Medicine

About Medicine

Medicine is not pills. It is not injections. It is not surgery. Medicine restores the body. Hosted by Sean Light, founder of Saint Bartholomew Medicine, this podcast explores what actually heals chronic pain and builds durable human performance. Through clinical insight, lived experience, and systems-based thinking, Medicine challenges the conventional model of symptom management and replaces it with a deeper framework: rebuild the systems, and the body restores itself. Each episode examines the foundations of real healing: – Sleep – Nutrition – Strength – Nervous system regulation Along the way, Sean shares the stories that shaped this philosophy — from childhood headaches to performance training, from the Sistine Chapel to the symbolic meaning of Saint Bartholomew — and explains the Four Systems of Healing that guide his clinical work. If you are done chasing quick fixes and ready to build a body that works, this is where we begin. This is Medicine.

Publisher

Saint Bartholomew

Category

health & fitness · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Feb 2026

Latest episode

26 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Cluster Headache Causes and an Anatomy-Based Approach to Relief

   Cluster headaches are often called the most painful condition a person can experience, and they are sometimes called "suicide headaches." Jackie has lived with them for years. She flew to New York City to share her story, and together we explore a the big questions: why do cluster headaches strike only one side of the head? In this conversation, Jackie walks through what a cluster headache attack actually feels like, what a cluster cycle does to daily life, and what she has tried. I share a body-based theory I've been developing: that the one-sided pattern of cluster headaches may be connected to natural asymmetries in the body and how we move. This includes the diaphragm, breathing, posture, and gait. I'm Sean, founder of Saint Bartholomew, a chronic pain and human performance clinic in New York City. I'm a former NBA and MLB performance coach and a lifelong migraine sufferer. I'm not a cluster headache specialist. I'm an expert in how the body moves, and I believe that perspective might be the missing link from the cluster headache conversation. What You'll Learn: - Jackie's first cluster headache - What a cluster attack feels like - Living through a cluster cycle - Treatments she's tried - Why are cluster headaches one-sided? - Body asymmetry, breathing, and gait - What we're working on together 📖 READ THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CLUSTER HEADACHES [article link] You Can Find Jackie Here: Instagram: www.instagram.com/jackiehollywood Podcast: https://daretoovershare.com YouTube:  @JackieHollywood (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC9tgWaXAzMqxr1R1qePFBKg) Saint Bartholomew | New York City The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain www.SaintBartholomew.com ⚠️ This video is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please continue working with your physician on the diagnosis and treatment of cluster headaches, including established options like high-flow oxygen and triptans.

2. 

   20 Jul 2026

   The Surprising Effect of Teeth on Chronic Pain | Dr. Frank Mallon

   Why Your Teeth Might Be the Reason Your Body Won't Heal Most people have never connected their jaw to their hip pain. Or their bite to their chronic neck stiffness. Or their teeth to the reason they cannot seem to get out of their own way no matter what they try. In this episode of Medicine, Sean sits down with Dr. Frank Mallon, a PRI-certified physical therapist, integration specialist, and private PT to Super Bowl champions, Olympic medalists, World Cup champions, and platinum recording artists, to talk about the third and most overlooked lever in the human movement system. The teeth. Dr. Mallon's path to this work started the same week he graduated from PT school, when he was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma. After six months of chemotherapy, his body was in disarray. Panic attacks, brain fog, muscle twitching, vestibular dysfunction. Every specialist he saw told him he was fine. It was not until Ron Hruska looked at him from across a room and said "you probably have some health issues, don't you?" that the path forward became clear. What he found in Lincoln, Nebraska changed everything. Not just for him, but for every patient he has worked with since. Topics covered: How the diaphragm, liver, and human asymmetry create a predictable pattern that works its way from the pelvis all the way into the jaw Why your mandible is a sesamoid bone and what happens to your bite when your cranium shifts How your teeth function as pressure sensors and proprioceptors that tell your brain where it is in space Why a popsicle stick can give someone full range of internal rotation in seconds The connection between your bite, your sphenoid bone, your pterygoid muscles, and your visual system Why braces and crowns done on a body that is already in a compensated pattern can lock that body in place How to know if your teeth are a limiting factor and the tests Sean uses before picking up the phone and calling Dr. Mallon Cross bites, open bites, deep canines - what to look for and what they mean The Parkinson's patient whose tremors stopped the moment a splint touched his teeth Why the splint, the orthotic, and the lens are all the same idea - open the window, then install the right pattern From Medicine, presented by Saint Bartholomew - a conversation series on the truth of pain, performance, and optimal health. Find Dr. Frank Mallon: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renaissance_pt/ Renaissance PT and Wellness: https://renaissanceptandwellness.com/ Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain New York City www.SaintBartholomew.com

3. 

