Torque Talk

QUANTUM CHIROPRACTIC

2010-02-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

Chiropractic has been around since the late 19th century and its founding principles really haven’t changed much since the early part of the 20th century – in fact one might argue that chiropractic philosophy has devolved from some of the dizzy heights reached by some of the early chiropractic authors.

The science of Physics was going through a quantum shift during this same era, evolving from Newtonian Physics to what is now commonly called Quantum Physics. In chiropractic we often talk about paradigm shifts and this is often in the context of everyone else needing to have one in order to catch up to our principles of health and illness.But maybe we too need a paradigm shift?

Let’s take a look at the shift that occurred in Physics as a metaphor or simile to the paradigm shift that the chiropractic profession needs to make if it is to climb up to its perceived position of superiority on the wellness ladder.

Newtonian Physics was man’s logical attempts to make the universe fit into his objective and mechanistic model of how the world works: Based on the observation that big complex things are made up of lots of little simple things that combine numerically to produce basically a big machine with small moving parts. And as this domineering science invented lots of really cool machines based on this principle, and as they discovered smaller and smaller components that appeared to follow the same principles, the belief system was self-justified.

Within this model matter was made up of particles which behaved in predictable ways, while energy was seen as a separate and distinct component of nature, and this consisted of wave forms: Substances whether organic or inorganic are composed of atoms which are themselves made from smaller particles of electrons, protons and neutrons; while energy forms like light and sound are produced by different spectrums for vibratory frequencies.

But there came a point along the Newtonian quest to find the smallest particle and to better understand more about how these particles behave where this separation started to dissolve. As Physicists studied the behaviour of electrons in different environments they found that sometimes electrons behaved like particles and sometimes they behaved like energy!

This lead to enormous friction within the scientific community and pushed supposedly intelligent men to the point of irrational argument, name calling and sledging. Till finally one man, a school dropout came up with a formula that made sense of it all: E = MC2. That man was Einstein and while the understanding and the application of this seemingly simple formula has progressed with succeeding physicists, they themselves cite this “shift” as the pivotal breakthrough.

Most people can quote the E = MC2 formula as belonging to that cute and cheeky looking silver haired king of the geeks. Many can even translate it as energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. But let’s take a closer look at what this really means? Let’s forget the constant in the formula for a moment – take out the C2 and you are left with E = M! That’s the breakthrough people – energy and matter are actually different manifestations of the same thing. In other words matter is just stored energy, and energy is matter in its higher forms of existence.

We can see this transition in its simpler forms when we do our most basic high school chemistry experiments of heating ice, which becomes water, which becomes steam – they are all still water, but at different states of their energetic existence. But E = MC2 is a much bigger picture than this.

Many modern physicists are still more comfortable referring to matter and energy as almost distinct phenomena, and take solace in the fact that it takes the speed of light squared to make the change between being in a matter state versus being in an energetic state. The speed of light is basically the biggest number scientists can think of, so they argue the formula is saying that it takes something huge to shift energy into becoming matter.

Einstein actually originally proposed the formula as M = E/C2 – that matter was really just another form of energy. And this is what quantum physics is really all about – that matter is really just what we observe when energy is being pooled or stored – but it is really still just energy!

So this is where quantum physics and chiropractic could meet – if chiropractic is ready to make the same paradigm shift. I believe that some of the earlier chiropractic philosophers made this shift at about the same time as the physicists did. But unlike the Physics profession that got to the point of accepting the new idea, the chiropractic profession successfully suppressed and circumvented the shift.

RW Stephenson authored the 33 principles in 1927, and this could perhaps be the analogous shift in understanding the human state as E = MC2. Stephenson talks of the three components of our formula as force, matter and intelligence: This is the chiropractic equivalent of E = MC2! Force equals energy, matter equals mass, and intelligence is the hugest constant that we can possibly think of. Maybe our formula could read as F = MI2.

So why am I saying that the chiropractic profession missed this shift? Firstly the self-proclaimed intelligentsia and political leadership have quite successfully removed the constant from the formula. It has been successfully argued that intelligence is not required to practice chiropractic! And what I really mean by this is that concepts such as innate intelligence and the mental impulse have been denigrated as being pseudo-religious nonsense. When in fact intelligence is the missing piece that makes matter possible!

Secondly chiropractic has been successfully reduced to matter therapy – bones, muscles, ligaments, alignment and manipulation. It is becoming rare to see any reference to the nervous system when reading articles written by chiropractic publishers – but the nervous system connection is the connection between our matter and our force – our energy. And this capability is the ultimate representation of intelligence.

Hence, the current chiropractic formula looks more like “M = M”…

I was listening to one quantum physicist speak and he made the statement that the only place we really see Quantum Physics at work is in space. And then I had the revelation that he was SO WRONG. You see, most living biological organisms are classic examples of quantum converters. And the human being is the best example of a system that is able to use intelligence to continuously convert matter to energy, and energy to matter!

Now let’s get back to the paradigm shift that could happen, which would position chiropractic as the quantum shift in the healing arts: If matter is energy in a different state, then a subluxation is a person’s matter in a different energetic state. In other words a subluxation is not a physical state, it is an energetic state – it has less to do with what the particles of the body are up to, and more to do with what the wave forms of the body are up to.

Wave forms in the human body are represented by frequencies, so a Subluxation could be defined as an abnormal frequency pattern. There appears to be a movement in the chiropractic profession that dislikes the term subluxation because of its medical definition – “less than a dislocation”, which has obvious shortcomings as a clinical description, and at the same time they dislike what they see as almost esoteric connotations of the word to Chiropractors. The problem that results though – is that the offered alternative terms are almost universally less encompassing and in the context of this discussion grossly inadequate: spinal joint dysfunction, biomechanical lesion, mechanical back pain.

So let’s take a fresh look at the word subluxation:

Sub = Below; under; beneath; less than completely or normally.
Lux = A basic unit of illumination
Ation = The act of; the condition of being; the result of

So why couldn’t we redefine the term Subluxation as something like “the condition of less than normal energy transmission”. If you wish to be more philosophically correct you might adapt this to “less than normal intelligence transmission” (Intelligence being the chiropractic equivalent to light).

If we can grow up enough to jettison the Newtonian model of subluxation description, and accept that Quantum Physics has filled the knowledge void, and that our definitions of chiropractic must evolve to a similar level, then we might even find that chiropractic makes more than a paradigm shift – it could make a quantum leap into the hearts, minds and bodies of the community.

How? If Chiropractic persists with its Newtonian descriptions of what it is about then it will continue to receive a Newtonian response from the public – “spine doctor”, “back cracker”, “bone cruncher”. But if the profession shifts to the quantum model, and effectively communicates this shift, then the connection between what we do and the nervous system is completed, the relationship between an adjustment and someone’s quality of life is restored, and the explanations of how chiropractic relates to issues like emotions, human potential and wellness become logical.

Torque Release Technique training provides you with the Science, Art and Philiosophy of how to make this Quantum Leap: Check it out at this link: http://www.torquerelease.com.au/TRT-Seminar.htm

MAKING EVERY ADJUSTMENT COUNT

2010-02-07T03:38:00.000-08:00

I’ve organised a lot of seminars over quite a few years now (my first was in 1996) and as a result I have had the privilege of meeting every “type” of Chiropractor – and I have found that there is one constant trait that exists across all philosophies, techniques, practice management styles and scopes of practice – and that is a strong desire to provide the best possible therapeutic benefit from each and every “treatment”. Ignoring the very small segment of the profession that is more interested in the bottom line, than the spinal column – I know that each one of us hopes for and even expects that when we adjust someone, something good is going to happen for that person.

And that encounter can look quite different between practitioners. For example, it’s Monday morning and the first patient for the day is waiting, eagerly anticipating that they will be feeling “better” after their adjustment: Here are some possible generic scenarios:

1) The Chiropractor goes through their standard procedure of adjusting both sides of the neck, thrusts on a few thoracics, then rolls the patient onto both sides to loosen up the low Back.

2) The Chiropractor checks their notes from the last progress exam to see which segments had been determined to be needing adjustment for the next course of corrections, and then follows that recipe.

3) The Chiropractor palpates down the spine to find tight and tender points then proceeds to manipulate those symptomatic areas to improve the mechanical function of the spinal joints.

4) The Chiropractor uses some form of orthopaedic or neurological examination which can lead them to adjust anywhere between 6 and 12 subluxations on any given visit.

But there are some inherent weaknesses in the above approaches which must be reconciled if our goal is truly to deliver adjustments with that something extra:

1) If we don’t have a method to prioritise where someone really needs to be adjusted then should we call ourselves practitioners or technicians? One root of burnout is boredom: When every spine starts to look the same and when we start to diminish the value of each adjustment, then our sense of importance and passion also diminishes.

2) If we believe that adjustments initiate change, then shouldn’t the adjustments need to change through time? If a person’s spine and nervous system is healing, adapting and even evolving under our care, then why would today’s adjustment be the same as last month’s adjustment? And if someone’s life circumstances have altered since they started care, wouldn’t the pattern of Subluxation change to reflect this, and last week’s adjustment would now be inappropriate?

3) Chiropractors have long made the claim to be treating the cause. But if we treat based on symptoms, whether pain or tenderness, then don’t we make a mockery of this claim? If we claim to be removing interference from the nervous system, then shouldn’t we have some means of determining where that interference is, and how best to reduce that interference?

4) Most chiropractic techniques have talked about concepts such as primary and secondary subluxations, compensations, referral, distant effects from local interference, reflex projection. In other words not all Subluxations are created equal, and not all Subluxations need to be adjusted on every visit, because adjusting the “primary” subluxation will influence and reduce the connected secondary and compensatory malfunction. If we don’t have a method to differentiate between these types of Subluxations then won’t we be wasting some of our precious time?

Now consider a fifth option: On any given day, at the very moment that you are examining a spine, depending on the most recent physical, chemical and emotional stresses to your practice member’s nervous system, and superimposed over the long term accumulation of tension in their spinal system – there is one predominating subluxation, which if adjusted will produce bigger neurological changes than adjusting any other segment in the spine at that time. You would want to know how to differentially diagnose that segment wouldn’t you?

This model has been developed during the research method design for a ground breaking, randomised, placebo controlled, prospective scientific project run in conjunction between Holder Research Institute, Turning Point Addiction Recovery facility, and the University of Miami School of Medicine’s famous Biostatistician Bob Duncan. This technique is today called Torque Release Technique and has been published in major journals such as Molecular Psychiatry, the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, and Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, as well as being featured on the Discovery Health Channel.

Thankfully modern chiropractic can stand on the shoulders of its technique pioneering giants: Palmer, Thompson, DeJarnette, Van Rumpt, Logan, Toftness and more contemporary ground breakers like Epstein; and the development of TRT saw the best of the best being integrated to produce an amazingly streamlined and efficient means of determining which segment of the spine needs to be adjusted, with precise correctional vectors, and to confirm the success of a single adjustment or plot the objective improvement in indicators of subluxation through time.

Another gift from the research project was the Integrator – the first chiropractic instrument to be specifically designed and patented for the correction of Subluxations. What makes the Integrator stand alone is its ability to deliver a three-dimensional correction which includes all of the defining features of a Toggle Recoil adjustment – high speed, recoil, and torque. Plus it offers a feature that takes reproducibility and reliability to new levels – a preloading trigger that means that every adjustment delivers just the right amount of force and frequency.

Because of these breakthroughs TRT developed the reputation for being the twenty first century technique for Chiropractors to shift their practice model away from a mechanical and orthopaedic paradigm, towards a neurological and tonal application of our wonderful vitalistic philosophy.

And the consistent feedback from the hundreds of Chiropractors who have now completed TRT training is that it provides that missing piece in the technique puzzle – how to provide an adjustment which responds to the current physiological needs of the practice members’ nervous system, and how to generate big changes in state of wellbeing on each and every adjustment – physical, chemical and emotional.

2010 sees TRT in its 8th year of training Australian Chiropractors with Dr Nick Hodgson offering training programs in varied locations each year. Nick has organised numerous TRT training programs, has been personally mentored by the developer of TRT, Dr Jay Holder, and is one of Australia’s most experienced practitioners.

Click Here To See Upcoming Dates and Locations…

GROW YOUR PRACTICE IN 3 EASY STEPS

2008-11-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

1) More word of mouth referrals

How many times have you been talked around by a slick sales-type offering you the greatest marketing opportunity yet? From Newspaper ads, to calendars and target audience magazines, to bigger and bigger Yellow Pages displays, to online directories with millions of visitors, to radio stations and even TV presenting themselves as the only way to convert prospect to buyers!

Have you worked this out yet? Some of your ads work and some don’t; but when you average the cost of all your campaigns against the return on your investment – you might be better spending your hard earned cash on something more reliable and sustainable.

What about spending some of that money on a practice resource that will consistently and persistently increase the number of word of mouth referrals you receive, AND, is a one-off investment?

Don’t we all know that word of mouth referrals are what have built this great profession? Nothing will grow your practice faster and stronger than a steady stream of new patients who have been recommended by an established patient – it seems to become contagious.

2) Impress your new patients so much that they commit to your recommendations

Do you hear this after you have examined and explained your recommendations to a prospective patient? “Why hasn’t anyone else checked me out this thoroughly before? You are the first person who has been able to explain why I am feeling the way I am! What do I need to do to fix this?”

If on the other hand you hear statements like this after conducting your report of findings: “So is it just muscles?” (they haven’t understood a word you said); “how long do you think it will take for my pain to go away” (you haven’t shifted their consciousness beyond how they are feeling to how they are functioning); “My doctor said it was lumbago” (you aren’t the expert in their mind and they won’t listen to you); “so overall I’m not so bad” (nothing you have done or said has shifted their denial mechanisms).

To make this quantum shift in practice growth in this day and age requires technology that demonstrates clearly, visually and impressively that the person has definite functional problems which need your help to correct (whatever it is that YOU do to help, regardless of how long you think this will take, and no matter how much you charge to do it).

3) Maximise your patient retention

Fred Barge used to ask the pointed question: “Are you the doctor, doctor?” Here’s the plain truth – if you are relying on how your patients are feeling to determine if they continue to see you – you are at the mercy of the retention angels: Some people will feel better, and will still stop coming to see you. Some won’t feel better and will stop coming to see you. Some won’t hang around long enough to even find out if they are feeling better or not. In other words you could be practicing in a leaky boat, and totally dependent on the flow of new patients in, to compensate for the outflow.

There are only three reasons why someone continues to see you, regardless of whether we are talking about for the next few weeks, or for the next several years:

a) They are consciously aware of the benefit/s that they have been receiving from seeing you: Do you have the tools to assist them to be completely aware of the benefits of your care?

b) They perceive that they will receive benefits in the future from continuing to see you: Do you have a tool that can demonstrate room for improvement, and justify them to continue to see you till their next re-exam and beyond?

c) They like you and your staff and will do whatever you say to continue the relationship: This may be enough to plateau a practice but it will never grow a practice.

Posture Pro Digital Postural Analysis Software is a tried, trusted, reliable and proven tool to stimulate referrals, improve conversion and increase retention for the following reasons:

1) Generate an impressive full colour report which people not only look at themselves, but they show it to others, and refer others to have an assessment

2) It is very quick and efficient to conduct an exam: Can even be performed by a trained tech CA

3) Is very visual requiring little translation: People usually can see the problems without any need for explanation – “is that really me – what do I have to do to change that?”

4) Is an objective functional assessment: Posture is an accepted functional outcome by many professions and has a substantial research base which justifies the need for corrective measures – It’s convincing!

5) Can be monitored and compared through time as regularly as you like – you don’t have to wait three months to re-exam if you don’t want to. Posture can be improved quickly and progressively through time, making it both a great short term and long term measure

6) Demonstrates both visually and objectively progress under care acting as a reward for positive response, and as a motivator for continued improvement under your care

7) Is an awesome quality assurance tool – I often get asked, does posture improve under your care? There are two answers to this: “YES”, and, “if it doesn’t then it’s about time you had the tool to direct you to improve your methodologies to improve your outcomes”.

8) When you compare the initial cost to the returns from referrals, compliance and retention this software pays for itself in a couple of months, and then generates consistent increased returns for miniscule ongoing costs (paper and ink for your printer)

9) Can be completely portable making it great for presentations, screenings, expos and external events.

10) Is simple and easy to introduce and implement into any style of practice: Easy to install, email tech support, free upgrades, thorough instruction manual, plus a pile of bonus materials to help get you started or to maximise your results in diverse ways.

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GUIDELINES FOR CLINICAL GUIDELINES?

2008-11-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a progressively increasing number of practice guidelines appearing on the horizon for Chiropractors. If enough of these are generated could it get to the point that depending on whom a Chiropractor is dealing with, they will need to behave and practice in a chameleon-like fashion – what’s good for one patient, may be very different to what is good for another – depending on which guideline oversees that person’s situation?

Some of these guidelines appear to be less like best practice guidelines and more like agenda-based guidelines.

Most recently the Chiropractors Registration Board of Victoria has crossed over a boundary not previously entered into, and that is into the arena of clinical practice guidelines (http://www.chiroreg.vic.gov.au/comment.php). This is being justified on the basis that they act to protect the public against unethical chiropractice – but once reviewed against the standard of everyday chiropractic one might ask who will protect the chiropractor from the public and other third parties?

And if many established and widespread chiropractic practices such as X-raying for biomechanical assessment, use of physiological assessments such as surface EMG, adjusting children and newborns, caring for people with non-musculoskeletal conditions, maintenance and even wellness adjustments are guidelined as fringe, questionable and even unacceptable behaviours, then will future chiropractic practice resemble the service that so many chiropractors have offered to their communities for over 100 years?

Most of these guidelines are presented under the umbrella of “evidence-based practice”: Evidence-based clinical practice is defined as “The conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients... (it) is not restricted to randomized trials and meta-analyses. It involves tracking down the best external evidence with which to answer our clinical questions.” (Sackett DL. Editorial. Evidence Based Medicine. Spine 1998.)

However it appears that some guideline developers twist the definition of “best” – disqualifying research and publication, or evidence, which isn’t the “best” – that is, if it isn’t a randomised, placebo-controlled, longitudinal, multi-centred, independently peer reviewed, published in a journal which the expert panel subscribes to, then it ain’t “best” and therefore it doesn’t exist…

In fact “best evidence” means the best level of evidence that we can find and what it tells us… If we don’t have the gold standard evidence, then do we have silver, bronze and even minor placing evidence to review and interpret? It is no secret that not only is chiropractic not very amenable to controlled study for a plethora of reasons, but the bulk of our evidence exists in the realm of longitudinal outcome studies, case series, and case studies. If this is the “best evidence” what does it tell us – there can be no denying that they tell us that a massive diversity of health complaints present in chiropractors’ offices, and that positive changes seem to happen?

