Marcus Institute of Integrative Health - Boca Raton

We offer several regenerative therapies, and patients often ask which one they need. Here is the short version of how we decide.

→ PRP: We draw your blood, concentrate the platelets and growth factors, and inject them into the damaged area under ultrasound guidance. We adjust the white blood cell content by target, using leukocyte-rich preparations for tendinopathies and leukocyte-poor for joints where extra inflammation works against you.
→ Prolotherapy: A precise dextrose solution creates controlled, localized inflammation that prompts the body to rebuild collagen. We use it for chronic ligament laxity, back and neck pain, and soft tissue dysfunction.
→ A*M: Alpha-2-macroglobulin is a protein in your blood that binds the enzymes responsible for cartilage breakdown. Concentrating and injecting it can slow the degenerative cycle in an osteoarthritic joint.
→ PPX: Extracellular vesicles carry signals that tell cells to reduce inflammation and start repair. This is our option for complex connective tissue injuries that have failed conventional treatment.

All four are delivered under real-time ultrasound guidance, and the right choice depends on your imaging, your stage of degeneration, and your goals. 🔬

Request an evaluation: fau.edu/marcusinstitute/request-appointment

Join us Wednesday, September 23 for our next Integrative Nutrition demonstration cooking class.

Rebecca Kastin, NBC-HWC, will show you how to build a nourishing seasonal autumn meal using fresh harvest ingredients and a slow cooker. It's a practical hour for anyone who wants to eat better without spending a weeknight at the stove. 🍂

Wednesday, September 23
11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, 880 NW 13th St, Suite 400, Boca Raton

Free and open to the community. Registration is required.

Save your seat: https://calendar.fau.edu/event/integrative-nutrition-demonstration-cooking-class-slow-cooker

It's Healthy Aging Month, and in our clinic, aging well is less about the years and more about your function.

The markers predicting whether you stay mobile and independent (like lean muscle mass, insulin sensitivity, inflammatory load, bone density, hormone levels, and balance) are largely trackable in your 50s and 60s. Because these metrics usually decline gradually, people often write off early changes as normal aging, leaving critical issues unaddressed for a decade or more.

We build a baseline and then work on whatever is moving in the wrong direction. That might mean protein and resistance training targets, hormone support, treating chronic inflammation, or resolving the joint pain that has slowly cut how far you walk each day. 🚶

If you want a clearer picture of where you stand, we are welcoming new patients at our Boca Raton clinic. Get in touch: fau.edu/marcusinstitute/request-appointment

Registration is open for the fall session of Art for Wellness at the Marcus Institute.

Cristina Pineros, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC-QS, is a board-certified art therapist and licensed mental health counselor. She leads this restorative, creativity-based class, using guided artistic expression to support nervous system regulation, reduce stress, and encourage mindfulness. You do not need any art background to participate. 🖌️

Tuesdays, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
September 15, 22, and 29
Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, 880 NW 13th St, Suite 400, Boca Raton

The series builds on itself week to week, so we ask that you register only if you can commit to all three sessions. Art material sets will be available for purchase at the class.

Free and open to the community. Reserve your spot: https://calendar.fau.edu/event/art-for-wellness-2026-fall-series

A lot of our September patients arrive with the same complaint: the schedule went back to normal and the sleep did not.

Summer tends to move your cortisol rhythm. Later light exposure, irregular meal timing, travel, and evening drinks all contribute, and the adaptation does not reverse on its own once the calendar tightens up. Cortisol is supposed to peak in the morning and taper through the evening. When that curve flattens or inverts, you get the pattern we see constantly this time of year: in bed by 10, awake at 3, exhausted by mid afternoon.

A standard morning cortisol test often reads as normal. We assess the rhythm across the day alongside thyroid markers, blood sugar patterns, and melatonin timing, since those systems reveal much more and point us to the right treatment approach. ⏰

If you are going to bed earlier and waking up just as tired, we can look at why. Let's chat! Schedule your appointment at fau.edu/marcusinstitute/request-appointment

September is Pain Awareness Month, and we want to name something our patients tell us constantly: they were taught to manage their pain long before anyone tried to find its source.

Chronic pain is usually treated as a signal to suppress. Medication lowers the volume and rest buys time. A cortisone injection can help for a stretch, then the pain returns to where it started.

At the Marcus Institute, we work the other direction. High-resolution diagnostic ultrasound lets us see tendons, ligaments, and nerves while you move, which is how we identify what is generating the pain. Treatment from there might involve prolotherapy, PRP, A*M, or osteopathic manipulative therapy, depending on what the tissue needs.

We also assess inflammatory markers, metabolic patterns, and sleep quality, since the environment your tissue is healing in matters as much as the original injury. 🩺

If your pain has outlasted the plan you were given, we would welcome the conversation: fau.edu/marcusinstitute/request-appointment

Our fall session of Aligned Wellness: Breathe, Move & Meditate opens this Friday, September 4.

Heather Berg, E-RYT 200, leads a one-hour class combining breathwork, gentle movement, and guided meditation. The goal is nervous system regulation, so the pace stays accessible for most fitness levels. 🌿

Fridays, 10:00 to 11:00 AM
September 4, 11, 18, 25 and October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, 880 NW 13th St, Suite 400, Boca Raton

The class is free and open to the community. Registration is required.

Reserve your spot: https://calendar.fau.edu/event/aligned-wellness-breathe-move-meditate-fall-2026

When people think of acupuncture, they usually think of structural pain relief, but this ancient, evidence-based modality is an incredible clinical asset for metabolic health care.

Acupuncture helps lower systemic inflammation by stimulating specific pathways. It may improve circulatory flow, aid digestive movement, and calm an overactive sympathetic nervous system.

Stress triggers cortisol spikes that disrupt your blood sugar, so integrating personalized acupuncture sessions into your broader metabolic program may help restore long-term metabolic balance and sleep quality. 🕊️

If you're dealing with chronic digestive discomfort like gas, severe bloating, or erratic bowel habits, you may have already completed standard evaluations with a gastroenterologist without finding lasting relief. Often, conditions like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) or Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO) are the overlooked root causes.

True recovery from these conditions is a multi-month journey that requires an evolutionary approach, combining targeted antibiotic therapy when indicated with iterative adjustments to functional supplements, gut lining support, and specialized nutrition counseling.

We're here to partner with you through every phase of that healing arc. 🌀

It can be surprising to hear that persistent brain fog, low mood, or everyday anxiety might actually stem from an imbalanced digestive tract. 🧠🌱

The gut-brain axis is a direct two-way highway. When your gut microbiome experiences dysbiosis, chronic low-grade inflammation, or undiagnosed food sensitivities, it alters the production of crucial neurotransmitters and sparks a systemic stress response.

Our metabolic and digestive care protocols investigate this exact connection, using targeted supplement strategies and nutritional counseling to help both your mind and gut find steady ground.