   12 Jul 2026

   A Woman's Guide to Longevity Medicine - A Conversation with Dr. Kat Léger

   Medicine | Episode 5 — What Medicine Got Wrong About Women: A Conversation with Dr. Kat Léger Women were not legally required to be included in clinical trials until 1993. Every standard of care practice before that was built on data from men. The medication your doctor is recommending you take as a woman was studied in men first. That is where this conversation starts. In this episode of Medicine, Sean sits down with Dr. Kat Léger - triple board certified in internal medicine, nephrology, and critical care medicine, and Director of Women's Health at Extension Health in New York City - to talk about what preventative medicine actually looks like, why perimenopause begins at thirty five and not fifty, and why the gap between what women are told and what is actually happening in their bodies may be the most consequential blind spot in modern healthcare. Dr. Léger was diagnosed with PCOS at seventeen and put on birth control. Nobody discussed what that diagnosis actually meant for her long term health. She did not fully understand it herself until she was deep into medical school. That is the problem she is trying to solve. Topics covered: Why perimenopause starts at thirty five and why almost no one is telling women this What estrogen and progesterone actually protect - bones, brain, cardiovascular system, metabolic health, muscle The difference between what your PCP checks and what advanced diagnostics actually reveal Cholesterol, LDL, and why ApoB is the number that tells the real story How visceral fat creates metabolic dysfunction even in people who look completely fit The high achieving skinny fat problem - why a resting blood lactate panel matters Zone two training, resistance training, and why muscles are the longevity organ GLP-1 peptides - what they are, what they were designed for, and where the current wave has gone wrong Why going on a GLP without resistance training means losing muscle, not just fat Hormone replacement therapy and bone health - what the research actually says Why protein intake for women is non-negotiable and how much you actually need Why lifting heavy is not going to make you look like a man - and why you have to do it anyway Dr. Léger speaks four languages, holds a nutrition science certification from Stanford University, and is completing advanced training through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. She is featured in Forbes and is currently building the women's health program at Extension Health in New York City. From Medicine, presented by Saint Bartholomew - a conversation series on the truth of pain, performance, and optimal health. Find Dr. Kat Léger: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenlegermd/ Extension Health: https://extension.health/ Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain New York City www.SaintBartholomew.com

4. 

   6 Jul 2026

   There is a Chance Your Chronic Pain is Just a False Alarm

   Daniel spent years in pain. Six orthopedists. Chiropractic care that helped for a day or two and then wore off. Trigger point injections. Acupuncture. An MRI and X-ray that both came back negative. A nerve ablation on the table as the next option. He found Saint Bartholomew as what he called a Hail Mary. In this episode of Medicine, Sean sits down with Daniel Wieber, the first client ever to appear on the podcast, to tell the full story. What every stop on the traditional medicine path looked like, what happened when the physical work stopped producing results, and what changed when they stopped chasing the symptom and started looking at the brain. The answer was a book. A diagnosis called TMS. And a moment where Sean told Daniel he could not contact him again until the pain was behind him. Three to four months later, a text came through. What's covered: What idiopathic pain is and why a negative MRI can be more disorienting than a positive one Why chiropractic care kept providing two days of relief and nothing more How the nervous system creates a chronic pain loop that has nothing to do with structural damage The neurological emergency brake - why the brain holds the body back when it perceives threat John Sarno's TMS framework and why Sean was hesitant to introduce it Why symptoms were worse at work and almost gone on weekends The faith over fear principle and what it actually requires to work Sean's own ocular migraine story and what happened when he chose to go through it anyway Why coming back for sessions was itself part of the problem How the same pattern is now showing up in Daniel's knee This episode is for anyone who has exhausted the traditional pathways, gotten clearance from multiple doctors, and still cannot find a reason for the pain they are living with every day. From Medicine, presented by Saint Bartholomew - a conversation series on the truth of pain, performance, and optimal health. Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain New York City www.SaintBartholomew.com (https://www.saintbartholomew.com/)

5. 

   5 May 2026

   What No One is Telling You About Chronic Pain | Learn the Secrets with Neal Hallinan

   Medicine | Episode 4 — From Chronic Pain to Clarity: A Conversation with Neal Hallinan Neal Hallinan spent fourteen years having three to four SI joint blowouts a year. He had tinnitus at thirteen, plantar fasciitis in both feet, a shoulder that fell apart while pitching, and a body that could not shift to its left side. He had no idea they were all the same problem. In this episode of Medicine, Sean and Neal trace the full arc - from a teenager with ringing ears and a ruined pitching career, to a guy getting drunk on weekends just to survive the foot pain, to discovering the Postural Restoration Institute on a dial up modem, to the moment a mouth guard was placed over his teeth and he almost fell over standing still. What follows is one of the most honest and clinically rich conversations this show has had. Neal does not oversimplify. He does not sell anything. He just tells you what happened and what he has come to understand about why. Topics covered: - The anatomy of asymmetry - why the right diaphragm, the liver, and the brain all push the body to the same side What the left AIC pattern actually is and what it looks like in a body over time - How a crossbite locked Neal's entire movement system into a dysfunctional pattern for decades - Why the jaw and the teeth are not a dental issue - they are a neurological one - How the visual system and the sphenoid bone change the shape of the eye and alter what the brain can perceive - Why flat floors are threatening to the nervous system and what to do about it - The three things a brain needs that modern life has almost entirely removed - Why rhythmic music is a legitimate clinical tool, not a theory And at the end, why chronic pain is not a structural problem. It is a brain that has lost its map. Neal Hallinan is a trainer, educator, and one of the most talented professionals of postural restoration and neuroscience working in the field today. Find Neal Hallinan: YouTube:  @NealHallinan (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCOxBRPqI9A1kT9xZFWQfz1w) Instagram: @neal_hallinan (https://www.instagram.com/neal_hallinan) Website: www.PRITrainer.com (https://pritrainer.com/) Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain. New York City www.SaintBartholomew.com (https://www.saintbartholomew.com/)

6. 