We can’t say that if 100 “Syndrome A” sufferers present to chiropractic offices tomorrow, what percentage of these people will receive some degree of improvement let alone a complete resolution. But based on the evidence wouldn’t it be fair to say that if a “Syndrome A” sufferer presents to your office tomorrow, that it would be rational to initiate a course of treatment with clear goals and terms for review? How does that seem inferior or unacceptable to any other health care profession’s plan of action? Even after the gold standard research measures that 45% of patients receive an average of 35% improvement, what can we guarantee Mrs Jones on Monday morning? A course of care with clear goals and terms for review…

“Well it might mean that they aren’t receiving necessary medical intervention and maybe they have some terminal condition and detection will be delayed by this unproven approach!” Welcome to the life of a health care consumer trying to deal with a “primary care practitioner” – maybe the medications that the MD would prescribe as an “alternative” to our care would be ineffective or even damaging; may mask or delay the identification of other pathology; and maybe it could take months and even years to get a correct diagnosis in the medical system anyway? Sound familiar?

The chiropractic profession is not alone in the struggle to produce relevant and applicable guidelines which guide best practice, as opposed to restricting practice. “The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC – an Australian Government body) has statutory responsibilities to raise the standard of individual and public health throughout Australia and to foster the development of consistent health standards. As part of this role, the NHMRC encourages the development of evidence-based guidelines by expert bodies.” (NHMRC standards and procedures for externally developed guidelines, updated September 2007)

Is a health care profession’s registration board an example of such an “expert body”? A quick read of the profiles of members of the board suggests that there is not much representation of the chiropractic profession’s academic and scientific community. So has the board received significant funding to employ the services of such experts? Who would know – no names or qualifications of any contributors or peer review panel members are listed in any of the guidelines. The guideline which covers the issue of paediatric care is an exception: It gives thanks to a Medical Paediatrician and an American Chiropractor who also holds Medical Degree, who is a self proclaimed “Quackbuster” who deals with healthcare consumer protection, and is therefore about quackery, health fraud, chiropractic, and other forms of so-Called "Alternative" Medicine (“sCAM”): Is this our desired expert body?

“It is now widely recognised that guidelines should be based, where possible, on the systematic identification and synthesis of the best available scientific evidence. The NHMRC requirements for developing clinical practice guidelines are rigorous so as to ensure that this standard is upheld. As such, guidelines with NHMRC approval are recognised in Australia and internationally as representing best practice in health and medical knowledge and practice.”

I’ll leave it to the educated reader to review the current proposed guidelines based on the following information:

Key principles for developing guidelines:

The nine key principles are:

1. The guideline development and evaluation process should focus on outcomes: This statement shouldn’t be glossed over as it seems that some of the worst examples of guidelines are more interested in practice than outcomes.

2. The guidelines should be based on the best available evidence and include a statement concerning the strength of recommendations. Evidence can be graded according to its level, quality, relevance and strength; (Ideally, recommendations would be based on the highest level of evidence. However, it has been acknowledged that the levels of evidence used by the NHMRC for intervention studies are restrictive for guideline developers, especially where the areas of study do not lend themselves to randomised controlled trials. It is proposed that this issue will be addressed when the toolkit publications are reviewed.)

It is tradition when presenting scientific evidence, to cite the source of your evidence. The proposed guidelines of the Registration Board list no references, and request for such evidence is refused on the grounds of “intellectual property”. Does this mean that there is no evidence? Is it only some “expert’s” opinion? Or are there too many pages of citations to fit in the publication? Who would know?

3. The method used to synthesise the available evidence should be the strongest applicable;

4. The process of guideline development should be multidisciplinary and include consumers early in the development process. Involving a range of generalist and specialist clinicians, allied health professionals and experts in methodology and consumers has the potential to improve quality and continuity of care and assists in ensuring that the guidelines will be adopted;

The board’s approach is to implement this step as late as possible, input only being sort after the guidelines have been drafted; and if past guidelines are representative, additional input will only lead to minor amendments at best.

That’s also why it is best to employ a medical paediatrician and an overseas chiropractor to produce a guideline on chiropractic care for children in Victoria. Perhaps the Australian chiropractic paediatric specialists that abound and the university academia that are responsible for the undergraduate paediatric curriculum were out to lunch when the document was written?

5. Guidelines should be flexible and adaptable to varying local conditions;

6. Guidelines should consider resources and should incorporate an economic appraisal, which may assist in choosing between alternative treatments;

7. Guidelines are developed for dissemination and implementation with regard to their target audiences. Their dissemination should ensure that practitioners and consumers become aware of them and use them;

In the case of the guidelines being discussed here you can download them from the web-site – otherwise you can get someone else to download them from the web-site for you.

8. The implementation and impact of the guidelines should be evaluated; and

9. Guidelines should be updated regularly.

I look forward to the dissemination of the steps and process for implementation of steps 3 and 5 to 9 with our newest guidelines – don’t hold your breath.

So, if the Registration Board’s attempt to offer guidelines is severely flawed where can we turn?

Guidelines have been produced which would more likely live up to the standards of the NHRMC. The Council on Chiropractic Practice Clinical Practice Guideline (“CCP”) is currently undergoing its’ second revision. Following publication of the CCP Guidelines the document was submitted to the National Guideline Clearinghouse for consideration for inclusion. The NGC is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and is in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans.

Its mission is as follows: “The NGC mission is to provide physicians, nurses, and other health professionals, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining objective, detailed information on clinical practice guidelines and to further their dissemination, implementation and use.” In other words the US equivalency of the NHRMC.

The AHRQ contracts with ECRI, a nonprofit health services research agency, to perform the technical work for the NGC. ECRI is an international nonprofit health services research agency and a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization.

In November of 1998, following review by ECRI, the CCP Guidelines were accepted for inclusion within the National Guideline Clearinghouse.

The CCP has developed practice guidelines for vertebral subluxation with the active participation of field doctors, consultants, seminar leaders, and technique experts. In addition, the Council has utilized the services of interdisciplinary experts in the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), guidelines development, research design, literature review, law, clinical assessment, chiropractic education, and clinical chiropractic.

The Council additionally included consumer representatives at every stage of the process and had individuals participating from several major chiropractic political and research organizations, chiropractic colleges and several other major peer groups. The participants in the guidelines development process undertaken by the CCP and their areas of expertise are clearly disclosed.

The Guidelines offer ratings of practices based on the following system:

Established: Accepted as appropriate for use in chiropractic practice for the indications and applications stated.

Investigational: Further study is warranted. Evidence is equivocal, or insufficient to justify a rating of “established.”

Inappropriate: Insufficient favorable evidence exists to support the use of this procedure in chiropractic practice.

Categories of Evidence underpinning each rating are presented as:

E: Expert opinion based on clinical experience, basic science rationale, and/or individual case studies. Where appropriate, this category includes legal opinions.

L: Literature support in the form of reliability and validity studies, observational studies, “pre-post” studies, and/or multiple case studies. Where appropriate, this category includes case law.

C: Controlled studies including randomized and non-randomized clinical trials of acceptable quality.

To download the full version and updates of the CCP guidelines go to http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/

CHIROPRACTIC AND THE BRAIN

2008-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

The brain is sexy! Let me put this another way – Talk about the brain and how to make it work better, and people sit up and listen.

Let me illustrate this with three examples: I contribute health related articles to a number of online magazines and forums, and I have to tell you that it is hard work finding topics and content that pulls readers. You probably already know this as a Chiropractor – especially if you have run regular “spinal health” workshops, covered your coffee table in health brochures (which gather dust), or grappled with how to get people to line up at your booth at a health expo or shopping centre? On one site that I contribute to my articles usually get just over 100 hits with about ten comments. This disappoints me as I believe the message I share is applicable to everyone searching the net – and when you can log onto YouTube and see some chick in knickers getting millions of hits. But to put this in context, most of the other contributors receive 60-80 hits to their offerings. Recently however I ran a piece on “how do you keep your brain healthy?” I posted this a few weeks ago now and it is still running with close to 800 hits and nearly 50 comments.

I regularly send in article submissions and short health tips to the local media, with the all too common cold shoulder response – “we had too many other news pieces to run this week”, “we didn’t think this would appeal to our readership”, “if you’d like to run a half page ad I’m sure we could get that article included”. Recently I promoted a “healthy brain workshop”, and received a number of “bites” and coverage from the local media with much larger than normal attendances to my workshops.

In May I was privileged to be invited to train a group of Chiropractors in Johannesburg in Torque Release Technique. The organiser had struck up a conversation with a PhD Psychologist who specialises in Brain EEG mapping, and when he had suggested to her that he believed that a chiropractic adjustment changed brain function, she had politely snubbed him based on her scientific experience. When he asked me what to do I suggested that he invite her to our program and ask if she would be wiling to do pre and post exams on the Chiropractors that were adjusted at the end of a long day of training. She happily accepted the challenge. We only had time to do a limited (“statistically insignificant”) number of trials, and afterward when we asked her what she had observed she commented that each participant had experienced a “shift” in their brain function. Most of us being EEG novices we pressed her further to explain this – apparently it usually takes approximately 6 months of neurobiofeedback to achieve this phenomenon – not bad response to the carefully selected delivery of 1-3 primary subluxation adjustments? Her response was to demand that I adjust her before she left – I think her scientific opinion had been shifted.

Some research supports this observation that chiropractic adjustments change brain function (1-3): Hang on a minute – don’t skim over that statement – CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS CHANGE BRAIN FUNCTION. Do you own that statement yourself? Do you comprehend the implications to the community IF that statement is correct and consistent?

Let me propose two shifts that may need to occur in our profession for this secret to get out to where it needs to be heard:

1) Our comprehension of the spine as being ligaments, muscle, discs, joints and biomechanics; needs to mature to neurones, neuropeptides, tensegrity, brain holography and quantum physics.

2) Our model of analysis, adjustment and communication needs to shift from a bone/back focus to a nerve/brain focus.

Are you ready to make this shift yourself? Torque Release Technique training provides you with comprehensive training in the Art, Science and Philosophy of adjusting from a more neurological, quantum physics and vitalistic model. The next training program will be held on Saturday/Sunday October 18/19 2008 in Geelong. Check out details at http://www.superhealthy.com.au/

1) New Technique Introduced - EEG Confirms Results: (Jay Holder. ICAC Journal, May 1996.) http://www.torquerelease.com.au/ICAC%20EEG%20Confirms%20Results.pdf

2) The effect of the Chiropractic adjustment on the brain wave pattern as measured by QEEG. A Four Case Study. Summarizing an additional 100 (approximately) cases over a three year period. (Richard Barwell, D.C.; Annette Long, Ph.D; Alvah Byers, Ph.D; and Craig Schisler, B.A., M.A., D.C.) http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2008/jun/n.htm

3) New Science Behind Chiropractic Care http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0711/S00116.htm(Altered sensorimotor integration with cervical spine manipulation. Haavik Taylor H and Murphy B. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. Feb 2008. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=18328937)

NATURAL PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT

2008-08-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

HEALTH COACHING VERSUS HEALTH CARE

Defining Terms:

Health – A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Coaching – A method of directing, instructing and training a person or group of people, with the aim to achieve some goal or develop specific skills.

Health care or healthcare – The prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions.

You pick the sport

Unless you were born behind the iron curtain – you probably picked the sport that you most like to play, and that you have spent most of your spare time participating in. There could have been a number of reasons why you chose to start playing a sport, but guaranteed you would only continue to play the sport if you fell in love with it. Similarly, health coaching allows you to pick the game you want to play – weight loss, increased fitness, less allergies, digestive system that works better, greater flexibility, improved concentration, control over a habit or compulsion...

If you did live behind the iron curtain then they would have put you through a bunch of physiology tests and told you what sport you were going to play – based on their expert opinion. This is a bit like modern health care – if you have a health issue that you want help with you will consult an expert who will run a bunch of tests, tell you what they will do to fix it, and you will do as you are told. And it might not be the game you expected to play: You want to run up a flight of stairs, your doctor wants to reduce your blood cholesterol...

You have the aspirations

What is the highest high you want to attain in your sporting life? Under-16 grand final, or the Olympics; Getting to the shops without becoming breathless, or climbing to the peak of Mount Everest; To make daily living more comfortable, or to discover the limits of your human potential?

With health coaching you get the privilege of setting the height of the bar. With health care you will be given the goal – it is called a normal value – Blood pressure, heart rate, breathing capacity, blood cell count, liver function, cholesterol reading, aerobic capacity, sitting reach, Xray reading...

You turn up to training

Training was banned from the original Olympics – it was supposed to be a test of natural ability. Somewhere between then and now, we worked out that you could develop and maximise your innate potential by training and practising. And if you do the right quantity and quality of training – you can transform from a loser to a winner.

Health coaching says “now is the time to start training for a healthy future – to prevent injuries and to enhance your performance in the heat of the big game”. Health care says “get in there, just play, we’ll patch you up if you tear or break something, and then we’ll rehabilitate you back into the shape you were in immediately before the game”.

You do the work

The coach can’t do your training for you, your team mates can’t compensate for your lack of fitness. In health coaching, the coach designs and schedules your program, but at some point you have to follow the program to get the benefits and the rewards. In health care we hope that there is someone out there who can make us feel the way we would like to feel, “is there a pill that can make this go away?” “Can you put my back in for me?” “The doctor said that they will find the cure for this in a few years.” “I’m on the waiting list for some surgery to fix this problem once and for all!”

It’s all fun

Even the most professional athletes need to have fun to keep them in the game. When the joy has gone, the heart has left, and the motivation will quickly wane. With health coaching you get to participate, and you get to express your personality and you can factor in serious amounts of silliness. Health care is a serious business – you should be impressed by the years of training, the amount of technology, and the visible signs of wealth and authority. And please don’t laugh too loud – you might disturb the other patients!

Playing the game is as important as the results

When I was an athlete, I used to enjoy training as much as I did competing. And the moments of sheer joy and reward weren’t standing on some medal dais; they were the actual microseconds of absolute focus, coordination and motion that constituted each component of the performance itself.

Health coaching offers the opportunity to be in the now – and to discover the healing that comes from becoming more conscious and reconnected with your inner self. Health care will be satisfied when you achieve that negative test result, a normal reading, or the ablation of that pain or discomfort without the need for any form of awareness or awakening.

It’s up to you on game day

You’ve done the training, followed the advice, mastered the rules of the game and now you are faced with the ultimate challenge – will you respond or choke? Health coaching prepares you for the challenges of the real world, and assists you to develop the coping mechanisms, visualisations and affirmations that will equip you for the battles of life. Health care sits on the sidelines and waits for you to fail – it will be there to help you pick up the pieces and maybe come back to fight again another day.

You get the credit

What is the name of Tiger Woods’ coach? How about the guy who taught Michael Jordan how to dribble a basketball? Who gets paid more – the best player in the best team – or the fitness coach? In health coaching you are at the centre of attention – when you achieve your goals you will be the one that everyone notices – how good you look, how much stamina you have, how much energy you exude. In health care the good doctor gets the credit – he’s the one who cured your cancer, removed your pain, knew what to do to save your life, told you which pill would do the job.

You get the blame

Coaches might get sacked, but the players are the ones that bear the brunt of the blame. With health coaching you might dismiss the coach if you aren’t happy with the results, but at some point you have to take responsibility for the fact that it is your body, and you are in control – or should be. In health care you are absolved from your personal responsibility – “that doctor didn’t know what he was doing”, “that chiropractor couldn’t get my neck back in”, “the cure was worse than the disease”. This might sound attractive but it excludes you from the benefits of growth and true healing.

You get the medals

The coach doesn’t get to keep your medals, certificates, endorsements, awards – he just gets a photo of him standing next to you holding your rewards. In health coaching we love to stand alongside you and bathe in your glory. In health care there are no awards for the contestants – the practitioner gets the awards and certificates and the guest spot on Oprah Winfrey...

Who won?

Using a sporting metaphor might lead the reader to take on a competitive mindset: “So is health coaching better than health care?” “Should I choose which team I am going to follow and swear to never cross camps?” “If I see a health coach and still get sick does that mean if I’d been smarter and chosen health care – I wouldn’t have got sick – did I pick the wrong team?”

Now let’s take our competitive hats off – A coach who doesn’t want to work with a team of trainers and therapists in a cooperative effort, will have a short resume’. And health care that only responds to illness crises and lacks a bigger picture of prevention and wellbeing is a sick model.

The name “coach” allegedly originates from the multitasking skills associated with controlling the team of a horse-drawn stage-coach. The ability to get two, four or six horses all going in the same direction at the same time and at the same speed is one to be admired. Make sure that your health care relationships integrate a balanced and symbiotic mix of COACHING and CARE…

Who’s your health coach?

© Dr Nick Hodgson www.superhealthy.com.au 2008

MAYBE THOSE PHYSICAL FINDINGS... AREN’T...

2008-07-18T02:08:00.000-07:00

THE MIND BODY CONNECTION

Within our chiropractic training and culture is a diverse range of physical indicators that we observe, measure and monitor to help us to diagnose our patients’ physical state: The history is used to narrow down our list of disorders or even diseases which may be causing the problem; Posture tells us how misaligned someone’s body and spine is; Radiographs show us how much decay and degeneration has developed; Range of motion tests measure how stiff they have become; SEMG assesses how tight muscles are; our palpation skills feel where there is contraction, restriction, fixation and misalignment.

And then we apply a physical therapy to try and intervene on the physical disorder that we have isolated.

It has almost become a cliché that there is a mind/body connection. But have we tended to minimise this relationship? Or have we even missed the point of this revelation? Are we persisting with the convenient separation and compartmentalisation of these two dimensions? We say, “oh yes the mind can affect the body, and the body can affect the mind” – but in saying this do we miss the paradigm of the mind/body relationship?

In other words the mind IS the body, and the body IS the mind. When you are feeling certain emotions like anger, resentment, guilt, frustration – your physical body is different to how it is when you are feeling emotions like love, acceptance, peace, joy, reward. And if your physical body is different, then your thoughts, feelings and emotions are different. One doesn’t lead to the other – one is the other.

