acupressure methods.

The meridians are:

  • Large intestine
  • Spleen
  • Stomach
  • Heart
  • Small intestine
  • Kidney
  • Bladder
  • Pericardium
  • San jiao
  • Liver
  • Gallbladder

All of the meridians directly correspond with an organ, other than the san jiao. The san jiao, although not a physical organ, is often called the “heat” organ in meridian therapy. While it doesn’t generate heat, it aids in heat transfer between your organs.

Different problems connect to different meridians. For example, if you’re having back pain, the doctor might perform therapy on your bladder meridian.

Meridian therapy is similar to acupuncture in the fact that it stimulates acupoints. Instead of using a needle, practitioners use lasers, pressure massage, or even electronic stimulation to treat an acupoint. It’s a painless procedure for the patient, and can provide effective results.

Ozone Therapy FAQ

Ozone therapy is the use of medical grade ozone, a highly reactive form of pure oxygen, to create a curative response in the body. The body has the potential to renew and regenerate itself. When it becomes sick it is because this healing potential has been blocked. The reactive properties of ozone stimulate the body to remove many of these impediments thus allowing the body to do what it does best – heal itself.

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  • It activates the immune system in infectious diseases.
  • It improves the cellular utilization of oxygen that reduces ischemia in cardiovascular diseases, and in many of the infirmities of aging.
  • It causes the release of growth factors that stimulate damaged joints and degenerative discs to regenerate.
  • It can dramatically reduce or even eliminate many cases of chronic pain through its action on pain receptors.
  • Published papers have demonstrated its healing effects on interstitial cystitis, chronic hepatitis, herpes infections, dental infections, diabetes, and macular degeneration
Ozone therapy is a great treatment option for many people, as the ozone is a stimulant to healing. The reactive properties of ozone encourage the body to naturally remove many of the obstacles standing in the way of optimal health. When the obstacles are removed, the body is able to work on healing itself. It can activate the immune system to fight invaders, can help improve cardiovascular diseases, and dramatically reduce chronic pain. Studies have shown it can provide healing for interstitial cystitis, herpes infections, diabetes, dental infections, macular degeneration and chronic hepatitis.

Personalized Medicine FAQ

Personalized medicine means customized care and treatments just for you. The plans at Today’s Integrative Health use the functional-medicine model. This means that your care focuses on prevention of chronic disease and customized management of illness when needed.

Ultimately, personally tailored medicine at Today’s Integrative Health means that you get exactly what you need. It also means that you’re never treated like just one of the crowd.

Many medical practices today deliver care based upon “standards of care.” The general theory behind that is simple: patients all need the same thing according to what the clinical trials say.

However, the truth is that one patient is not the same as the next one. Treatments that work perfectly for one patient might be useless to another. The results of clinical trials reveal how the majority of patients responded. This type of medicine assumes that each of their patients fall into this majority.

With a tailored medical plan, you’re treated as an individual. Personally planned medical treatment is different because there aren’t any assumptions based on other patients’ data.

Weight Loss FAQ

Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial to avoiding chronic diseases and can support better energy, mood, self-confidence, and quality of life. Some chronic diseases associated with being overweight or obese include:

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Certain cancers, including endometrial, breast, and colon cancers

Being overweight or obese can also cause joint pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression and could prevent you from doing the things you love.

Medically supervised weight loss is a program that you develop with your doctor to optimize your success. If you’re trying to lose weight on your own, it can be difficult to understand what foods to eat or avoid or if you should try a fad diet.

This removes the guesswork involved with losing weight and gives you reliable, evidence-based strategies.  Both Today’s Integrative Health doctors specialize in weight loss using the functional-medicine approach.

Services FAQ

We reserve the right to charge your credit card on file with any associated charges for the following items, including but not limited to, your appointments, supplements, consultations, IVs, lab work, etc.  Please note that the deposit associated with your first appointment is non-refundable.

Yes. This is our policy and it is a growing trend in the healthcare industry.

We use the same methods to guard your credit card information as we do for your medical information.  The card information is securely protected by the credit card processing component of our HIPAA compliant practice management system.  This system stores the card information for future transactions using the same sort of technology that any online retailer would.  There is no way to export the card information out of our system.  The only way to use it is to process a payment in our practice management system.

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine
American Academy of Ozone Therapy
AIHM
IFM
The American Osteopathic Association of Prolotherapy Regenerative Medicine
ACAM
American Osteopathic Association
Ortho Molecular
Standard Process
Xymogen
Metagenics