chronic pain
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Gut Program
Leaky Gut Syndrome is becoming a popular topic in the mainstream. It has been known about and utilized by holistic practitioners for almost 20 years. While it is helpful to treat leaky gut, the pitfall is that almost everyone these days has a certain degree of “leakiness” due to modern lifestyle. Antibiotics, certain vaccines, pesticides, and other toxins directly and indirectly (by changing gut ecology) cause leakiness. There is no direct or reliable way to measure leaky gut, other than by its clinical features, reviewed in the article (click on image).
References
The Intestinal Barrier and Current Techniques for the Assessment of Gut Permeability.2020
File Access
What is Holistic Medicine, Optimal Health & Physiatry?
Holistic Medicine or “Integrative Medicine” combines the best of conventional modern medicine with traditional ancient medicine, emphasizing education and lifestyle for natural healing. At at least 80% of current disease is related to stress and lifestyle, deficiencies and toxicities, while genes only account for 20% of disease, at most*.
Dr. Cheikin uses a unique multi-dimensional evaluation and treatment to search for and solve the root causes of illness. Our Comprehensive Evaluation includes traditional history, physical exam and diagnostic tests coupled with detailed exploration of family and medical history, metabolic/nutritional, psycho-spiritual and energetic realms. For more details about our holistic medical program, click here.
Optimal Health refers to a condition of wellness or fitness, with the capacity to handle stressors (such as infections and traumas) and to live a long, creative, loving, energetic life without medications or disability. Physiatry, also called “Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation” or “Rehabilitation Medicine” is a specialty of medicine that works with the whole person, his/her family, employer and others to restore and improve functioning.
* Identical twins can have opposite health profiles based on lifestyle and epigenes. Epigenes are molecules that modulate gene expression and are passed from generation to generation; if the genes are the hardware, the epigenes are the software. The health and stressors of a parent affects their child, grandchild and later generations apart from the genes themselves.
Videos
These videos were created by Dr. Cheikin to help you understand the holistic process, including the science and how the protocols work. Here is a sampler:
Pain, Fatigue & Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by persistent, recurrent and unexplainable chronic fatigue not due to an ongoing period of effort, not relieved by rest, and is functionally disabling. Establishing this diagnosis requires the presence of at least 4 of the following associated symptoms: 1) patient report of a deterioration in short-term memory that is functionally limiting; 2) pharyngodynia; 3) cervical or axially lymphadenopathy; 4) muscle pain; 5) polyarticular pain without tumefaction or reddening; 6) headaches with new characteristics or of different severity; 7) unrefreshing sleep; 8) malaise following effort and lasting more than 24 hours (post-exertional malaise).
Muscle pain is a common complaint. It is important to establish a diagnosis that is as specific as possible, so that rational treatment can be provided. Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread muscle pain associated with fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive impairment, often described as “brain fog.” As a form of peripheral and central sensitization, it is considered a disorder of the nervous system. The 2016 American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia require:
- Pain in at least 4 of 5 regions (left upper region, right upper region, axial region, left lower region, right lower region)
- Symptoms have been present at a similar level for at least 3 months
- Widespread pain index (WPI) 7 and symptom severity score (SSS) 5 or WPI of 4-6 and SSS 9
- A diagnosis of fibromyalgia is valid irrespective of other diagnoses. A diagnosis of fibromyalgia does not exclude the presence of other clinically relevant diagnoses.
The WPI is a tally of the number of specific areas in which the patient experiences pain. It ranges from 0-19 and includes the following areas: left/right shoulder girdle, left/right upper arm, left/right lower arm, left//right hip (buttock), left/right upper leg, left/right lower leg, left/right jaw, chest, abdomen, neck, upper back, and lower back. The SSS rates the associated symptoms of fatigue, waking unrefreshed, and cognitive symptoms on a scale from 0 (no problem) to 3 (severe, pervasive, continuous, life disturbing). The total score is a sum of the 3 individual scores. This patient with pain in 5 regions, a WPI of at least 11 (neck, upper back, lower back, both shoulders, arms, buttocks, and legs) and SSS of at least 7 (+3 for severe fatigue, +2 for often waking unrefreshed and +2 for moderate cognitive symptoms) present for 5 years has fibromyalgia.
In contrast to fibromyalgia which is widespread, myofascial pain syndrome causes local or regional muscle pain and is associated with trigger points (small, sensitive, palpable taut bands of muscle that are painful to palpation, reproduce the patient’s symptoms, and cause referred pain). Whereas fibromyalgia is a disorder of the nervous system manifesting as peripheral and central sensitization, myofascial pain is considered intrinsic to the muscles. Sleep disturbances and fatigue may also be present with myofascial pain but are typically less prominent than in fibromyalgia. Polymyalgia rheumatica is an inflammatory disorder causing pain and stiffness, often in the shoulders, and rarely affects people under 50 years old. Inflammatory markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate are often elevated.
References: (new tab, lightbox will not work)
Wolfe F, Clauw DJ, Fitzcharles M, et al. 2016 Revisions to the 2010/2011 fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2016 Dec; 46(3): 319-29. PMID: 27916278
Atzeni F, Cazzola M, Benucci M, Di Franco M, Salaffi F, Sarzi-Puttini P. Chronic widespread pain in the spectrum of rheumatological diseases. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2011 Apr; 24(2): 165-71. PMID: 22094193
Borg-Stein J, Simons DG. Focused review: myofascial pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002 Mar; 83(3 Suppl 1): S40-7, S48-9. PMID: 11973695