Let’s take another look at our list of “physical indicators” from another point of view, to see if we can see what they might really mean in terms of the mind/body:

The History is really someone’s story about the suffering they currently feel. And we are very good at asking questions about how the suffering feels: Where it hurts, how much it hurts, how big an area does the hurt cover, when does it feel a bit better and when does it feel a bit worse? But do we miss the most important question? What does the hurt mean – to them? Here’s another way of asking this question to help those who can’t make a connection – “if this hurt didn’t go away what would it mean you couldn’t do?”, or “if this hurt didn’t go away what aspect of your life do you think would be most affected?” Do you know that if something in your therapeutic relationship and encounter doesn’t allay or release this connection between their pain and suffering, that their mind/body will resist healing?

Postural Assessment: Why does anyone have bad posture? Because they don’t know they have it! Why would anyone carry their head too far forwards when that skull and its contents are as heavy as a bowling ball? Because they don’t recognise that it is where it is – they have poor somatic awareness. Here’s a thought – they will also have a proportionately poor psychic awareness. In other words they will actually have poor somatopsychic awareness. Check it out next time you examine someone with really bad posture: Ask them how they are feeling emotionally, ask them how aware they are of each of their internal bodily functions: More often than not the same disconnect will exist.

What about those protective buttresses that are being layered down inside their body – the ones you see growing around their skeleton on their Radiographs? Ask yourself this question: How strong, thick and solid are the protective mechanisms that this person has built around their emotions and memories? What will it take to chip away this person’s emotional fortress? The resistance, slowness of their recovery and the common poor prognosis could be reflective of their hardened interaction with the world in a more general sense.

And that stiffness that has built up in their Spinal Range of Movement, that you prescribe stretching exercises to reverse. Here is my observation: Range of motion is directly proportionate to range of emotion. My saying goes like this – “concrete body – concrete mind”. Observe how flexible these people are to suggested changes in their state of mind or lifestyle, and you may see a mirror image of their body’s flexibility.

What about that tension that you see on their SEMG? You may interpret it as physical tension: And you might ask; “maybe you are working too hard”, “maybe you did too much gardening on the weekend”, “maybe you aren’t sitting up straight”? How about this one – muscle tension is proportionate to neurological tone, which is dependent on emotional state. Maybe their body hasn’t been working overtime – maybe their mind has.

And all those things you “feel” while you are Palpating: Stiffness, resistance, swelling, and misalignment. Have you ever taken a moment to ask yourself while you have a direct connection with this person’s field of intelligence: “What am I feeling as I palpate this person?” You may be great at palpating, but, if you get good at feeling, then you will get even better at FEELING. You may even glean more insight into that person’s state of wellbeing in thirty seconds of palpation than sixty minutes of talk...

How does any of this help you to become a better healer, or a more profitable businessman? When you GET IT, that you are a body/mind and that your practice members are body/minds – Then you will experience greater quality and wholeness in your life, and your customers will receive greater quality and wholeness from you as a healer – and people pay for quality...

(ps. If you think that this is suggesting that you have to become more of a psychologist or counsellor to be a better chiropractor – then you have missed the point – this has nothing to do with analysing and identifying the past hurts and experiences and helping someone to cognitively overcome the related dysfunctional thoughts and feelings. What this is about is that there is a whole new dimension awaiting you when you become more conscious of the mind/body synergy – what you are doing right now therapeutically will offer a much deeper meaning for both you and your practice members. In other words I am not talking about a change in procedure – but a change in consciousness.)

DIGGER'S SIGHT RESTORED BY NECK MANIPULATION

2008-07-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

SKEYHILL, THOMAS JOHN (1895-1932), soldier and lecturer, was born on 10 January 1895 at Terang, Victoria, son of James Percy Skeyhill, driver and later aerated waters factory manager, and his wife Annie, née Donnelly. Both parents were native born of Irish extraction. Tom was educated at the local state school and from 1902 at St Mary's Convent School, Hamilton. At 14 he became a telegraph messenger at Hamilton and later a telephonist. A clever reciter, he was successful in local elocution competitions and was a debater with the Hibernian Society.

Enlisting in the 8th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, in August 1914, Skeyhill embarked from Melbourne in December and landed at Anzac Cove as a signaller on 25 April 1915. On 8 May, during the advance at Cape Helles, he was blinded by an exploding Turkish shell. He was invalided back to Melbourne in October and later was officially welcomed home at Hamilton Town Hall.

Skeyhill had been composing verse, some of which was published in the London, Cairo and Melbourne press. In November 1915 he appeared at the Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne, in full Gallipoli kit, reciting his compositions. His Soldier Songs from Anzac, published in December, sold 20,000 copies in four months. For two years Signaller Skeyhill, “the blind soldier poet”, toured Australia, lecturing and reciting, raising funds for the Red Cross Society and appearing on recruiting platforms. He was discharged on 28 September 1916.

In December 1917 Skeyhill left on a lecturing tour of North America. He became a sensation - at Carnegie Hall, New York, Theodore Roosevelt praised him as 'the finest soldier speaker in the world'. Under osteopathic treatment he recovered his sight in Washington in 1918.

Skeyhill speaks of this encounter in the Anzac Bulletin Oct 4, 1918: “Within a few minutes after Dr Moore began manipulating the back of my neck at the apex of the spinal column I experienced a sharp excruciating pain. Then as if by magic, little flashes began to come before my heretofore dimmed eyes, and before I realized just what was taking place I found that I could see.” Skeyhill had been told by various specialists that his only hope for a return of his sight was a miracle.

CHIROPRACTIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE - AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

2008-07-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

Impressive are some of the spectacular results reported by early chiropractors in patients with infectious diseases.

One example where chiropractic care provided a beacon of light was the 1917-18 influenza epidemic, which brought death and fear to many Americans. It has been estimated that 20 million died throughout the world, including about 500,000 Americans. Walter Rhodes provides fascinating information about the profession during those years. A chiropractic pioneer wrote, "I was about to go out of business when the flu epidemic came - but when it was over, I was firmly established in practice." The results were spectacular.

Rhodes reported that in Davenport, Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 patients with 6,116 deaths - a loss of one patient out of every 15. Chiropractors at the Palmer School of Chiropractic adjusted 1,635 cases, with only one death. Outside Davenport, chiropractors in Iowa cared for 4,735 cases with only six deaths - one out of 866.

During the same epidemic, in Oklahoma, out of 3,490 flu patients under chiropractic care, there were only seven deaths. Furthermore, chiropractors were called in 233 cases given up as lost after medical treatment, and reportedly "saved all but 25."

The unnamed authors of the 1925 book, "Chiropractic Statistics," undertook a more comprehensive survey. This text is a compilation of the responses of practicing chiropractors to a questionnaire. The report covers 99,976 cases reported by 412 chiropractors in 110 specific conditions. A sampling follows:

Influenza: Reports covering 4,193 cases by 213 chiropractors were provided. 4,104 showed complete recovery. 79 patients showed little or no improvement, and 10 fatalities were reported. The percentage of recoveries cited was 99.4%.

Measles: 121 chiropractors reported on 673 cases. 665 cases showed complete recovery or "very decided" improvement. Seven showed little or no improvement. One fatality was reported. The percentage of recoveries reported was 98.8%.

Scarlet Fever: There were 149 cases involving 60 chiropractors. 147 were reported as completely recovered. Two showed little or no improvement. There were no fatalities. The percentage of recoveries was said to be 98.7%

Smallpox: 45 chiropractors attended 101 cases. 100 showed complete recovery. One was referred to another practitioner. There were no fatalities.

Of course, that was another era. The research methodology of today simply didn't exist. Furthermore, chiropractic is not a treatment for a specific disease. Please don't use these reports as the basis for a Yellow Pages ad!

Recent research has revealed much about how the nervous system is involved in the immune process.

A comprehensive review of the literature summarizes our current understanding. "The brain and immune system are the two major adaptive systems in the body. During an immune response, the brain and the immune system 'talk to each other' and this process is essential for maintaining homeostasis... Two pathways link the brain and the immune system: the autonomic nervous system (ANS) via direct neural influences, and the neuroendocrine humoral outflow via the pituitary... the ANS regulates the function of all innervated tissues and organs throughout the vertebrate body with the exception of skeletal muscle fibers."

In a world where we are faced with antibiotic resistant bacteria, and viral diseases where effective treatments are lacking, the role of chiropractic care in allowing for optimum immune system function deserves thorough exploration...

Read The Full Article At The Chiropractic Journal...

HOW TO SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE WHILE SCRATCHING IN THE CHICKEN RUN!

2008-04-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Are you "fired up" to be in practice? Are you happy to be involved in Chiropractic? Are you excited to be a part of this great profession? Here’s an early morning exercise for you - Take a moment to think about how fired up, happy and excited you are - Now - notify your face!

Isn't it great how you leave some seminars and you are fired up: ready to challenge and change the world? Then comes Monday morning and you're back in your practice. Have you ever noticed that some of your patients aren't as fired up as you are? And by the end of the week you're not fired up either?

Perhaps some of us are inclined to think: "Well, that seminar obviously didn't work!" Kind of reminds me of that occasional patient who comes back after one adjustment saying, "I’m not fixed yet!"

You see when you were at that seminar you felt like you were soaring, reaching for the heavens. You could see for miles: Your visual acuity seemed sharper than it had ever been: You were riding high on the adrenaline air currents: You could see things you had never seen before: New horizons: Places you want to travel to on your chiropractic journey. You felt like the king of the health care birds: You were the Chiropractic Eagle!

Monday morning: You soared into the waiting run of Old McDonald’s Chiropractic Farm. And there they were waiting for you: “B-b-b-back, b-b-b-back”! Isn't it amazing how if you hang around in the Chicken Run long enough; first you start to scratch the ground a bit, then you start pecking at the ground, and before long you even start to look and sound like your patients, and the other health care birds: “B-b-b-back”! And when you're in the chicken run it becomes hard to see over the fence; so you start to focus on the things nearby: accounts owing, unresponsive patients, difficult staff, patient numbers.

This is where I used to be: On the practice rollercoaster: Ten new patients - I'm up. Three cancellations - I'm down. Patient tells me how wonderful I am - I'm up! Patient confronting me as to why they're not fixed after five adjustments - I'm down! Record patient week - I'm up! Quiet week - I'm down! New car - I'm really up! CAA membership bill - I'm down - “do I really have to be a member?”! This lead to the search - could it be a new technique? Maybe a new mentor? Another seminar? New potions and lotions? How can I keep that high?

There is a way to stop this regression from happening you know. You see as humans we have a God given ability that even the Eagles don't possess. That is, the ability to see things not present with our 'mind's eye', the skill of visualisation if you like. Remember, even though you may be working in a chicken run, you are a Chiropractic Eagle! Spend time each day visualising those things you saw while soaring at that seminar - what were those visions? - Clarify them, expand on them, work out the finer details. What are the views you will see and the stops you will make on your chiropractic journey towards those visions?..... Put them on paper! What are your estimated times of arrival at each destination..... write them down.

We don't physically have wings so what kind of vehicles will you need to get you there? A DG convertible? A Gonstead go-go-mobile? A Diversified dragster? An Activatorcopter? A Hinwood Harrier Jet? A Reikemann rocket? A Mertz Mercedes? A TRT tractor?

How do we use these visualisations? Read them, see them, FEEL them, EMOTIONALISE them: EVERY SINGLE DAY! Can you see all your patients healthy and happy in your mind’s eye? Can you smell the new carpet in your dream practice? Can you hear the laughter of children in your adjusting rooms? Can you taste the satisfaction of watching another miracle unfold in your practice?

How BIG can you visualise? Now I know that I’m the only one who used to think like this: I know you don’t say to yourself: “I just need enough to get by”, “enough for me and my family”. “I'm working towards a new car”. “I'm saving up for my next holiday”. “I want to see X number of patients”..... : THINK BIG!! You should see your practice so full with patients that you have to employ associates to cope, or at least refer them to the struggling DC down the road. You should pray for so much money that you have to give half of it away. Can you see every Australian consulting Chiropractors regularly? The demand for Chiropractic being so great that it takes the Tennis Centre or maybe even the MCG to house the DG Conference?

There is another important point to realise here. Those chickens in the run. Look at them a little closer: You see they too are Eagles! They started as eaglets when they were hatched (Isn't that just a Chiropractic belief - that we are all born with unlimited potential?). But then they were thrown into the chicken run of control, intervention, and modern sickness care thinking. They have been in the run so long they don't even know that they are eagles any more. In fact they look at you, standing tall and proud, flexing your enormous wing span and speaking a different language; and to be honest you look strange! You sound different to Dr Turkey..... “Gobble, gobble, gobble”! You look different to Pheasant Physio, who looks so good but does so very little. Is he just a chicken in fine clothes - a clever disguise?

But you have a quest; and I believe this is Chiropractic's ultimate potential. Your mission, should you choose to accept it. It is up to you to reawaken those Eagles within. No-one else can do it but another Eagle! If I may use Chiropractic terminology for a moment: Teach them about the incredible Universal and Innate powers they are blessed with. Release the universal and innate intelligence with your adjustments. Speak Chiropractic Eagle language. Show them the way by your Chiropractic Eagle example. Those Eagles within them will be inexorably drawn towards you and the life of an Eagle. And here's the other great news. They will bring all their eagle-apprentice friends along with them!

There is one important ingredient that we mustn't forget. To give the skill of visualisation POWER we require FAITH. If there's one thing I've learnt over the years, it's that you have to have faith in something. Maybe for you it is faith in science, perhaps faith in Chiropractic, maybe faith in God, maybe you only have faith in yourself, or perhaps your faith is reliant on the vision of someone else. Let's face it, there is more unknown in the universe than there is known; and you can only have either faith in your beliefs regarding things unknown, fear of the unknown, or ignorance. The bottom line to me is that you have to decide what YOU have faith in - a conscious decision of what you believe in: To quote a text I often refer to myself: "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see." Ask yourself: What do you have faith in?

In closing: One warning! Should you choose not to visualise, reach and believe for the life of an Eagle and choose not to plant the visions of better health and a better life as an Eagle to your patients then prepare yourself for a life in the chicken run, with the “b-b-b-backs”, Dr Turkey and Pheasant Physio. Please..... come and soar with the rest of the Chiropractic Eagles!

BEING EXTRAORDINARY!

2008-04-12T04:20:00.001-07:00

What's the difference between being “ordinary” and being “EXTRAORDINARY”? If you look at the word extraordinary a little closer you will see that it is just a little EXTRA than ORDINARY!

When we think about being successful (whatever this might mean to you) we find that there are certain fallacies about how others achieve success:

FALLACIES ABOUT SUCCESS

They are better looking than you...
They have more talent than you do...
Luck!
They have stepped on someone else to climb higher...
They have ripped people off in order to get ahead...
They were given success on a silver platter...
It's easier for others than it is for you...
They were born successful…
Someone gave them a head start…
They stumbled on it…

While some of these things may be true about some people who appear more successful than you: They are not THE reasons why they are more successful!

WE ARE ALL EXTRAORDINARY!

Every person has the ability to be “extraordinary”. If you don't believe this then you should read autobiographies of some of the world's most loved and famous people. What you will find is that each of these people at some point regarded themselves as the least likely person on Earth to succeed. But something in that person’s life helped them to make a decision that they could, and would be extraordinary.

So being extraordinary is first and foremost a decision that YOU are going to be EXTRAORDINARY.

People who are “ordinary” have usually decided to “settle for”. If your business had two extraordinary years of growth what would this mean for the following year? If you were to decide that you couldn't possibly sustain this growth and development, and that in future years, you just wanted to maintain things as they were then you would become ordinary!

If you were to look at other practices and compare yourselves, and decide you don't need to stretch anymore; then you would become ordinary!

If you were to look at the services offered by many other businesses and see how much more you offered and decided that you don't need to do anymore; then you would become ordinary!

Being extraordinary means that you create your own standards; focus on how you can improve those standards; and don't measure yourself by other people’s standards.

The only catch to making a decision to be extraordinary is that after a while your customers expect and demand that same level of service. So, to further surprise and satisfy your patients you have to discover new levels of “extraordinariness”…

“EXTRA”

Let's look at some of the characteristics of these “extra” things that allow you to become extraordinary:

1) They are usually repetitive: All top sports people achieve their incredible skill levels by repetition of the basic skills of their sport. Peter Daicos the legendary Collingwood footballer said that he found the more he practiced, the luckier he became!

Examples of repetitive tasks in a chiropractic practice could be the scripts and remembering to talk about chiropractic to every patient. When thirty or more patients come through your office each day the things you say and the discussions you have appear repetitive to you: But to that person it could be the only conversation they will have about chiropractic that day, that week, that month, maybe that lifetime?

2) They are usually simple and easy: Each extra little thing that adds to your level of extraordinariness is in itself probably a very basic skill. But it is the very thing that others fail to do for this very same reason.

Forgetting to greet a patient as soon as they arrive, forgetting to tell a young mother that she can bring her children and they will be looked after while the mother receives an adjustment, forgetting to find out anything about a new patient’s family and friends (and missing 3-4 immediate referrals), forgetting to explain to a brand new patient what you are going to do before you do it…

WHY NOT?

If we can become extraordinarily successful by doing repetitive and simple things then why aren't we all millionaires?

1) FEAR: Despite their simplicity these little extras often appear hard. Remember your first “crush”? All you had to do was ring them to ask them out to that party. It would probably only take ten words to ask the question and there were only two possible replies; either of which would give you instant emotional relief. But how difficult did that phone call become in your mind: Probably difficult enough to stop you doing it! Enough to give you dry mouth, rapid pulse and sweaty palms just at the slightest sight or thought of a telephone. But: If you did overcome that fear and make that call: Remember that feeling of euphoria and energy afterwards (no matter the reply)? This is the “adrenaline buzz” of being extraordinary!

The amazing thing about that fear though; was that the only way you overcame it was by ACTION! By doing the very thing that you feared. And you were able to take that action because you got yourself to the point of FAITH: Where you were so convinced that they would say yes that you just had to ring. Or, you were so convinced that they were going to say no that you didn't care for them any more anyway. Or, that you realized that either reply would make you feel better than you were feeling by not ringing them!

2) LAZINESS: Because these extras are simple and repetitive, they are probably the first things that we put off and ignore. To do these things means exactly what the word means... EXTRA! And let's face it many of us don’t want to do extra if we can avoid it.

Laziness usually manifests as excuses – “they’ve probably heard it all before”, “No-one wants to listen to this health stuff”, “people are turned off by a sales pitch”, “I tried that once and it didn’t work”…

Well, on the other hand – if you don’t tell them maybe no-one else on the entire planet will either – and maybe that could have massive consequences for that person?

So, as you can see, not doing the “extras” is what holds us back and stops us from becoming extraordinary.

HOW TO...

