I was left homeless by postviral chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (CFS/FMS) in 1975. Essentially blown off by a medical profession with almost no knowledge and even less interest, I have spent the past 48 years researching effective treatments for postviral and other causes of CFS and fibromyalgia. This has included eight studies on a variety of effective treatments and protocols. Long COVID is simply one more form of postviral chronic fatigue syndrome.1
Status of Long COVID Research and Treatment in Standard Medicine
Unfortunately, the diagnostic criteria for long COVID are atrocious. It is defined as any persistent symptoms after COVID, so those with loss of smell and taste are being lumped with those with congestive heart failure from heart attacks, as well as persistent fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms that also represent postviral CFS/FMS.
| THE SHINE PROTOCOL | |
| Sleep Hormonal optimization and Hypotension (POTS) Infections – secondary co-infections are common Nutritional support Exercise as able |
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| Treat CFS/FMS, including post-COVID, with SHINE for an average 90% improvement in quality of life.5 | |
The lack of reasonable diagnostic criteria, as well as validated outcome measures, will make it nearly impossible for the NIH and academic medicine to fund meaningful treatment research. Not because the research can’t be done effectively. It can be, using available CFS/FMS measures. Rather, the problem is that the groups in control of the funding have been unwilling to consult with the academic and clinical researchers who have been studying CFS/FMS effectively for decades.
Expect that it will take at least 20 years for traditional medicine to even begin to help those with long COVID. Unfortunately, as with CFS/FMS, most people with this condition are feeling blown off by their physicians2 and have little hope from standard medicine.
Long COVID Is Postviral CFS/FMS
The scientific literature is very clear on this. Researchers familiar with these conditions also know it. They have a 20-to-40-year head start on researching this condition. They can help people now. So, of course, the CFS/FMS research and clinical community are being largely ignored by the NIH and academia when it comes to funding, creating diagnostic and outcome measures, treatments and anything meaningful that can actually help people now.
Making the Diagnosis
It’s straightforward. In this article, my focus is on that segment of about 10% of people who had COVID and who developed postviral CFS/FMS.3 This translates to 17 million Americans who are now needlessly crippled.
So, how to recognize CFS/FMS? It’s quite simple. If you see somebody with severe fatigue that persists despite rest, brain fog, widespread pain, and/insomnia, consider the diagnosis. I would presume that unless there is some other overt medical cause, if it began after COVID, the person has long COVID.
For a more formal diagnosis, the 2016 ACR (American College of Rheumatology) diagnostic criteria work well and can be found online.4 It’s a simple form you can print out and have the patient fill in. Scoring takes under two minutes and confirms the diagnosis.
Help People Recover: SHINE Protocol
Our published randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that 91% of people improved, with an average 90% increase in quality of life by optimizing energy production with the SHINE protocol.5
How to Start
If interested, feel free to email me at FatigueDoc@gmail.com and ask for the free fibromyalgia and long COVID treatment tools. I’m happy to send these to you. They include intake questionnaires, organized treatment protocols, a more detailed discussion on treating these conditions, and simple at-home testing for orthostatic intolerance (POTS).
| An Open-Label, Pilot Trial of [a unique] Red Ginseng in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Post-Viral Fatigue. Pharmaceuticals, 2022;15(43):1. | |
| RESULTS: 188 subject patients completed the one-month treatment trial, with 60.1% rating themselves as improved, and 13.3% rating themselves as much better (p<.001), with a: | |
| > 67% average increase in energy > 44% average increase in overall well-being > 48% average improvement in mental clarity > 46% average improvement in sleep > 33% average decrease in pain > 72% average increase in stamina |
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| CONCLUSIONS: This unique form of aquaponically grown red ginseng resulted in marked improvement in people with CFS and fibromyalgia. This included the subgroup with postviral CFS/FMS. www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/15/1/43/pdf. | |
This latter condition, whereby blood drops to the legs and stays there when people stand (called orthostatic intolerance or autonomic dysfunction), has been shown to be present in many cases.6 Simple approaches such as adrenal support, increasing salt and water intake, compression stockings, and herbals can be dramatically beneficial when this is present.
This Means Long COVID Is Already Very Effectively Treatable
We are seeing the same recovery in people with long COVID by using the SHINE protocol. For those who had heart or lung damage from the virus, the free information sheets I mentioned above will discuss how to address those naturally. It is fairly simple. It is totally unnecessary for most people with long COVID to remain disabled.
Exciting Results From Our Most Recent Study on Red Ginseng
Our group has completed three other recent studies looking at treatment specifically for postviral CFS and fibromyalgia. Especially effective was a novel form of red ginseng. Talking one simple chewable tablet daily resulted in dramatic benefits in 60% of cases after one month.7 This form of ginseng is remarkable for its incredibly high level of key ginsenosides.8
Especially Pertinent to Chiropractic (and Acupuncture)
Long COVID, a form of CFS/FMS, represents an energy crisis whereby energy levels drop dramatically in the body. This causes decreased function in the hypothalamus, which regulates sleep, hormones, and autonomic function. The next key areas affected by drops in energy are the muscles. They respond by staying contracted.
Basically, it takes more energy to stretch the muscle than for it to contract. The low energy state biochemically is a major contributor to myofascial pain in general, resulting in muscle shortening, trigger points, and chronic muscle pain.9 Even in the absence of fibromyalgia. So, using the SHINE protocol can result in markedly improved outcomes in treating myofascial pain in general when combined with structural work or needling.
(Interestingly, when mapped out, 70% of trigger points correspond with acupuncture points. Both can be dramatically affected by needling. Just a thought to help tie the different systems together.)
References
This article focuses on nine severe injuries that are generally not diagnosable until the third to fourth week following the date of injury, including how to diagnose these severe injuries. The discovery of any of these injuries early can make a significant difference in the case outcome.
| Digital Exclusive
Dr. Anthony Delitto, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has announced that the SHRS will begin offering a Doctor of Chiropractic program in fall 2025, with applications accepted this fall. The program is the first at a research-intensive public university in the U.S. and the only chiropractic program headed by a faculty member with NIH research funding, according to the press release.
While canes, braces and posts represent extrinsic methods for lessening adductor moment arms, an intrinsic method for lessening the development of medial knee osteoarthritis occurs when the hip abductor musculature and the iliotibial band are strong enough to create a compressive force capable of stabilizing the lateral knee.