   8 Apr 2026

   Built on a Broken Foundation: The Surprising Impact of Your Feet (ft. Dr. Maddy Walkner)

   Medicine | Episode 3 — The Foot as a Foundation: A Conversation with Dr. Maddy Walkner Most chronic pain doesn't begin where it hurts. In this episode of Medicine, Sean sits down with Dr. Maddy Walkner — foot and ankle surgeon, sports medicine specialist, and partner at Silverstone Podiatry on Manhattan's Upper East Side — for one of the more clinically surprising conversations we've had yet. What starts as a discussion about heel cups turns into a deep exploration of how the foot influences everything above it — hamstring activation, pelvic alignment, proprioception, anxiety, and even teeth grinding at night. Topics covered: — Why a heel cup can create a full-body neurological response — The tripod of the foot and what happens when the heel loses its position — Flat feet as a proprioceptive problem, not just a structural one — Gait analysis: what to look for, how long to watch, and why shoes can lie to you — Orthotics — custom vs. over-the-counter, and when each is right — Bunions and hammer toes: what they actually are, and why early intervention matters — The connection between foot instability, anxiety, and sensory upregulation Dr. Walkner graduated salutatorian from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, completed a concurrent Master of Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and served as chief resident at Lenox Hill Hospital — where she continues to teach the next generation of foot and ankle surgeons. This is episode three of Medicine — a conversation series dedicated to the truth of pain, performance, and what it means to move well. Find Dr. Maddy Walkner: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmaddy_walkner (https://silverstonepodiatry.com/about-dr-madeline-walkner/) Silverstone Podiatry: https://silverstonepodiatry.com/about-dr-madeline-walkner/ (https://silverstonepodiatry.com/about-dr-madeline-walkner/) Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Chronic Pain. New York City www.SaintBartholomew.com

7. 

   24 Mar 2026

   David Dunlop: The Athlete's Advantage: Why Elite Training Holds the Key to Ending Chronic Pain

   David Dunlop worked in elite college athletics coaching strength and conditioning at the University of Minnesota football program after playing the game himself at Louisiana Tech and Portland State. Today, as Director of Performance at Saint Bartholomew, he works with a very different kind of athlete: people in chronic pain. In this episode, David shares the journey that brought him here, the patterns he keeps seeing in chronic pain patients, and the moment that changed how he thinks about the body entirely. He breaks down the brain's role in pain, pulls back the curtain on the treatment paths his clients have tried before finding Saint Bartholomew, and draws a sharp line between how elite athletes recover and how the rest of the world suffers — and why that gap might be the root cause of chronic pain itself. He closes with his top advice on neck pain, knee pain, and shoulder pain and one piece of advice he'd give to anyone currently living in pain. This is Medicine. Not drugs. Not surgery. Real medicine. What we cover: — David's path from college football player to elite S&C coach to chronic pain specialist — The trends he keeps observing across his clients — His "big ah-ha moment" working with people in pain — The brain's role in chronic pain — How elite athletic recovery differs from civilian healthcare — and why it matters — Top tips for neck pain, knee pain, and shoulder pain — His single best piece of advice for anyone in pain right now Learn more: Website: https://www.saintbartholomew.com/ Newsletter: https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/ Podcast: https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/

8. 

   24 Feb 2026

   What is Medicine? | How Chronic Pain Enters the Body and the Real Medicine That Treats It

   What is medicine? Not pills. Not injections. Not surgery. Real medicine restores the body. In this first episode of Medicine, I explain what we believe medicine actually is — and why chronic pain persists when we treat symptoms instead of systems. I share: - The headache story that shaped my career - What I learned from studying the human body through performance training - Why traditional rehabilitation often fails - The moment in the Sistine Chapel that changed everything - Why Saint Bartholomew became the symbol of this work - The Four Systems of Healing we use to restore the body At Saint Bartholomew Medicine, we believe the body heals when you rebuild the systems that support it. Real medicine is built on: - Sleep - Diet - Strength - Nervous system regulation When those are aligned, pain cannot survive. If you’ve tried physical therapy, chiropractic, injections, or rest — and you’re still stuck — this episode will help you understand why. This is the foundation. Chapters: 0:00 – Introduction: What Is Medicine? 3:50 – My Story 7:15 – The Headache Years 14:27 – Why Traditional Exercise Doesn’t Work 18:15 – The Four Systems of Healing 24:25 – What Happens When an Athlete Gets Injured 30:41 – Why Saint Bartholomew Learn more: Website: https://www.saintbartholomew.com/ (https://www.saintbartholomew.com/) Newsletter: https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/ (https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/) Podcast: https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/ (https://medicine.saintbartholomew.com/)

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