1) Take time to reflect on the things you do each day and ask yourself two questions:

a) Am I consistently doing the little things that will allow me to become extraordinary?

b) What am I not doing, or what am I avoiding doing which is preventing me from getting an “extraordinary buzz”?

2) Allow your creative imagination to sprout wings: Start to think about “extra” things, which may appear simple and repetitive, but will add to your being extraordinary – pick one and put it into practice: Once you have mastered it move onto the next one. And if you think it didn’t work, replace it with a new one…

3) Develop your faith:

a) That you can be extraordinary

b) That by doing the “extras”, things will start working out for the better

c) That if those little “extras” don't work you will still be in the process of becoming extraordinary

d) By understanding that if you do the possible, God will take care of the impossible!

4) Act:

a) "Fake it till you make it!"

b) “Try on” a new behavior to see if it “fits” and give it sufficient time to “wear in”.

c) Take the first step on an incredible journey which consists of continuing to take more first steps, each after the other; till you arrive at a fantastic exotic location!

BLIND MAN SUDDENLY SEES AGAIN

2008-04-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

Doctors aren't quite sure how it happened, but a Dubuque man can see clearly after being blind in one eye for more than a decade.

It happened after a trip to the chiropractor.

Twelve years ago Doug Harkey's left eye suddenly stopped working. "I woke up one day and I didn't have vision in one eye."

And as quickly as he lost sight, he got it back.

Harkey said, "he just did his normal adjustment and, voila! After a routine visit to Chiropractor Tim Stackis, Harkey says a miracle happened.

"My blind eye starting watering after I left there and it watered for 45 minutes straight. It started making my good eye water. I went to wipe my right eye and I could see out my left again."

Doctor Stackis said the bones in the Harkey's neck were out of alignment. Stackis said, "That interferes with the messages and energy the brain sends down to the rest of the body."

Harkey now has the depth perception he'd been missing, just what he needs as he's about to walk down the aisle with his fiancée next month.

Click Here To Read The Full Article At KCRG TV9 News...

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO SPINAL MANIPULATION

2008-04-12T04:17:00.000-07:00

Just in case you think that the last historical feature on chiropractic care and mental ailments is historically interesting, but currently irrelevant - Here's some more recent evidence for the role for chiropractic in mental state... A systematic review of psychological outcomes in randomised controlled trials.

The most important risk factors for back and neck pain are psychosocial. Nevertheless, systematic reviews of spinal manipulation have concentrated on pain and spine related disability, and ignored psychological outcomes.

This review assessed whether spinal manipulation was effective in improving psychological outcome... There was some evidence that spinal manipulation improved psychological outcomes compared with verbal interventions.

Read The Full Abstract At Find Health Articles...

CHIROPRACTIC IN MENTAL AILMENTS

2008-04-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

This feature is based on an article originally published in 1957. Few people know that many years ago there was a number of Chiropractic Psychiatric Hospitals which had unprecedented success stories. This topic deserves to be revisited...

There is a considerable accumulation of evidence that chiropractic is effective in the handling of various mental ills, perhaps even more effective in certain instances than the medical battery of treatment which includes psychoanalysis, psychiatry, drugs, various types of shock therapy, and surgery. This evidence has been piling up since the days of DD Palmer himself, who wrote that in the case of insane patients it was usual to find "occlusion of the third, sixth, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth dorsal nerves."

In 1952, a crusading book entitled Obsolete American Mental Health Systems made startling claims that both chiropractic and osteopathy were far superior to so-called "orthodox" procedures in the handling of mental ills. Written by John Stevenson, who was for many years a prominent figure in labor management in the State of Michigan, it made such direct comparisons as these:

"Under our present state mental health programs, seventy-five to ninety-five patients of every one hundred patients who enter state mental hospitals are doomed to an asylum prison for life, depending on which state the patients are confined in…

"Investigation reveals that the private sanitariums of the chiropractic profession show from 60 to 65 per cent satisfactory discharges per annum as against 1 per cent to approximately 25 per cent discharges from state mental hospitals."…

Chiropractors state that clinical experience with many thousands of nervous patients has definitely established a direct connection between the nervous system and these disorders, demonstrating that the latter are not always of purely emotional origin. They also state that the physical alterations they are able to stimulate in the nervous system through spinal adjustment are highly successful in eliminating nervous symptoms, including those of long duration. This was stressed in a recent series of articles in the National Chiropractic Association journal titled "The Connection Between Nerves and Nervousness" and written by Dr. Herman S. Schwartz, President of the National Chiropractic Psychotherapy Council and author of the popular self-help book The Art of Relaxation…

A valuable guide to the subject is a public-information booklet written by Dr. Schwartz with the technical and editorial collaboration of George W. Hartmann, Professor of Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University. It is entitled 350 Nervous and Mental Cases Under Chiropractic Care and was published by The Chiropractic Research Foundation of Webster City, Iowa.
Dr. Schwartz cogently sums up chiropractic's approach to mental illness. He says: "It is logical to ask how chiropractors correct nervous and mental conditions without resorting to psychiatry. The answer is that chiropractic is a neurological approach to these problems, operating on the independent assumption now an established scientific fact-that much emotional illness stems from nerve irritations maintained by distortions in the spinal column. By correcting these subluxations, the chiropractor eliminates intense and persistent pains of obscure origin which mental cases suffer. A person with a cinder in his eye sometimes shows temporary lack of emotional control. So does one who has his corn stepped on heavily. Perpetuate excitation with a less obvious source of trouble and one begins to understand why some of the mentally ill suffer."

Of the 350 patients in the Schwartz survey, 212 or 60.5 per cent were "apparently cured" through chiropractic, 87 or 25 per cent "much improved," 28 or 8 per cent "somewhat improved," 19 or 5.5 per cent revealed "no change," and 4 or 1 per cent were "worse." Thus in 93.5 per cent of these patients improvement was noted ranging from apparent cure to some betterment of the condition.

"The summation here," observed Dr. Schwartz, "is that the chances are about 9 in 10 that `nervous' cases of the sort considered, benefit from whatever the chiropractor does for them. Interestingly enough, every one of the 350 cases studied revealed subluxations of variable magnitude in spinal analysis."

The Schwartz study becomes even more impressive when it is noted that of the patients studied 33 per cent had been in mental institutions and another four per cent were on the verge of being committed at the time chiropractic was first applied to them. More than 55 per cent had received general medical care, 13 per cent had undergone some form of shock therapy, and six per cent had had psychiatric treatment. Of the entire 350, all but five had had at least some degree of medical and psychiatric attention. Under such treatment, 27 or 8 per cent of the entire group had worsened, 33 or 10 per cent had shown some improvement, and 285 or 81 per cent had shown no change either for better or for worse…

One of the best-known chiropractic institutions dealing with the mentally ill is Forest Park Chiropractic Sanitarium in Davenport, Iowa. Its record in mental cases appears far superior than that of many, if not all, orthodox institutions. As far back as 1934, through the efforts of Hon. A. W. Ponath, County Judge of the Probate Court of Richland County, Wahpeton, North Dakota, 10 patients from the State Hospital at James-town, North Dakota, who had all been diagnosed as hopeless and incurable cases of dementia praecox, were sent to Forest Park in a test of what chiropractic could or could not accomplish. All of the 10 were chronic cases, and eight of the ten had been in the North Dakota state mental institution for from five to ten years. The remaining two were acute cases who had been mentally deranged for only a short time.

With these ten mental patients—all of whom had been diagnosed by state-employed medical doctors and psychiatrists as hopelessly incurable—Forest Park appears to have achieved 80 per cent complete recovery. The two acute cases were completely recovered by the end of the second month of treatment. Of the eight chronic cases, six were returned home as free from symptoms within one year.

Judge Ponath subsequently published a report titled Facts—What Chiropractic Has Done for Insanity in which he compared the overall records at Jamestown, N. D., (under medical supervision) and Forest Park (chiropractic). He found that during the years 1922-1934 the state mental hospital achieved 27.18 cures or satisfactory discharges, as compared with 65 per cent of the chiropractic institution over the same period.

Judge Ponath concluded, "And if this record, 65 per cent, can be obtained on cases where the large percentage are classed as incurable and had already spent much time in insane asylums and other sanitariums, how much more chiropractic could do if given the opportunity to handle the patients immediately after being brought to an insane asylum, rather than months or years later when their constitution has been run down by deterioration or prolonged mental disability or both."…

Read The Full Article At Old And Sold Antiques Digest...

DEAR CHIROPRACTOR: HELP ME KICK THE HABIT

2008-04-12T04:14:00.000-07:00

Beating addiction may take an extra nudge from the chiropractor.

When Jose Mehlman enrolled in the Exodus addiction treatment center as a study participant, he had hit bottom. Years before, he tried treatments that fell into his lap—anything that might help him. But they were "nowhere near effective." Today, Mehlman is living a viable, drug-free life. Why was his Exodus experience so successful? "I think that chiropractic care was an integral part of my recovery," he says.

But what does the spine have to do with addiction? The connection may be explained by the presence, or absence, of brain chemicals that make us feel good. When the spinal chord and its nerves are in proper order, chemicals known as neurotransmitters are released in a specific sequence, like falling dominoes. The result: A state of well-being. However, subluxations or misalignments of the spine can cause pressure and tension on surrounding tissue, interrupting this feel-good sequence.

Jay Holder, a chiropractor and physician with the Exodus Treatment Center in Miami Beach, wondered how patients would fare on a traditional rehab treatment program supplemented with chiropractic care. Some 98 subjects, including Mehlman, participated in the study, which was published in Molecular Psychiatry. Holder's research found that when an addiction treatment program was supplemented with frequent chiropractic adjustments over a 30-day period, the patients displayed an unprecedented 100 percent program completion rate. In addition, initially rampant depression and anxiety dropped significantly.

In comparison, the study's two other groups—one, a passive group who underwent only standard rehabilitation, and another, a placebo group who received sham chiropractic care—displayed significantly lower retention rates, and were about as likely to finish the program as the average recovering addict in the U.S. (a probability of about 55 percent).

Holder's study used a specific chiropractic technique called the Torque Release Technique, which focuses less on the alignment of the bones and more on what he calls the "neurophysiology of the spine." Certain types of subluxations can interfere with the tissue that extends from the brain stem through the spine and into the coccyx, hampering systems like the limbic system (known as the "seat of emotions") and throwing off neurotransmitters that keep us feeling our best. Holder's research suggests that drug treatment programs prove to be more successful with this type of chiropractic care...

Click Here To Read The Full Article At Psychology Today...

IMPROVED HEALTH OUTCOMES CORRELATES WITH RATIO OF CHIROPRACTORS

2008-04-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

It would appear that the greater the number of Chiropractors in a community, the healthier that community will be…

In the USA the news that Minnesota ranks first in health and Louisiana last, suggests that their connecting medium, the Mississippi River, or some other north-to-south phenomenon might be a factor. Consequently, correlations were assessed for various outcomes for states along the Mississippi River in an effort to better understand possible mechanisms for the health disparity along the River. Doctor ratios were also correlated with the outcomes.

Each state along the Mississippi River was ranked according to its north-to-south position. The position ranks were correlated with various outcomes in the areas of health, education, and socioeconomics. Doctor (physician [medical and osteopathic] and chiropractor) ratios for these river states were also correlated with these outcomes.

Except for generosity index, the outcomes had a tendency to worsen from north-to-south but tended to improve with increased doctor ratios. Chiropractors had stronger correlations for improved outcomes in 20 of the 25 outcomes compared to physicians, whereas physicians had stronger correlations in four of the 25 outcomes compared to chiropractors.

Decreased health along the Mississippi River, from north-to-south, is likely a multi-factorial phenomenon, i.e., a decrease in income, educational attainment, and quality of health care.

The ratios for both doctor types (physician and chiropractor) were correlated with improved outcomes, especially for chiropractor ratios.

Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At The Journal Of Vertebral Subluxation Research...

IMPROVEMENT IN HEARING AFTER CHIROPRACTIC CARE

2008-04-12T04:11:00.000-07:00

The first chiropractic adjustment given in 1895 was reported to have cured deafness. A new research study examined the effects of a single, initial chiropractic visit on the central nervous system by documenting clinical changes of audiometry in patients after chiropractic care.

Fifteen patients were thoroughly assessed with audiometry, before and immediately after the first chiropractic intervention. Several criteria were used to determine hearing impairment. All patients were classified as hearing impaired though greater on the right.

At 40 dB six had hearing restored, seven improved and only two had no change. At 25 dB using the Speech-frequency criteria, none were restored, eleven improved, four had no change and three missed a tone.

A significant percentage of patients presenting to the chiropractor have a mild to moderate hearing loss, most notably in the right ear. The clinical progress documented in this report suggests that manipulation delivered to the neuromusculoskeletal system may create central plastic changes in the auditory system leading to improvement in their hearing.

Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At PubMed...

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTISM FOLLOWING CHIROPRACTIC CARE

2008-04-12T04:10:00.000-07:00

Improvement in a 3½-year-old Autistic Child Following Chiropractic Intervention to Reduce Vertebral Subluxation.

This case study describes, discusses and tracks the subjective and objective changes of a 3½ year old autistic girl following chiropractic adjustments over a 10 week period.

The female child with reduced social interaction and language skills and learning difficulties had been diagnosed with autism 1 year earlier.

The child received full spine adjustments where indicated to reduce vertebral subluxation, using the Torque Release Technique protocol and Integrator instrument. Strong verbal and physical apprehension to initial care was observed, however no signs of this were present after 5 visits, along with further improvements in social interactions, language skills and increased symmetry in surface EMG and thermal scanning over the 10 weeks of care.

The subjective and objective improvements observed by both practitioner and parents following chiropractic care indicate a link between subluxation and autistic behavioral patterns...

Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At The Journal Of Vertebral Subluxation Research...

COULD A NECK ADJUSTMENT LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE?

2008-04-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

A New Study Implies a Link Between Hypertension and Spinal Alignment

Though doctors are unsure of what causes blood pressure to increase, a new study suggests that a specific type of neck adjustment may reduce hypertension for some of the 65 million Americans battling it.

The University of Chicago study, published in the Journal of Human Hypertension this month, looked at the possibility of a connection between a spinal realignment and a decrease in blood pressure.

We set up a double-blind study to really look and see if in fact this procedure was affecting high blood pressure," said University of Chicago Medical Center hypertension specialist George Bakris.

The results were intriguing. The patients who received the chiropractic adjustments saw their blood pressure drop an average of 17 points -- a dip that usually takes two blood pressure medications to achieve...

Click Here To Read The Story At ABC News...

Click Here To Watch The Good Morning America Feature at YouTube...

BE - DO - HAVE

2008-03-13T04:08:00.000-07:00

Many of us spend much of our thought life thinking about what we HAVE or what we would like to have; and even what we don’t have or don’t want to have.

Whether we are thinking about our finances (“If I was rich the things I could do...”), our material possessions (“I need that toy...”), our relationships (“If he/she paid me more attention I would be happy...”), our business ("If I saw more patients then I would enjoy practice..."), our health (“I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired...”) etc.

When we are day dreaming about what we would like to have, or stressing about what we currently have , we forget that there is always something which precedes what we possess! And this is - what we DO!

It can be a depressing thought, but many personal development authors tell us that what we have and what we will have in the future are a direct result of what we have done previously and what we are going to do next! Action leads to results.

There is an even higher activity though, which precedes doing, and hence also having. And this is - BEING!

Have you ever thought about what you want to have and someone has advised you what to do. But, you just don’t seem to be able to break through and consistently DO a new behaviour. This is because you haven’t changed your BEING.

There’s times when we all wonder why two people can be taught the same procedures but get totally different results - This is because their BEING is different.

So - to make quantum leaps in our personal development, we need to make changes in our BEING! Our being is the roots of our character and personality: Our beliefs, our mission statements, our values, our visions, gifts and talents.

Who do you want to be? What will they say about you at your funeral? Are you here to serve or to receive?

Business management in the ‘80s taught people to plan what they wanted to HAVE - set goals - then work backwards to determine what they needed to DO - and this in turn would direct what the person needed to BE.

Sometimes Christian ethics teaches us that we just have to concentrate on our BEING, and God will provide for all our needs (our HAVES). This ignores the fact that whenever we get our BEING into true integrity we become inspired with things we can do - which leads to what we will HAVE, by “God’s Grace”!

Then there’s those of us that are so trapped in the DOING that we forget what we were BEING when we got inspired to DO! (read the last line again slowly!) And we can’t even remember what we are going to HAVE as a result of that DOING! We just keep on doing those things over and over into the future, because they are what we have been doing in the past.

The new business and personal development ethic is based on putting first things first - work out your “BEING”, and spend time regularly keeping in touch with that BEING. This will direct and keep your “DOING” on track. The “HAVING” will then just become a by-product of these processes, a symptom or fruit of our BEING!

CHIROPRACTORS DON'T CAUSE STROKE

2008-03-13T03:19:00.000-07:00

A Canadian study indicates there is no increased risk related to chiropractic treatment in the heated debate about whether neck adjustments can trigger a rare type of stroke.

Researchers say patients are no more likely to suffer a stroke following a visit to a chiropractor than they would after stepping into their family doctor's office.

The findings, published in the journal Spine, help shed light on earlier studies that had cast a cloud on the chiropractic profession and suggested that their actions resulted in some patients suffering a stroke after treatment.

“We didn't see any increased association between chiropractic care and usual family physician care, and the stroke,” said Frank Silver, one of the researchers and also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and director of the University Health Network stroke program.

“The association occurs because patients tend to seek care when they're having neck pain or headache, and sometimes they go to a chiropractor, sometimes they go to a physician. But we didn't see an increased likelihood of them having this type of stroke after seeing a chiropractor.”

Click here to read the full article at the Globe and Mail...

THE PERCEIVED VALUE VERSUS COST FORMULA

2008-02-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

Whether a person chooses to continue or discontinue chiropractic care depends upon how much the person values the care when compared with how much they feel it is costing them.

If the value appears greater than the cost the patient will continue care. If the cost appears to become more than the value they will discontinue treatment. The more we can increase the perceived value the less we need to worry about the cost!

VALUE INCREASERS:

1) Experiencing benefits from chiropractic care. Especially if those benefits are over and above the initial complaint or the benefits expected.

2) Increased education and understanding about chiropractic.

3) Third parties (family and friends) experiencing benefits: Another great reason to stimulate referrals quickly.

4) A “paradigm shift”: Changing people's attitudes from “don't fix it till it's broke”, to one of maintenance, prevention and/or preferably wellness. That is “getting the BIG idea”!

COST INCREASERS:

1) Financial constraints: The amazing thing about this factor is that the more you can increase perceived value the less important this becomes. If you want it then you will find a way to pay. However cost is one of the main reasons people discontinue.

