French-Australian osteopath DAMIEN MOUELLIC introduces us to his practice in Hong Kong and one of its key approaches to treating patients, functional medicine.
When and why did you start Central & Stanley Wellness?
After being well-established in Hong Kong in a central medical practice from 2007, I decided to set up my own practice in Stanley in 2013. One of my biggest motivations was contributing to the growth of osteopathic medicine here, and trying to integrate the concept of functional medicine in my daily practice. I opened my second practice in 2019 in Central, adding more services and talented practitioners. Since then, the brand has evolved to become Central & Stanley Wellness.
What is functional medicine?
It’s a very personalised approach to medicine with a focus on finding the underlying cause of disease, rather than treating symptomatically.
Often, practitioners focus too much on symptomatic relief. Both osteopathy and functional medicine work “upstream” by always trying to find the primary cause of the dysfunction. You could compare it to a wall with humidity issues; you can scrape and paint over it, to keep it in good shape for a while. But if the leak or the source of the issue remains, your success will be limited. Functional medicine will try to get to the root of the problem, using conventional medicine as a foundation, while adding new dimensions in the assessment, management and prevention of disease.
What kind of ailments might it be used to treat?
Some of the chronic conditions that functional medicine treats exceptionally well include fatigue, anxiety and depression, chronic pain issues, IBS, digestive disturbances, fibromyalgia, auto-immune disorders and others.
How many practitioners work across the two centres?
We currently have 22 practitioners in Hong Kong from a broad array of backgrounds: osteopathy, physiotherapy, naturopathy, nutrition, psychology and other allied health disciplines. We work synergistically using a functional medicine model so we can share our expertise to help patients understand the underlying causes of their health concerns.
2372 9700 | 2866 0287
stanleywellnesscentre.com
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This article first appeared in the City Guide 2020 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
