Diet, Lifestyle, Environment: Where PTs Fit in Functional Medicine
17 Oct 2026 · 1 min
0:34
In this brief conversational excerpt, Christopher Ellis introduces the DLE framework—diet, lifestyle, and environment—as the core focus of functional medicine. He emphasizes that physical therapists, who often have one‑on‑one time with patients, are uniquely positioned to assess and influence key lifestyle factors such as sleep quality, nutrition, and hydration. Ellis points out that many patients neglect basic habits like adequate water intake, highlighting an opportunity for PTs to intervene beyond traditional musculoskeletal care and address broader health determinants.