2) Time constraints: The old saying is that “time is money”. If it takes a person more than 20 minutes to drive to your practice; then they sit in your waiting room for 20 minutes; then it takes 15 minutes to get adjusted; then it takes 5 minutes to pay and reschedule – that’s 80 minutes out of their life. And then you tell them you want to see them 3 times a week? Big cost.

VALUE DECREASERS:

1) No or slow perceived response to treatment.

2) A reaction to an adjustment.

3) 'Chiropractic consultants': Rumor, opinion and hearsay can always affect the attitude of a new member of the chiropractic “family”.

4) Our attitude towards chiropractic: It 'rubs off' you know!

5) “The law of diminishing intent”: Ever made a new year’s resolution; then a few weeks later it just doesn't seem that important any more? Day to day stresses and commitments and the distractions of “life” seem to get in the way. That is – the original commitment gradually becomes diluted to the point of becoming unimportant:

If we constantly feed, reinforce and nurture our goals and resolutions there is less chance of them fading and getting lost in this way. It is never safe to think that a patient has got “the big idea” now, and will hence have it forever – they need constant feeding, reinforcement and nurturing of their goals and resolutions.

TWO WAYS TO GET PEOPLE TO DO THINGS:

1) Control and manipulate: This is like trying to get a donkey to move by putting a carrot in front of its nose or hitting it from behind with a big stick. The problem with these techniques is that the reward or the punishments need to be continually increased to receive the same response over a long period of time.

In our health care setting this would take claiming bigger and bigger benefits to our patients as they feel better (the carrot), or convincing people that if they don't continue to see us something terrible will happen to them (the stick). At some point in time the carrot and the stick will not be big enough!

2) Build relationships and teach by example: This is not about getting people to do what we want them to do: It is about showing people how they can get what they want – by following our example!

WHY ATTEND TORQUE RELEASE TECHNIQUE TRAINING?

2008-02-06T02:49:00.000-08:00

There are SO many chiropractic programs and techniques available to Chiropractors nowadays – Alphabet Soup you might say. For this reason it is imperative that each DC choose programs which are going to give them real value for their money. Nobody wants to attend a program which gives them one take-home strategy which they will use on one patient a week; or worse still leave the class and never implement a single aspect of the training. Below is my list of reasons to attend Torque Release Technique based on feedback from previous graduates of what changes the most in a DC’s life after attending a TRT program…

1) Better results with the majority of your patients – so many programs tell you that they are going to help you get better results with those “problem patients”. Isn’t it perplexing how we forget about the 80% that are getting good results and focus our minds on that 10% that isn’t responding: And we’ll spend big dollars attending a program that will help us get better results with the people who provide us with a small proportion of our income!! What if you could attend a program that will convert your good results to great results – imagine what will happen when 80% of your practice is getting better results?

2) Absolute certainty that you are adjusting the subluxation which most needs to be adjusted, at that moment in time, with the correct vectors and contacts – by contrast most other systems give you a list of possible subluxations, and then you either adjust all of them or make some subjective decision as to which ones you will adjust on that visit – and then there’s a bunch of systems that place no value or priority on what needs to be adjusted (if it pops then it must have needed it) – near enough is not good enough.

3) Increased retention – Because most other systems are linear and mechanistic they don’t adapt to the change that is happening: They see patient plateau at some point in the care program – plateau is the biggest enemy of retention – TRT is non-linear and vitalistic – in other words; the adjustments adapt and evolve as the patient’s nervous system goes through plastic changes – this means that patients keep getting significant changes after each adjustment – and excited patients stay and they refer.

4) Very quick analysis system that helps to cut down the number of adjustments needed each visit while still giving the best results – It IS possible to give someone a high quality adjustment in less than 2 minutes.

5) Less physical strain on the DC’s body – many DCs are paying a personal price physically and mentally due to how hard they are working to give their patients great adjustments – TRT is very easy physically and very orderly mentally – you get to the end of the day with energy still left over for your family and interests.

6) Every DC who has ever implemented TRT to some degree has increased their practice volume, while often reducing their working hours – TRT is very helpful for DCs wanting to practice high volume.

7) It is the first analysis and adjustment system to be totally neurologically based: The indicators we use are neurological indicators, the analysis system we utilise is neurological, and the Integrator adjustment is a neurological intervention.

8) It is the only system that breaks Chiropractic out of a mechanistic model: Most systems talk about the nervous system in terms of the outcomes, but then regress into biomechanical speak, assessment and intervention – “I’m a wellness Chiropractor and I straighten spines” – NOT! – a straight spine does not guarantee wellness – only improved neurological function guarantees wellness.

9) It is the only system that offers a completely vitalistic application of our vitalistic philosophy – totally congruent with the 33 principles and yet current with quantum science: Mechanism is not a subset of vitalism; it is a subset of reductionism. Vitalism requires a respect for the life, spirit, energy and intelligence of human existence – does your “treatment” release human potential, or does it impose your belief of what angle a cervical curve should be?

10) Increased understanding of the emotional component of subluxation – how emotions contributes to subluxation – how subluxation impacts on the emotional component of the nervous system – and most DCs see bigger changes in patients emotional states when they use TRT.

11) Totally congruent with WELLNESS practice – many DCs say they are wellness DCs, but basically have a practice full of people who come for regular check-ups – a wellness practice can only be measured by improved state of wellbeing in the clients, not by how often someone gets adjusted – TRT DCs find that their practice members go through major shifts in their state of wellbeing.

12) The level of satisfaction with the Integrator is much higher than with most other instruments – most DCs use their instrument as an alternative to manual adjusting – when all else fails or when they feel it is not safe to adjust manually. The opposite happens when DCs use Integrators – they are usually shocked to find that they actually get better changes and feel their adjustments “hold” better when using an Integrator. And those recurring subluxations that used to be back again every visit suddenly seem to clear and no longer recur.

13) They discover a massive demographic of new patients who would never see a “bone cruncher” but love the low-force approach – Like it or not – the manual adjustment has been the vehicle with which most DCs have produced great health changes in their customers. But at the same time the manual adjustment suffers from a very poor public relations history: From comedy shows, to fanatical and very vocal cynics, to a large segment of the general populace – there is a huge number of people who question “cracking backs” as being of little therapeutic value, and of much unnecessary risk. When you use a low-force adjusting approach – you enter a new game – and you find a whole new marketplace.

14) Enjoyment, fulfilment, passion and excitement seem to happen in DCs lives. It amazes me how many DCs are actually struggling in practice emotionally – and are in a state of disappointment, boredom or burnout. We get so many phone calls and emails a few months after a TRT program with amazing stories of renewed practices, revived enthusiasm, and unexpected but well-deserved rewards…

YOUR ATTITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS!

2008-01-27T03:02:00.000-08:00

The number and type of clients you see and draw to your practice are a SYMPTOM of your own attitude towards chiropractic!

1) If your attitude is that chiropractic is great for the relief of any number of aches and pains - then you will have a pain relief and crisis care practice.

No matter how many visits you try to extract from your customers, they will tend to use you only for the relief of aches and pains - you may have a PVA of 20, but this will be 20 visits of crisis care. And because you will see primarily pain relief occurring, you will justify your attitude. In other words, you will either not initiate larger state of wellbeing and general health changes, or even if they are occurring you will be oblivious; because you won't even ask the questions that might detect that something else is going on. And your patient's won't think to mention any other changes that are happening in their lives, because you are the "Back Doctor", and the other stuff has nothing to do with you.

2) If your attitude is that chiropractic is good for fixing back problems, or straightening abnormal spinal angles - then you will have a corrective care practice.

You could have a huge practice, with people seeing you for a bunch of visits in a relatively short space of time. People will be convinced and even impressed by your level of professionalism, equipment and affluent appearance. But here's the question: How many families are you seeing, how many of your clients have been seeing you for 5 and even 10 years, how dependent are you on the next bunch of new patients to refill the appointment book and balance sheet?

3) If your attitude is that regular chiropractic helps to prevent spinal problems from progressing to be serious, acute and painful - then you will have a maintenance practice.

How quickly do your patients get to four to six week intervals in their care? Often they get to monthly visits and you haven't even reassessed them. A couple of times a week for a couple of weeks, then once a week for a couple more weeks, and then before you know what's happened they are booked in, in 4-6 weeks. They may be out of pain, and they may have experienced some initial health improvements, but have YOU really made any signifiant physiological and functional changes to their global state of wellbeing? Will they live longer and better as a result of an adjustment every 30-60 days, while in between they undo all your good work?

4) If your attitude is that chiropractic is an integral part of a person's health program, having an effect on their nervous system and releasing the work of the body’s innate intelligence - then you will have a broad scope health and wellness practice.

Their symptoms, state of disease, financial position are even totally irrelevant to your belief that a regular adjustment will do them good... It's this simple - PEOPLE WHO GET ADJUSTED DO BETTER! And they usually feel and function better too. But you don't take responsibility for your practice members' state of health - You didn't get them into the state they are currently in, and you can but assist them and even coach them towards a more optimal lifestyle... You understand that each adjustment is a positive healing step forwards, and you utilise all your clinical and technical skills to determine how many steps they take backwards in between adjustments to determine the optimal schedule for their care. And this attitude is contagious, because the type of new patient that appears at your door seems to intuitively understand this philosophy, and they seem to be surrounded by a family and peer group that wants to join them at your rooms on a regular basis.

THE IDEAL PATIENT

2008-01-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

In order to go through the step by step process of building your dream practice, it is necessary to start at the beginning: That is; WHOM DO YOU WANT TO SERVE?

There are three main reasons why you need to define your "ideal patient".

1) To make you aware of the people presently using your services, that you enjoy serving. By identifying who they are you can better understand how to best serve, reward and encourage these people.

2) So that you know how to attract these people to your practice by better understanding their needs and values.

3) To help you determine what systems and procedures you need to put in place to help the rest of your patients to grow into being an 'ideal patient'.

DESIGNING THE IDEAL PATIENT:

Think of the patients you presently enjoy serving in the practice; the ones you look forward to seeing and when you see their name on the appointment book it brings a smile to your face. Why do you like them?

Some of the characteristics we might need to consider include: Age, gender, occupation, socioeconomic group, culture, health status, attitude, sense of humor, marriage status, hobbies, interests, values, understanding of health care and chiropractic, with or without kids, appearance etc...

AN EXAMPLE: MY 'IDEAL PATIENT':

Communicative.
Obedient.
Positive attitude and outlook.
Inquisitive.
Health conscious.
Believe in chiropractic.
Value chiropractic care.
Honest.
Any age, gender, culture etc.
Families.
Pays for care.
Refers others.
Gives recognition for the care they receive.
Smile!
Doers.
Reliable.
Enthusiastic.
Responsible.

Sit down with your TEAM and brainstorm the different attributes of your practice's 'ideal patient' and come up with your own description...

THE ROLE OF CHIROPRACTIC IN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

2008-01-08T03:03:00.000-08:00

A Case Study

A 55 year old female patient presented to the office with a history of two automobile accidents which had both caused a number of physical symptoms including whiplash, loss of range of motion in her right arm, SI joint pain, shoulder pain, hand pain, parasthesias in the upper and lower extremities, and loss of balance. Complicating the healing process was the onset of depression and suicide attempt after the death of her husband, six years after the second automobile accident.

Torque Release Technique protocols were used to evaluate and adjust spinal subluxations as it provides a low force adjustment. Adjustments were performed twice weekly over the documented seven months of care. Within one month of care, the patient noted a decrease in symptoms and an improvement in her quality of life. Periodic re-evaluations demonstrated an improvement in physical findings as well as improvement in the function of her autonomic and motor systems as documented by thermal and SEMG scanning.

The results of this case study indicate that patients with traumatic brain injury may benefit from including chiropractic care while healing from their physical and emotional stresses.

Click Here To Read The Abstract At The Journal Of Vertebral Subuxation Research...

THE SAFETY OF CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION OF THE NECK

2008-01-08T02:58:00.000-08:00

There have been attempts by some chiropractic skeptics and some so-called expert advisory panels that suggest that chiropractic adjustment of the neck carries some unacceptable risks. These all fail to quote legitimate research. So here's some real research to clarify the risks...

The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of serious and relatively minor adverse events following chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine...

They studied treatment outcomes obtained from 19,722 patients. Serious adverse events were defined as "referred to Hospital Accident and Emergency and/or severe onset/worsening of symptoms immediately after treatment and/or resulted in persistent or significant disability/incapacity"; and minor adverse events were defined as a “worsening of presenting symptoms or onset of new symptoms”.

Data were obtained from 28,807 treatment consultations and 50,276 cervical spine manipulations.

There were no reports of serious adverse events...

Minor side effects with a possible neurologic involvement were more common. The highest risk immediately after treatment was fainting, dizziness or light-headedness. Up to 7 days after treatment, these risks were headache, numbness/tingling in upper limbs and fainting/dizziness/light-headedness.

Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At Spine Journal...

Practice Tip - INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION

2007-11-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Perceived indifference is the number one reason for patient drop out - AND - the number one need of each of your client's is the perception that you have heard and understood their biggest concerns. A major shift in consumer power is the demand for self-help advice. While most MDs THINK that their patients come to them for a prescription; and most DCs THINK that their new patients have come to get their backs cracked; One of the first questions in your patient's mind/s is "what can I do to help myself?"

I still remember one particular new patient who consulted me. He was wanting help with his chronic recurrent Low Back condition and had already seen his MD for an "expert" opinion. The GP had given him a sheet full of exercises as his prescription. This sheet had actually convinced the man that he was in the wrong place! You see, the copyright symbol at the bottom of the page was 1965! The guy said to me - "if that's how up to date the MDs are then I figured I needed to find another profession".

A lot of chiropractic treatment programs are very "front-ended" - That is the new practice member gets a lot of attention and information in the first 1-2 weeks of care: And then they become part of the daily schedule - Arrive, wait, guided into the adjusting room, face down, adjustment, "powers-on, see you next visit", pay and make an appointment, leave. And as each visit passes they develop a growing dis-ease that they might just be a number.

Here's one technique to help your practice members feel like you continue to see them as individual, important and cared for: It's called drip-feeding. People respond and comply much more effectively to your educational inputs when they are in small bite-size chunks, instead of a huge plate full of stew that exceeds the appetite. You can apply this to any aspect of your ongoing systems and procedures but let's use the example of exercise prescription:

Many DCs have given up on prescribing exercises because of perceived poor compliance and persistence. The primary cause of this poor outcome is the way in which the exercises are taught, delivered and reviewed. Instead try these guidelines...

1) Only teach 1 and never more than 2 exercises at any one visit.

2) Demonstrate the exercise by assisting the person to perform the exercise there and then - it's fine to give a sheet but these are just visual reminders - NEVER expect a client to perform an exercise from a still picture without demonstration, and DVDs will rarely make it into the player more than once.

3) Let them know that you will be teaching them another exercise next week, and that you will be reviewing their progress.

4) When you teach them the next exercise, get them to quickly show you how they are doing the last one you taught them.

This process should only add 1-2 minutes to that consult if you do it effectively - if this is too long, this can be delegated to a tech CA who you should have assisting you if you are seeing high volume anyway.

This process achieves a number of things - implementation because they will remember the exercise, compliance because they know you will be checking on them, persistence because they have been made accountable.

When we teach the Super Posture program I show a set of 12 simple exercises which are very effective for improving postural habits, and can also be used to improve response to your adjustments. Click Here To Learn More About Super Posture...

Now the challenge for you is to review the information that you currently bombard your new patients with, and take some time to trim it down into smaller bite size pieces, to mix into your drip-feeding recipe...

CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMES TO YOU

2007-11-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

Are you involved in a group practice, mastermind meeting group, or regional chiropractic group? You could have CPD come to your group instead of you traveling hundreds of kilometres to further your professional development. And when you calculate the cost of traveling, extra time out of your practice to get to and from a program, the costs of accommodation and meals, and, time spent away from family and leisure - this can calculate to a saving of hundreds of dollars and large amounts of YOUR time...

Below is a list of training programs that we can provide to your group:

Torque Release Technique Seminar - A 2-day technique program that upgrades your analysis and adjusting skills to 21st century chiropractic...
Click Here To Find Out More...

Advanced Torque Release Technique Hands-On-Workshop - Follow-up to the TRT Seminar: A 1-day technique program that converts your TRT skills from competency to mastery...
Click Here To Find Out More...

"ADHD, To Drug Or Not To Drug" - A 1/2 day program which teaches the truths about ADHD and related behavioural disorders and gives you clear and effective strategies for managing the number one paediatric crisis...
Click Here To Find Out More...

Super Posture Workshops - A 1/2 day program which shows you the skills, strategies and solutions to one of the biggest causative and aggravating factors for the Subluxation...
Click Here To Find Out More...

Auriculotherapy Seminar And Workshop - A 1 day program that trains you in the principles and application of the most congruent ancillary modality for chiropractic practice...
Click Here To Find Out More...

Click Here To Email Me An Enquiry About Any Of The Above...

Practice Tip - HELP YOUR PRACTICE MEMBERS TO FIND ONLINE HELP

2007-11-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

The Internet has now become one of the primary ways that practice members and prospective customers find out answers.

Do you help to direct them to congruent health related resources?

65% of people report access to the internet. A total of 74% of those with access use the Internet to find health information for themselves or family members. Disease-specific information is most frequently sought, followed by medication information, and then information about nutrition and exercise. Did you know that as a health care professional you can significantly build your relationship and loyalty with your customers by referring them to useful and helpful web sites?

Here are some short cuts to assist you to point your patients in the right direction...

1) Collect your patients email addresses and offer them a periodical email update service: Send out a periodical group newsletter with links to interesting health articles that align with your philosophy and services. Nowadays you can even remind some patients about their appointments via email.

Click Here To Find Out How To Send Powerful and Impacting Emails...

2) Get a web site: Not just an online business card - but one that has significant amounts of health related and even self-help information, which is regularly updated. There are chiropractic specific services that can help you with this.

3) Have a list of health sites that you regularly refer to yourself - link to these from your web-site, and try to set up reciprocal links from their site to yours.

Click Here To Visit My New Health Blog Suitable For Anyone To Read...

CAN YOU SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING?

2007-11-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

Many aspects of chiropractic practice have evolved - there have been so many modern developments from within our profession, and from complementary professions - many of which make daily practice simpler, more efficient, more effective, more objective, and even more profitable... Whether we talk about the computerisation and even automation of our front desks, technological advancements in our investigative tools, online education and marketing tools, new and diverse technique systems, in-house entertainment and educational multimedia, online and electronic banking options, and I could go on...

But at the same time could it be that as we utilise more and more technologies, and become more dependent on machines to make decisions and record memories for us - That our own innate and intuitive recording, analysing and comparative skills may be withering and vanishing?

How seriously and consciously do you control what you are seeing and absorbing in your mind's eye, as you are working on each and every practice member, on each and every visit? This was named INTENT by our pioneers.

While you are leaning over and assessing your patients: Are you thinking about what you are going to have for lunch, reviewing your golf swing, planning your next holiday, worrying about your debts, or even rewinding the last patient who was complaining that you hadn't fixed them yet?

Make a commitment to include the following steps as you examine and treat each person...

1) Become One: When you enter into someone's field of intelligence (their personal space), you are being allowed into a very privileged place - AND you also enter into a dimension where you can gather enormous perceptions about the state of mind and body of that person - IF you are willing to perceive and observe them! The way to take this to its full potential is to comprehend that when you enter into this "zone" you and your patient become one. Have you ever started to feel angry, sad, frustrated, or agitated while adjusting someone - guess what - it might not be you feeling it - it may be them. See if you can develop this skill of knowing more about your clients than they know about themselves...

2) Visualise: As a Chiropractor, you are extremely blessed, because you have done some of the most comprehensive anatomical, physiological, biomechanical, neurological and even pathological studies possible. As you examine and adjust each person, develop "XRay Vision": Visualise the structures and functions that you are examining and adjusting as you perform each procedure. Makes the job much more interesting and fascinating. Your diagnostic and technical skills will improve in a quantum leap if you integrate this one skill...

3) See Whole: This transports your visualisation skills to the next dimension: Making the jump from observation, to influence! See the fixated joints start to move again; visualise a person's alignment being restored; feel the surge of nerve flow and energy transmission; envision cells, tissues, organs and beings becoming whole and vital once again...

When we teach Torque Release Technique we equip you with a comprehensive range of indicators which you use in your ongoing evaluations of your patients' state of wellbeing, and degree and location of Subluxation. These build and strengthen your intuitive and innate abilities to perceive and differentiate what condition someone is in, AND where and how they need to be adjusted.

When you put this all together you achieve what is probably best described as TOTAL CERTAINTY.

Click Here To Find Out More About TRT Training...

Practice Tip - EMPOWER AND RELEASE YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET

2007-11-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here’s some vital questions to ask yourself: Which member of your business...

1) Educates your practice members more simply and effectively than you do?

2) Listens to your patients' "dirty laundry" and counsels and advises them at the same time?

3) Stimulates more referrals than any other marketing source than you could ever invent?

4) Is more likely to hug, wipe tears, encourage and listen to the people who pay your bills?

5) Placates disgruntled customers who are sick of being kept waiting, or haven't had their questions answered to their satisfaction?

6) Would like to be more involved in the healing process than you recognise and give credit for?

And all we worry about is did they take the correct money, make the next booking correctly, get people into the adjusting room when we needed them there, keep the kids quiet in the play area, and still manage to book in 3 new patients who rang while 5 people were queued at the front desk?

That's right, I'm talking about your CA, receptionist, secretary, personal assistant - whatever you call them.

After asking yourself the above questions; next ask your best CA/s: "Would you like to be more involved in the healing process, and learn some new skills?" You may be surprised by the answers you get.

Here's three ways you can up-skill your most valuable business asset:

A) Involve them in the interview or case history process - Use pre-formatted questionnaires to save you time and actually improve your record keeping. A good CA will have already heard most of the person's life, family and health history, and will probably know more about what is really worrying the person, before they even see your face: Your CA is the ideal person to select the most appropriate paperwork for each new client, and then to follow up at a pre-determined time to review the questionnaire again.

ACTION STEP: Click Here To Check Out Health Questionnaires That Your CA Could Be Trained To Administer...

B) Get them trained in aspects of the examination procedures - There are some amazing technologies which improve your objective analysis of your patients' state of wellbeing, and some of these can be trained and delegated to a tech-CA.

ACTION STEP: Make sure you bring some CAs to the Super Posture program - there they will learn how to perform low-tech and high-tech postural assessment and even how to prescribe some corrective exercises: Click Here To Find Out More About The Super Posture Program...

C) Select some therapeutic modalities which can be administered by an assistant under your oversight - Consider this - As your practice expands you may assume that the way to increase your volume and turnover is to employ an associate DC. Most associate DCs will drain up to 60% of the money they generate. How about delegating some of the less skilled and time effective activities to well trained staff who work for an hourly rate? You could dramatically increase your patient flow and diversify your services (and increase customer satisfaction) at a fraction of the overhead.

ACTION STEP: Click Here To Find Out About A Treatment Modality That Can Be Delegated To Tech Assistants...

TIME-SAVING SHORT CUTS

2007-10-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever bet on the horses, played two-up or any other form of gambling? The nature of this industry is that the most likely outcome is also the least rewarding one! Bet on a horse that has odds of 2/1 and most likely it is going to win, but you are only going to get a little bit of extra cash for this achievement. On the other hand if the horse you bet on is 100/1, more than likely you are going to be waiting for a while after the winner passes the post to see your horse cross the line - but IF he does win then you are going to get a great return on your "investment".

What if there was a "game of chance" that paid higher dividends when the odds/ratio was also going to make your bet the most likely winner? Wouldn't this mean less time wasted looking for the the "long shot" and bigger returns on your input? Fortunately such a "game" does exist - it's called chiropractic...

Did you know that two separate research processes have confirmed and agreed on the "odds ratio" for subluxation probabilities? That is; a patient is lying prone on your adjusting table - which level of the spine is most likely to be subluxated, and hence is the fist level of the spine that you should always check? Why would you waste your time looking at the least likely spinal level first? If you knew the ranking list of primary subluxations then you would save yourself a LOT of time as you would on average find EVERY subluxation quicker. The less time it takes to find it, the less time it will take to fix it: Less time CAN be converted to more money.

So what is this ranking list I hear you ask? Unfortunately space does not allow me to cover this comprehensively. To give you a hint though - If you take the name of one of the most-used low-force techniques and reverse the order of the words, you have the first and second most likely primary subluxations on the planet. The rest of the list is covered thoroughly during the Torque Release Technique Program, including the differential diagnostic tests that reliably tell you whether each segment needs to be adjusted, OR NOT, and what correctional vectors will give you the greatest return from your adjustment.

Due to popular demand we have booked another TRT program for this year - to be held on Friday/Saturday November 23/24 in Auckland, New Zealand...

Click Here To Find Out More...

Practice Tip - ASKING FOR REFERRALS

2007-10-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I can remember paying good money to attend a practice management seminar that promised me I'd be able to see more people, charge more for my services, work less hours, convert everyone to lifetime care, and attract hundreds of new patients. The crux of the seminar was rehearsing, memorising and then regurgitating powerful "scripts" which if said in the correct manner, guaranteed that everyone would do anything you told them to do. I must say they did work well, but here's the glitch: When you've been in practice for a little while, and you start to see the same people over an extended period of time; and you also see their family members, and friends and colleagues, and reactivated patients; and if your CAs and associates are also using those same power scripts - eventually you are all going to be "found out". You see this technique is based on "Disney" systems - BUT; how many times have you visited Disneyland? Once, maybe twice to go to the bits that you missed the first time? And guess what - you only have to listen to the script once! If YOU are going to be a wellness DC with people seeing you 12 or more times a year, for many years, then you'd better have something different to say... Here's the best way to develop dialogue processes that evolve and adapt to where you practice members are at... Ask better questions!

Here's a really simple strategy that doesn't take long; builds rapport, intimacy and relationship; and produces numerous opportunities for generating referrals: Get to know the practice member's family, friends and colleagues by asking a simple series of questions... My CA even knows their Dog's name/s!

It goes something like this:

Q: "What does your husband/wife/partner do for a living?" A: ........

Q: "Wow, does he/she enjoy that?" A: .........

Q: "Has your husband/wife/partner seen a chiropractor before?" A: ........

This is where the brief conversation can take a number of turns, but regardless of the answer, your questions should search for a reason for you to recommend that they bring their partner in to be checked to see if you can help.

On subsequent visits I'll take some brief moments to get to know their kids, and then their friends, and then their colleagues...

I know this sounds really simple, but I have got to tell you that the conversations are much more interesting than listening to the sound of your own voice saying the same thing over and over again?

POSTURE - THE SIMPLEST AND MOST POWERFUL PRACTICE TOOL

2007-10-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words!

Many Chiropractors analyse their new patients' posture, and then scribble lines on a stick figure chart that is supposed to represent the person's postural distortions? Try showing the hand-drawn diagram to the person - IT WILL MEAN NOTHING TO THEM - And it's not a very convincing communication medium. Try showing the diagram to another chiropractor - I bet they won't even understand what the markings mean. Then try using this diagram at the re-exam - How could you objectively measure, let alone demonstrate to the client that any sort of change has occurred?

Some others have entered the twentieth century and have started to take digital photos of their practice members' posture. I've seen some who print the photos and then draw lines all over the picture to highlight the problems. But the question remains - How can you objectively track and demonstrate the changes that are occurring in their posture? And, how could you store, file and retrieve all those images?

There is a twenty first century technology that is cheap and effective for storing, analysing, calculating, retrieving, and comparing digital postural analyses - And it takes about the same time as a traditional postural assessment...

Click Here To Find Out More...

Practice Tip - WHAT DO YOUR PRACTICE MEMBERS REALLY THINK ABOUT YOUR CARE?

2007-10-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Million Dollar Question

Many of us now call ourselves "Wellness DCs" or "Healthy Lifestyle Doctors" or some other impressive sounding title - I guess we are trying to differentiate our services from the other "garden variety" DCs? But these titles often are a reflection of us, and not a true reflection of how our customers really see us, or how they themselves behave. Maybe we exercise regularly, get adjusted every 1-2 weeks, keep a positive outlook, eat organic etc. But then we have 80% of our practice on monthly schedules, and have no discernable influence on their other healthy habits?

I suffered a daunting revelation when I upgraded my technique and scheduling systems to a more "wellness" driven focus. You see I used to spend ~15 minutes with each client, and they loved my soft-tissue techniques, and often complimented me on my ability to find the sore spots and to provide instantaneous relief from their musculoskeletal aches and pains. Not that there is anything wrong with this - but my mission is to improve the health and wellness of everyone that I can influence - not to be the natural alternative to Nurofen and Panadeine. And when I changed my technique to a neurological model, many left the practice before they could possibly experience the extra health benefits - why? "Because I didn't rub their shoulders"!

So, what do YOUR clients really think of YOU? Here is the million dollar question to ask your practice members that will inform you of the truth...

"If you could come and have an adjustment whenever you wanted to, and it didn't cost you anything, how often would you come?"

1) If the answer is, "Oh I'd come every single week, and sometimes even more": Congratulations - you probably are truly a wellness DC - your clients truly comprehend the global benefits of an adjustment. They probably perceive the reduction in tension and stress, the improved sleep patterns, the maximised immunity, and the increases in energy after each adjustment.

2) "Oh, I'd come every 4-6 weeks": Maybe you should replace the title "Wellness" with "Maintenance" DC. Your clients have probably discovered that if they go longer than 4-6 weeks, that their aches and pains start to increase in severity and regularity. Your periodical adjustments offer them effective and lasting pain relief.

3) "Oh, I'd come a 2-3 times a year": I actually don't quite understand this concept - maybe it's because they get their car serviced twice a year, and go to the dentist twice a year, and floss their teeth twice a year, and make love twice a year? I'm not sure of what possible benefit two adjustments per year could have - maybe I underestimate the power of an adjustment?

4) "Oh, I'd come in whenever I had a problem": Whoops, if you get a lot of this answer, then it is time to change your title to "garden variety DC".

To take this question to the next level: If your practice members answer that they would like to come more often than they actually do - the next question to ask is - "What do we need to do to help you come as often as you would really like to?" - now its time to work out a strategy, schedule, fee, that makes their dream a reality...

Practice Tip - CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE THINK AND WHAT THEY DO

2007-10-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

There is compelling scientific evidence that what people know about diet and how they eat are in many cases two different issues? I'm sure you have observed that this void between knowing and doing crosses over into all health behaviours?

1) The acute antalgic low back or torticollis crisis patient who promises you that they will keep seeing you forever for maintenance care if you can only help them get out of agony; who then discontinue somewhere between visit two and six because "they are fine now and will ring if they have any further problems".

2) The reactivating patient that confesses that they were feeling great while they were doing the exercises that you taught them, but then they just forgot about them because they didn't have any pain. And then they ask you "why does this problem keep coming back?"

3) The osteo-arthritic retiree that starts complaining of increased aching and stiffness, and when you ask them if they are still taking their Glucosamine, they respond "Oh I finished the bottle and thought I'd see how I'd go without them for a while".

4) You meet an old regular practice member who discontinued 1-2 years ago, and when you ask them how they are going they give you the long list of ailments, diagnoses and prescriptions that they now take, and then pass comment "you know when I used to see you I didn't have any of these problems".

There's a push in our profession right now to adapt us into risk-factor screening machines, who then pass appropriate educational brochures to those at risk, and warn them of the dangers of not changing their ways. Think about this: Most people who are overweight already know they are overweight; most people who are unfit already experience the effects of it; most people experiencing symptoms of Diabetes are aware of the symptoms... They don't need you to identify the symptoms of their condition. They need help closing the void between their awareness and their behaviour!

If you want to be a wellness practitioner let me tell you a major paradigm shift you are going to have to make - It's not about you, it's about them. Wellness is a personal journey of lifestyle choices leading towards better life and health outcomes. You can't make the decisions for them - if you try to then its not wellness - it's medicine.

Here's four questions that you must ask your practice members to make massive changes in your wellness relationship:

1) "What is your biggest health priority right now?" Their choice not yours.

2) "What are three things you think you could do to improve this area of your life?" Their choice, not yours. But this may be the point where they ask you for your educated opinion.

3) "What information do you think you need to help you make this change?" This is the point where they will most likely give you permission to feed them with resources.

4) "What would you like me to do to make sure you follow through on your plan?" This is where you help them to make some commitments, set some goals for them to achieve, define some measures for monitoring their progress, and set a time-line for review.

WHAT IF YOU WERE ONLY ALLOWED TO MAKE ONE ADJUSTMENT?

2007-10-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Imagine if every Australian was allowed to receive one adjustment per week, and that adjustment was covered under Medicare? But here's the condition: You can only deliver one adjustment per week, per person, and you have to demonstrate the measure benefits of those adjustments every three months using impartial objective outcome tools. I guess there would be a minority of DCs who would think they had found easy street and delivered any old adjustment, in any old fashion, without much consideration for where or how they delivered that adjustment - just so long as the cheques keep rolling in. But for the rest of us, we would want to be completely diligent in ensuring that this one adjustment was a good one, a really good one, and that we adjusted the segment which most needed to be adjusted, and in the right direction because you can't just hit it on both sides - you only get one shot!!

Think about this in the context of how you currently prioritise how you deliver your adjustments each and every day:

1) Do you start at the bottom and work your way up, or some other variation of this theme? Check and adjust the low back, check and adjust the thoracics, then roll them over and check and adjust their neck? Most DCs have an order in which they adjust everyone. It may not be the order I mentioned, but in most cases it will be a "routine" based on the practitioner's habit as opposed to some patient-centred findings dictating where you start and finish. STOP IT: Take an extra few seconds to analyse your patients' spines and make a decision about which is the most important adjustment to make on that visit.

2) Do you adjust the same segments in the same order, any three visits in a row? I thought your practice members were supposed to be getting better and progressing to a new level of health - why then would they continue to have the same subluxations? If you are activating retracing in their body then surely the next layer of subluxation should appear and need to be corrected? And, since they last saw you a lot of different stresses have presented, so they may have a new and different layer appearing on the next visit. Why do we say that the body is a self-healing adaptive organism and then fail to adapt and change our adjustments to keep up? BEWARE: If you check your notes and see that patients are getting the same mix of adjustments on every visit then there's only two options - A) you put the stuck pattern there with your repetitive habituating stimulus, or, B) their spine isn't evolving under your care - either way you need to try a new strategy.

3) Do you have a system that allows you to make a live analysis and differential diagnosis of which subluxation wants to be adjusted at any given moment in time? When we teach TRT we show you 14 different indicators of subluxation and train you in the differential diagnosis technique that gives you absolute certainty and precision in making this vital decision...

Click Here To Find Out More About TRT Training...

An interesting question arising from my hypothetical above is for our profession as wellness providers. I used the weekly example based on the observation that: 1) If I could get adjusted as often as I liked I would probably get an adjustment every week; 2) I conducted a highly informal survey of a group of my practice members when I asked them "if you could get adjusted whenever you liked and it didn't cost you anything, how often would you get adjusted?" The most common reply was "I'd come every week"; 3) I have been using functional assessment technologies in my practice for over a decade and have observed qualitatively and quantitatively the biggest changes when clients are getting adjusted weekly (go beyond three weeks and you will see a significant percentage of clients start to deteriorate functionally); 4) Many chiropractors I have met who claim to be wellness DCs get adjusted weekly and recommend weekly adjustments.

But, how much would this cost the community if every man, woman and child was adjusted weekly: Using the round figure of 20 million people and $40 per adjustment, that comes to $800 million per week.

Here's the ultimate challenge: We would have to be able to demonstrate without a shadow of a doubt that we were saving the Australian economy at least $1 Billion per week? Can we do this? Your thoughts are welcome...

CONVERT YOUR EXAMINATION EXPLANATIONS TO NEUROLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS

2007-10-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a mythology in chiropractic that the average person is unable to comprehend the nervous system - IF this is true it is because no-one has ever taken the time to teach them...

Masseurs and Physios are hardly going to teach ANY principles that explain the nervous systems' role in health and disease. The pharmaceutical companies and AMA would probably prefer that the average person did not understand the CNS, except that they have drugs that can block all pain and unwanted emotions. Not many people are going to see a neurologist in their life - and those who do rarely come away with any insight into the normal functions of the CNS. You're a chiropractor - it is your calling to teach the world about the importance of a healthy and fully functional nerve system. No-one else will. The simplest way to do this is in bite-sized chunks...

1) Explain at the very beginning of your relationship with a new client that the nervous system controls and regulates ALL bodily functions, and therefore everything that you do to them is is all about improving their nervous system; and warn them that you will tend to explain everything to them in terms of the nervous system so that they can better understand their own body and how to look after it.

2) Convert your explanations of your exam procedures to neuro speak: eg. POSTURE - Posture is not a biomechanical phenomenon - it is a neurological phenomenon - it represents the body's ability to perceive and position itself against gravity - its effectiveness in maintaining the sphenoid directly above the coccyx - this requires proprioception and fine-motor control. When you display a person's postural distortions to them, forget the mechanical talk about the spine bending forwards and putting more strain on the discs. Instead explain to them that the reason their head has got into such a ridiculous position is because their brain doesn't know where their head is; and the most likely reason for this is something (a subluxation) blocking the information getting from their neck joints and muscles to their brain.

When you explain spinal XRays spend as little time explaining the shape and position of the vertebrae; instead teach them how the changes on the XRays will be affecting their CNS: "See how your neck is leaning forward, and has become straight - this will be stretching your spinal cord like someone trying to wring out a wet towel". Look at this extra backwards bend in your low back; look at the size of the holes between the vertebrae - this is where the nerves have to exit to control your body - what effect do you think this squishing will have on the nerve's ability to transmit information?

3) Do an audit of each of your exam procedures and examine your explanations. Then re-write your description for that procedure in terms of the nervous system - you can do it - you're a chiropractor. AND/OR Attend a TRT seminar and we will help to show you all the neurological indicators that you can use to assess, explain and educate your practice members.

4) Explain the outcomes of your adjustments in terms of the nervous system and then show them the changes that occur in their positive findings when they are adjusted. When you learn TRT you will be able do do this in a few short moments...

Click Here To Find Out More About TRT Training...

Practice Tip - HOW TO SEE MORE KIDS IN YOUR PRACTICE

2007-10-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

I was recently cleaning up a shelf in my store-room when I found an old post-pack - not sure what was inside, I blew off the dust and opened the cover and found dozens of Polaroid photos of all the kid's that had arrived as new patients at our practice through the nineties. I called in my CA and we spent a few joyful minutes recalling all the memorable moments and miracles. Then we noticed that there was a whole bunch of kids (some now teens) that were still regularly seeing us - and as you can imagine they are now all a lot taller and bigger, some 10-15 years later. So, our new project has been to recreate their photos when they come in for their tune-ups. The funniest is two small giggling boys squeezed closely together in an arm chair - they used to keep the whole reception room laughing because they used to be so ticklish that they would laugh uncontrollably through their adjustments - now one is nearly 6 foot and the other nearly 100kgs - and they still both giggle when I adjust their necks! We are going to produce a "where are they now" display with the title - "Want your kids to grow up healthy and straight? Then get them adjusted regularly."

Our kid's room walls used to be covered with photos of kid's and all their colour-in sheets and drawings of their chiropractor, and this was without a doubt the biggest referral tool for us when attracting families and kids. Why?..

1) People love to be where people are - when parents are in your practice and see all the kids that see you, they will ask you about chiropractic for kids... On the other hand if all they see is trendy prints and the latest edition of WHO weekly and the Bulletin - then they will not give a single thought about whether or not their kids need chiropractic care - they'll probably read the last advert for kiddy pain killers instead.

2) You can tell the success stories. If someone asks you about chiropractic for asthma, or bedwetting etc - it's great to be able to quote the latest research, but what really works is when you can point to a number of kids on your photo wall who you have treated for that very same condition.

3) Kid's see the photos and ask what they have to do to get included on the wall of fame - say no more...

4) When you see a kid new patient there is a reduced factor because they can see so many other kids smiling and being adjusted in the photos (make sure you take lots of photos with you adjusting, laughing, and interacting with the kids - but no photos that show images of the kids in twisted positions).

5) Dedicating a room or area to kids shows that you are family and child-centred - if your practice looks like a kid has never stepped inside - then they probably won't?

Your Philosophy May Be Vitalistic, But Is Your Art?

2007-10-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Your Philosophy May Be Vitalistic, But Is Your Art Mechanistic?

What is Vitalism?

1) Theory that life originates due to a force distinct from chemical and other physical forces. The classical 18th century vitalist doctrines propose that all life phenomena are animated by immaterial life spirits. These life spirits are unexplainable and undescribable from a physical point of view, but determine the various life phenomena.

2) Where vitalism explicitly invokes a vital principle, that element is often referred to as the "vital spark," "energy" or "élan vital," which some equate with the "soul." Vitalism has a long history in medical philosophies: most traditional healing practices posited that disease was the result of some imbalance in the vital energies which distinguish living from non-living matter.

3) Was once a term of Aristotle pertaining to a cosmic force known as "ether" that was supposedly giving life to dead things.

Chiropractic has a vitalistic philosophy in the sense that we claim we all have an innate intelligence which gives our human bodies their healing potential - the ability to intelligently regenerate. To take this one step further, it was proposed by our pioneers that this information is transmitted through the body via the "Mental Impulse". This is a separate and distinct concept to that of action potentials and electrical currents...

D.D. Palmer: "Chiropractors do not treat diseases, they adjust the wrong which creates disease; they have discovered the simple fact that the human body is a sensitive piece of machinery, run throughout all its parts by mental impulse." (1910)

Stephenson: "We might conceive of this mental impulse as being composed of certain kinds of physical energies, in proper proportions, which will balance other such forces in the Tissue Cell; as electricity, valency, magnetism, cohesion, etc., etc.. Perhaps some of these energies are not known to us in physics. What right have we to assume that we have found them all? The writer presents this as a hypothesis or theory in order to get a working basis... It is no discredit to Chiropractic that it must also use theories concerning the transmission of mental forces." (1927)

So, here's the challenge - how does this affect the way we adjust each and very patient? Is our application, or the "Art" of doing what we do, a reflection and outpouring of this vitalistic philosophy? Let's contrast the above definitions of vitalism with those of mechanism...

Mechanism:

1) Machine part: A machine or part of a machine that performs a specific task.

2) Something like machine: Something that resembles a machine in having a structure of interrelated parts that function together the fragile mechanism of the planet's ecology.

3) Method or means: A method or means of doing something.

4) Philosophy philosophical theory: The philosophical theory that all natural phenomena, including human behavior, can be explained by physical causes and processes.

To be perfectly honest - this sounds more like the practice of chiropractic as it is practised in most chiropractors' rooms.

Now here's the challenge: If we have a vitalistic philosophy, but this has no application in what we do - then what's the point of having this philosophy? After all - isn't the purpose of a philosophy to provide an internal compass, via which we make decisions about what we think and believe, and hence how we behave?

This leaves us with two options...

1) Jettison our traditional philosophy and replace it with one that sounds more like the mechanistic methods - so that our Art follows on from our philosophy - that is - change our philospophy to match our behaviour.

2) Upgrade our behaviours so that they align with our core vitalistic philosophy.

Torque Release Technique provides chiropractors with a much more vitalistic model of applying their philosophy on each and every patient. And here's what most practitioners find when they make this upgrade - they see more vitalistic changes in their practice members: Over and above the garden variety mechanistic changes - That is - they see MORE LIFE returning into the faces, minds and bodies of their patients.

Are You Relieving Your Patients' Emotional Pains And Strains?

2007-10-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

Are You Relieving Your Patients' Emotional Pains And Strains?

Whether or not we all agree on the theory that Subluxation is the cause of ALL illness - most DCs agree that there are three primary causes of Subluxation - Physical, Chemical and Mental.

At our TRT programs I ask the participants to rank these factors, and we always get 100% agreement - Emotional factors are by far the most common cause of Subluxation. So how does this revelation impact your every day clinical conversation and your adjusting procedures? Let me put this another way - what system/s do you have in place in your practice to identify and correct the emotional component which is causing most of your practice members, the majority of their problems?

What happens in your practice when someone is responding slower than you would expect, they keep exacerbating their condition, or you keep identifying the same recurring subluxations?
Here's what it sounds like in most chiropractic offices: "Well Fred, what did you do on the weekend - did you do any gardening or lifting? Tell me about your office chair at work. How many hours do you spend in front of the computer? Are you doing some exercises? What position do you sleep in? Tell me more about that car accident you had 55 years ago."

Notice something missing? Where were the questions to identify the emotional cause, let alone the second most common cause of subluxation - chemical? Physical, physical, physical...

Do you want to be a wellness chiropractor and not a back doctor? Then you need to connect with your practice members on an emotional level. This has got nothing to do with counseling or psychology, and it's definitely not about finding new referrals for the Beyond Blue program. But it is about providing your customers with a more holistic service...
Next time you find yourself in the above scenario, stop yourself before you blow the opportunity for a learning moment, and try this instead...

"So Fred, why do you think that your body is having trouble getting better as fast as YOU would like?" Fred's usual answer will be "well I d'know, your the doctor?"

"Have I told you that there are actually three causes of subluxation? There's the obvious one, the physical stuff that happens to you and that you do to yourself. Then there's chemical stuff; you know, all the toxic stuff that we eat and drink, and all the poisons that exist around us in our homes and in the environment, like allergies. Then the one you might not have thought of before, is the mind - this is actually the most common and the most severe cause of subluxation. Fred, can you think of any mental or emotional stuff in your life that might be creating stress inside your body?" Now don't drop the ball, stay silent until Fred comes up with some ideas... Then adjust him as per usual.

Like I said, this doesn't have to lead to a psychotherapy or hypnotherapy program; just the therapeutic power of the identification and connection of HIS emotional stuff with his subluxation will astound you....

PROVE IT!

2007-09-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

Gill and I have just gone through a major change in our practice and personal lives. After 18 years of owning and practising in the one location, we have handed over ownership to another chiropractor. So it feels like an appropriate time to reflect and to share some experiences, and some insight into the challenges and potential of our great profession.

It was an emotionally charged time as we started to tell our patients and practice members that we were going to be moving on and that we were going to be handing over their care to a new chiropractor. And there were three groups whose reactions really impacted me: The first group was those old faithful regular clients who had been seeing me for 15 to 18 years. Some reminded me that they had seen me in my first weeks of practice. A couple of people even reminded me that they'd seen me in the first days of my practice. And they reminded me how young and “green” I was; and many thanked me for how much I had grown up and evolved in that time.

Now, this raises an interesting question: why would someone see a chiropractor consistently, and regularly over a period of 18 years? I can guarantee you that it wasn't because I signed them up with an 18 year prepayment plan. But instead, they must have some conscious value for the benefits that they receive from their adjustments. And they have enormous experience in terms of how chiropractic has helped them – beyond the relief of an acute low back episode

The second group that probably affected me the most was a group of 18 to 22-year-old’s, who when I told them that I was going to be moving on, and that they were about to be under the care of another chiropractor; they looked at me with sorrow and surprise and even disappointment. And most of them said to me, “what am I supposed to do, you have been my only chiropractor for my entire life. You have kept me healthy for all these years?” - Many of them since birth. And it reminded me of how much children intuitively love chiropractic care when they have a good experience. You don't need to educate or intellectually explain the benefits of chiropractic to a child who experiences them. It's like a seven-year-old boy said to me once, “I love getting adjusted, you recharge my batteries”.

The third group that probably surprised me a little was a significant group of people who'd only been seeing me for weeks, perhaps months, maybe a year or two: In the bigger scheme of an eighteen year old practice, not a long time. But they too were shocked and disappointed that I was going to be moving on. I guess every chiropractor has patients like this: People who'd been to every other doctor and had all sorts of medical tests and been to other alternative practitioners. And then they stumbled upon you and the healing magic started to occur. And I realised that this group associated their healing with ME and perhaps not so much CHIROPRACTIC. They also place an enormous amount of value on our adjustments. The next part of their journey, being under a new chiropractor, will be to discover that their healing comes from chiropractic, not from Nick Hodgson.

So here is the big question: Do you underestimate the value of the benefits from YOUR chiropractic to the health and wellbeing of your patients and your community? Are you aware of the changes that are happening in the lives of your practice members?

I know there was a time in my practice life where I underestimated the value of what I did. And I remember sitting in a packed theatre at a Dynamic Growth Congress on the Gold Coast, on a Friday night. And one particular speaker was sharing a case story of someone that he cared for over a long period of time. This patient was in a wheelchair as a result of previous injuries, and as the story unfolded, we saw photos of this guy, looking sickly and drawn, in his wheelchair; through to a time when he was no longer in his chair; and then he was holding a newborn baby; his own son in his arms: Both events that should not have happened – but for a chiropractic miracle. And I can remember sitting in my chair, feeling really tense, and then I broke into a cold sweat, and then tears started to well up in my eyes. And later that night, I was tossing and turning in bed, trying to get sleep, and I realised that there was a deep burning question building up inside of me; and it sounded something like this: “Nick, where are your miracles, where are the miracles in your practice?”

Now you might be thinking that when I got back to practice on Monday morning, that there was a guy in a wheelchair, or a deaf or a blind person, waiting to see me, who had a miraculous healing after I adjusted them, and that from that day on I produced miracles of my own. No, my outcomes didn’t change: But instead what happened was my awareness changed. And over the next few weeks and months I started to notice changes and miracles that had already been occurring in my own patients – I just had never taken the time to notice. And as a result I developed a deeper appreciation for the changes that occur as a result of my adjustments. So, let me ask you again: Do you underestimate the value of YOUR chiropractic care?

How do you start to identify and become more aware of the changes that are happening in your practice? In the past, the main way we used to help ourselves to become aware of our miracles was through the patient testimonial. When we had a patient who had a dramatic response to our treatment, we would get them to write a short story about their experiences. And after a while we would have a collection of a range of these testimonials. But what about all the other patients in your practice? How do you know what changes they are experiencing under your healing hands?

Now is one of the best times to be a chiropractor, because we have so many fantastic tools and technologies to measure and demonstrate what happens as a result of an adjustment: We can use health questionnaires to record someone's state, at any given time. Anything from a neck disability, or low back pain questionnaire; through to specific health problem questionnaires, like asthma or ADHD or any named illness for which I guarantee you can find the questionnaire that matches the ailment; through to health and wellness, and quality of life questionnaires.

And there are also numerous functional assessment technologies, which can measure almost any aspect of your patient’s physiology. From taking digital photographs, and then using software to analyse their postural alignment; Or digital radiographs, where we can store the images on our computer and draw angles and measurements and calculations to be compared later; Through to surface EMG, paraspinal thermography, and pain algometry, and flexibility inclinometry; and now even heart rate variability, brain EEG, skin conductivity, and bio feedback assessments: You name the thing you want to measure, and the technology probably exists to demonstrate the changes.

So what are the benefits to the average chiropractor of utilising these technologies? The first and most obvious reason is that it helps to identify the miracles that you might otherwise miss. Often people don't tell you about some of the less predictable changes that have happened in their lives until you see the changes in their physiology, and then they'll say, “oh so that's why I'm sleeping better, or playing better golf, or feeling happier?” And like me you've probably noticed that sometimes people have short memories. Those people who, when you first met them were in a terrible state, and were struggling to do even daily activities. And after a period of being under your care life is now going pretty well. But then, they say to you, “why do I need to keep coming? I'm not sure whether I'm getting any value out of my adjustments?” And you think “what are you talking about, don't you remember how bad you were? Can't you see how much you have improved?” So the benefits of using outcome tools is that you have a “snapshot” in time of what they were like back then, and you can show them and remind them as to how far they have come, and how much value they do receive from chiropractic.

So which tools should you be using in your practice? Here's a really big question that you need to be asking yourself: What do you claim to change? What changes do you expect to see in your patients when you adjust them? A useful bit of homework to do is to take a blank sheet of paper and down one side list what are the major changes that you focus on that indicate that your chiropractic is working? And come up with a short-list of what are the most important functional improvements that you expect. Is it an improvement in posture, a change in a cervical curve angle, a reduction of muscle tension, improved flexibility, less pain and daily dysfunction, or an increased state of well-being and quality of life? Then, next to each of those listed changes, you need to identify the tool that you can use to prove that you change what you claim to change.

I've noticed that this can be really, really challenging for many chiropractors. And there seems to be only two possible reasons why a chiropractor would resist utilising these tools: The first is that they perceive these technologies as being expensive or time-consuming: In fact most technologies are now more than affordable and cost effective than ever before, and can usually more than pay for themselves via the extra revenue they generate: Some can be delegated to staff members who are usually more than enthusiastic to get more involved in the clinical and healing process.

And the second “excuse” appears to be a degree of fear of exposure. “What if I don't change what I claim to change?” And I guess that are only two possibilities to this scenario: either chiropractic doesn't work or YOUR chiropractic doesn't work! But this perception is best resolved by putting the outcome tools to work – You either discover that your chiropractic is working; it’s not working as well as you would like (in which case you can modify your management plans and procedures); or it isn’t working (in which case you will need to discover a way that does work): Any of these three possibilities leads to improved quality in your products and service to your community – a win-win situation for everyone.

It is now the 21st century, and if you are practising in the same manner as you were in the 1990s, then you are not a 21st century chiropractor. Assessment and treatment technologies have evolved greatly in the last decade, including the chiropractic adjustment – there are new ways of adjusting which are gentler and faster, which work as well as, and perhaps even better than the “old” stuff. And there is no doubt that the chiropractic profession needs to redesign its packaging IF it wants to be seen as the leaders of the wellness revolution, as opposed to just another provider of drug-free back treatment.

What will happen if our profession doesn’t embrace the technologies and opportunities of the 21st century? There’s a saying, “put up or shut up”: Show your evidence and be listened to and respected, or stay silent and have your ways of life dictated to by others. I know there was a period in my practice life when I was waiting for the definitive study that proved that chiropractic did what I thought it did – improved state of wellbeing, maximized health and optimised human performance. And that once this paper was published in a legitimate scientific journal, the rest of the world would sit up and listen to us. It’s been eighteen years, and I am still waiting! And the profession is 112 years old, and we are all still waiting. That’s not to say that
there haven’t been some good papers – but the “breakthrough” has not occurred.

Here’s what I have discovered to be a fact: The evidence that chiropractic works exists inside the four walls of each and every chiropractor’s office – they are just not using the tools to prove it – they are waiting silently for someone else to present the evidence – maybe someone really famous and trendy who will receive a chiropractic miracle and do a testimonial on national TV, and then everyone will want to get adjusted??

Imagine if every DC used outcome tools in their practice, and that as a result they had enough evidence in their practice to publish just one case study in their career: That would mean that the Australian chiropractic profession would contribute 2,500 case studies to the evidence base. And the US contingent could produce tens of thousands of case studies. Case studies are a legitimate means of scientific endeavour, and the registration boards can’t silence you from sharing this information with the world.

But here’s what happens if you stay silent, and have no evidence to “put up” – third parties start to dictate to you the terms and conditions of your practice life... When the chiropractic profession shuts up, we wake up one morning and discover that our patients cannot share their success stories with the outside world; we wake up and discover we can no longer use the title Dr. What wake-up call will it take to make you put up your proof? Waking up to discover that it is now illegal for you to care for children; waking up to discover that you can no longer adjust necks because some other profession thinks it’s not safe; that you must discharge your practice members once their symptoms subside; or that if their symptoms haven’t subsided after four weeks that you must refer them to another profession anyway?

Maybe we shut up because we lack certainty? THE BEST solution to a lack of certainty is EVIDENCE: Evidence that what you do makes a difference in the world – and the most convincing way to collect the evidence is through the use of relevant outcome tools to measure what it is that you claim to change. You see, nowadays I have complete certainty that MY chiropractic works exactly as I thought it did; it improves state of wellbeing, maximizes health and optimises human performance – I know this because I have used the tools to measure what I claim to change, and they change!

Please join me in the 21st century…

THE ADJUSTMENT SECRET FORMULA

2007-07-24T05:09:00.000-07:00

What are the secret ingredients which define a chiropractic adjustment? What are the features that separate an adjustment from other therapeutic modalities? What are the factors that differentiate a good adjustment from a bad adjustment?

Most definitions of “Adjustment” are very mechanistic in nature: “Moving the joints of the spine beyond a person's usual physiological range of motion using a fast low-amplitude thrust”; “low-amplitude, high-velocity thrusts in which vertebrae are carried beyond the normal physiological range of movement without exceeding the boundaries of anatomic integrity”. The glaring pitfalls of such predominant definitions are that not all chiropractic adjustments carry the joints into their para-physiological range: Does this mean that SOT Blocks are not an adjustment, and that all instrument-based adjusting protocols are not chiropractic?

Perhaps it is time that we re-define the core components that describe a chiropractic adjustment?

Early chiropractic concepts spoke of universal and innate intelligence, the mental impulse, and proposed that a chiropractic adjustment doesn’t correct anything, but innate utilises the forces transmitted to the body following an adjustment to correct itself: In other words, the body is intelligent, but sometimes needs information from an external source to be able to make better perceptions, decisions and choices.

So, an adjustment is not so much an imposition of our will upon another person’s physiology; as it is the delivery of a new and enlightening piece of information which attempts to facilitate neurological change.

Torque Release Technique defines an Adjustment as “communication through touch”. What are the fundamental factors of this healing touch?

Perhaps we could define these in a physics-like formula…

A = F × CV × I2

In long-hand this translates to: Adjustment equals Force times Correctional Vector times Intent (squared).

Let’s explore this formula in greater detail:

The times signs indicate that each factor has a more significant impact on the other and on the total result than if instead the addition symbol was present; and that if all factors are present the resulting answer will be huge:

For example, in mathematical terms if each factor = 10, then A = 10 × 10 × 100 = 10,000

If the symbols had been additive the answer would be A = 10 + 10 + 100 = 120

If you minimise one of the factors then the answer is minimized:

To alter the above example slightly, if F = 1, then A = 1 × 10 × 100 = 1,000

The square symbol shows the “I” factor has the potential for greater impact: If this factor is small then the formula will not change much. Increase this factor and its impact becomes greater and greater at an exponential rate:

For example if we alter our original formula so that I = 1, then A = 10 × 10 × 1 = 100

Whereas if I = 100, then A = 10 × 10 × 10,000 = 1,000,000!!

Now let’s define the factors in more detail:

Force = Mass × Acceleration:

This is an old Newtonian formula. Every adjustment has force – an adjustment with no force at all is just a good intention. To increase force we either increase the mass or the acceleration, and if you increase both then the force greatly increases. In terms of a chiropractic adjustment, any experienced chiropractor knows the importance of speed over mass: The quicker you are the less the mass you have to use, and the more easily an adjustment is accepted. I guarantee that an adjustment will appear “heavy-handed” to a client due to excessive mass, and not due to excessive speed

Correctional Vector = Contact Point + Three-Dimensional Vector:

The force of an adjustment must have a point of contact and a direction: Specificity is what separates chiropractic adjustment from so many other therapeutic modalities, and without correctional vector I doubt that chiropractic would have attained separate and distinct status. Firstly we are more discerning in where we place our hands; for example, we don’t just stretch the lumbar spine, we adjust an L5.

Also integral in most chiropractic adjustment protocols is the direction in which we apply our force: Our predominant “listing” systems incorporate three letters to define the direction and combination of vectors in three dimensions, which we utilised in our adjustment. And we may even add a fourth letter to further define our contact point… For example: C2 PLI-S – we contacted C2 and our vector was in a direction to reduce the left and inferior vectors of the subluxation, and we used the spinous process as the contact point.

Intent = Become One + Visualisation + See Whole

R.W. Stephenson described the essential components of intent. Intent could be simply explained as what we are thinking about as we deliver an adjustment. But it can also mean much more than this as it may include our own emotional, physiological and even spiritual states.

“Become One” encompasses an almost spiritual connection that occurs when we as a practitioner enter into another’s “energy” or “intelligence” field. The insinuation is that when we come so close there is an influence between the two fields of intelligence. This has ramifications at a diagnostic level in the sense that we can potentially gather much deeper levels of information if we are perceptive to the other person’s “field”; and at a therapeutic level we potentially enter into a deep level for the transaction of information taking place.

“Visualisation” defines the need to see what we are doing: Can we imagine the structures and tissues that we are examining; can we envisage the impact that our testing and corrective vectors are having on the person’s physiology; can we see the effects of our adjustment before they actually occur?

“See whole” describes our intent: Wholeness. After our practice member is adjusted their mind/body is able to better perceive itself, the communications between mind and body are restored, and their physiology becomes more efficient and effective. Do you expect this? Do you actually SEE this occurring in your mind’s eye?

What separates an adjustment from other therapeutic modalities? The size of each factor illustrates its relative importance in the formula:

Massage = f ( m × a ) × CV × I2

Therapeutic massage is separated from relaxation massage by how deep the practitioner penetrates; that is by how much mass they use: Mass is probably the most dominant vector in the therapeutic formula. Acceleration is extremely small as most massage involves slow strokes. The vectors are usually unfocussed and very mixed, sometimes the more directions you sweep across a muscle the better. Intent is somewhat diminished due to poor visualization (most masseurs have inferior anatomical and physiological knowledge) but will have a high degree of connection and a desire to see whole.

Manipulation = f ( m × a ) × CV × I2

Manipulation is usually a mechanistic attempt to produce separation and preferably cavitation of joint surfaces: The Mass is increased and Acceleration is relatively high to achieve this end. Correctional vectors are minimised usually only involving two dimensions and are not seen as so important many times both directions/sides being manipulated to maximise the stretch effect. The intent is small, the need to become one being irrelevant, visualization being for the purpose of finding the structure to be manipulated and the outcome seen being no bigger than to cavitate a joint or to increase flexibility.

Acupuncture = f ( m × a ) × CV × I2

An acupuncture needle delivers minimal mass with no acceleration, so force is almost absent. The correctional vectors are so important, much care being taken in the location of the needles and in the precision of their insertion. The contact points are very different to a chiropractic adjustment relying on a totally different bodily system. The vitalistic intent of the acupuncturist must be considered equal to that of the principled chiropractor as they too expect great things from their therapeutic modality and it could even be argued that they are bolder in their therapeutic claims.

What differentiates a great adjustment from a bad adjustment? The adjustment with “that something extra” requires a precise combination of the secret ingredients…

Great Adjustment = f ( m × a ) × CV × I2

Bad Adjustment = f ( m × a ) × CV × I2

Keys to the adjustment with “that something extra”…

Maximise acceleration and minimise Mass.
Utilise a precise system to determine the most effective combination of contact point and correctional vectors.
Maximise Intent by respecting and perceiving the connection between you and your practice member, visualizing every aspect of your analysis and correction, and having a clear picture of the intended outcomes.

CHIROPRACTIC EVOLUTION

2007-07-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

Through the mid-nineties pivotal chiropractic research was conducted and was published at the beginning of the 21st Century, and yet a large segment of the profession missed it! Why?
1) The findings weren’t published in a peer-reviewed chiropractic journal – they were actually published in two major psychiatric journals; the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry (published by Nature) and the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: No chiropractor would have received these journals in their post-box.
2) The research involved a patient population commonly ignored by comfortable middle-class chiropractors, namely an addicted population. But this study population was chosen for very specific scientific reasons – they biogenetically possess an inability to achieve a state of wellbeing.
Why was this research potentially so paradigm shifting for the chiropractic profession?
1) The design of the study was overseen by a leading medical biostatistician from the University of Miami, School of Medicine: Nothing was included in the study unless it stood up to his rigorous statistical and evidence-based standards.
2) The study involved randomization, and all of the scientific design expected of longitudinal clinical research, and, three-arms – not just active treatment and control groups, but also a placebo-control group.
3) The acceptance and rejection of various chiropractic examination procedures which lead to a short-list of evidence-based indicators of Subluxation, ultimately synthesizing a technique for analyzing and differentially diagnosing a Primary Subluxation.
4) The need to design an adjusting instrument that provided true reproducibility of the adjustive thrust and the vectors of the classic chiropractic adjustment – the Toggle Recoil.
5) Acceptance of the research results by peer review panels far more rigorous and skeptical than normal chiropractic peer review.
6) A documentary featured on Discovery Health Channel highlighting the findings of the research and giving chiropractic a glowing review.
What was so impressive about the results? To understand this we need to tell you a little about the clients accepted into the trial: These were recovering addicts with many substance-abusing habits, who were undergoing normal 30-day withdrawal in an in-patient facility… Nasty stuff: Major withdrawals, cravings, severe physical and mental symptoms, abstinence-based challenges… all going on at the same time. What happened when they received specific chiropractic adjustments?
1) They finished the program: The gold-standard of recovery is how many clients make it to the end of the thirty days? Good rehab facilities achieve somewhere around 70% retention. When they were adjusted as well, the retention rate increased to 100%... That’s right no-one left! In recovery circles it is common knowledge that if someone drops out of care it isn’t because they’ve started a new job, or had a miraculous healing and didn’t need to hang around. No, they’ll usually be back in their old haunts doing the same old stuff. This finding is huge – if they stayed they must have been doing really well.
2) Their anxiety levels dropped dramatically: This research project didn’t just measure one outcome, it also utilized internationally accepted state of wellbeing questionnaires: When the clients were adjusted the Spielberger’s State of Anxiety Test scores dropped the same amount that it normally takes six months of standard care to achieve.
3) Their depression levels dropped markedly. When the clients were adjusted the Beck’s depression inventory scores dropped the same amount that it normally takes twelve months of standard care to achieve.
4) They didn’t need the usual nursing and first-aid measures demanded by this population. Nursing station visits are actually the biggest overheads in running a rehab facility: When the clients were adjusted only 9% needed to make any nursing station visits – the placebo and normal care groups made visits in 56% and 48% of cases respectively (that’s right the placebo group was more miserable than the normal care group – so much for the argument that chiropractic is a good placebo – this suggest it’s actually a “nocebo”!)
Now wait a minute I hear many of you saying – “I have no interest in treating drug addicts in my practice, so why would I want to learn a technique to treat them?”
Here is the point… the CHIROPRACTIC IN THIS STUDY DID NOT TREAT ADDICTION, IT ADJUSTED SUBLUXATIONS. The in-patient program treated the addiction with the normal abstinence strategies, group therapy, counseling etc. The chiropractic produced massive increases in state of wellbeing, helping the recovery to be more effective. You need to learn how to produce such massive increases in state of wellbeing to, in all of your practice members…
Isn’t this what great chiropractic is about? We don’t fix them, but when we adjust them their body’s healing and recuperative processes are exponentially released to fulfill their true potential – great chiropractic that is…
So why would you learn Torque Release Technique the chiropractic model that evolved through this scientific process?
1) Wouldn’t you love your client retention to reach record proportions? There’s only one thing that really increases retention – RESULTS. You might be a great salesperson and be able to coerce people into hanging around, but when they FEEL the benefits they don’t need any convincing.
2) No-one refers like an excited customer: Do you think that massive changes in emotional and mental status would excite your clients? When their back pain’s gone they quickly forget why they are coming to see you: But when the lights get turned on every adjustment, you’ll be impressed when they start to ask if it is alright for them to regularly come back for more, and and can they bring someone else with them?
3) If we are truly a wellness profession, then our clients’ dependence on symptomatic and crisis care should start to vanish. How thankful do you think your clients will be when they notice how they aren’t spending so much on panadol, panadeine and nurofen, and they no longer have to spend ages sitting in the MD’s waiting room with all those miserably infectious people? How much easier will your practice hours be when no-one is winging and whining about their latest ache?
4) Wouldn’t you like to get to the end of the day after having seen more clients than ever before, and not be emotionally and physically spent? With TRT you can speed up your decision making, reduce the number of adjustments per visit, and minimise all the extra stuff you do trying to hit the right spot.
5) So you can be sure you are using the most evidence-based technique ever available to the chiropractic profession. Make sure you have total proficiency in the procedures accepted by one of medicine’s top biostatisticians – discover if you’re wasting your time doing stuff that was rejected?
6) So you can access the Integrator Adjusting Instrument, the only instrument with pre-loading, recoil, torque, stunningly high speed (1/10,000 sec), low force, and neurologically-based impulse frequency.
7) To be trained in the technique that provides you with the vitalistic, tonal, non-linear, neurologically-based adjusting technique to go hand-in-hand with your vitalistic chiropractic philosophy – Leave behind the mechanistic methods that have held back chiropractic practice in the twentieth century.

FLAWS OF A MANUAL CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT

2007-06-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

DD Palmer was the first practitioner to deliver a correctional thrust to the spinal column in an attempt to restore nerve function. DD must have been aware of the shortcomings of the manual adjustment as he very clearly stated that future generations of his profession would find better ways of delivering the goods. But for many decades it has become taboo to discuss the limitations and flaws of our wonderful healing art. Thankfully there are some pioneering practitioners exploring new means of facilitating neurological change. But first let’s do some serious soul searching…
1) Difficulty isolating a segment
We’ve all been guilty of this one – your intention is to adjust C2, but when you set up and deliver your dynamic thrust, you may or may not feel the cavitation at one of the C2 articulations; can you ever be truly sure that the joint that you wanted to move – moved? And then there are those extra “pops”. I remember being adjusted by an “old-timer-chiro” years ago: He insisted on adjusting me so I could experience a “real adjustment”. I guess he was intending to adjust my upper cervical spine, because they were the first joints that I felt separate. But then his thrust continued and I felt numerous more joints move further down my neck and what felt like my upper thoracic spine. Apparently the soreness and stiffness that I experienced for the next two weeks was an essential and needed healing process? Now I know that most of us are much more specific than this life-crunching experience; but let’s be really honest – we don’t truly know whether we hit our target on each and every adjustment.
There is an alternative means of adjusting which guarantees that you will impact exactly the joint/nerve you intend – one that delivers its impulse exactly where you place it…
2) Inability to deliver specific frequency
The thing that first got me excited about chiropractic was the suggestion that spinal adjustments might improve neurological performance. I was studying a Bachelor of Science at the time and had no trouble with the concept of the supremacy of the central nervous system over all other body systems – this understanding is not peculiar to the chiropractic profession. But let’s have a moment of awakening – the thought that the delivery of a correctional force vector to the spine to change nerve activity appears quite peculiar to many other members of the scientific and general community.
The ONLY way that an adjustment could change nerve function is if it can change nerve frequency.
Can you deliver exactly the right frequency needed to correct aberrant nerve activity due to Subluxation with your hands? Thankfully, technology exists that can deliver specific vibrational frequency…
3) Speed/acceleration variable
The best manual adjusters are fast. The faster you are the less the mass you have to use. This is a simple physics formula: Force = Mass times Acceleration. Increase the speed and you increase the impact of your adjustment without increasing the body weight that is needed. “Small” chiropractors can adjust just as well as “big” chiropractors – if they have speed on their side.
Imagine if you could adjust with an impulse that is finished in 1/10,000 of a second? You would hardly need any mass whatsoever to produce the same physiological changes – such a tool exists today…
4) Increased Mass
Higher speed reduces the mass you have to use. Low speed with high mass meets with more tissue resistance, reflex muscle guarding, patient discomfort and fear, and increased pressure against supporting soft and hard tissues. In other words, increased likelihood of developing clients that don’t like you and that are sore after you adjust them. If you can make this one shift alone in your adjusting proficiency, then you will dramatically increase your patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes.
Why not remove your dependence on mass altogether by using an instrument that is so fast that mass is almost irrelevant?...
5) Reliance on cavitation as THE outcome
I can still remember my early days in practice. I inherited a few patients who showed up sporadically to get their “back put back in”. I don’t know whether they had been taught that cavitation was evidence that the bone had returned to its rightful place, or whether they had made their own conclusions due to their previous DCs gleeful comments when a good “pop” was produced. Anyway, some of them would refuse to leave the practice until they were satisfied that an adequate noise had emanated from their spinal column. Praise God, I know longer have any of these kind of clients in my rooms. Most of my practice members seem to intuitively as well as intellectually get it that there are many more signs and symptoms that their adjustments are delivering health improving benefits, than just the production of “spinal farts”.
If you can rehabilitate yourself from the false belief that cavitation is any kind of sign of a neurological response then you are ready to evolve to the use of newer adjusting methodologies…
6) Poor inter-examiner reproducibility
I’ve had a lot of locum and associate DCs grace my practice rooms over the last eighteen years, and the variance in client satisfaction, and obvious variability in touch, technique and practices has been astounding. No two DCs are the same, and no two chiropractic experiences are consistent it would seem. Contrast this to my current situation – I have been fortunate over the last three years to employ locums who use the same system, method and adjusting technology that I use every day. Most recently one of my clients commented, “it was like you were there, even though you were in Marysville!”
I’ve got to tell you that it makes leaving your highly valued business and long-term clients in the hands of someone else VERY easy, when you can rely on the fact that what you do and what they do is so reproducible. Wouldn’t you like that same degree of confidence and security?...
7) Move joints into para-physiological range
Real Estate Agents speak of the golden rule of investing in property – “Position, position, position”. In terms of effective manual adjusting perhaps we can steal and adapt this concept to – “Positioning, positioning, positioning”? Previously when tutoring associate DCs to deliver precise neck adjustments I always found that if you get their patient positioning right then “all else followed”. We all know that to get a joint to cavitate we must get the joint into its para-physiological zone – don’t get there and it won’t move without extra force and excursion in our thrust; go too far and woops we’re talking sore clients.
Wouldn’t it be good if we could find a way of adjusting which didn’t require resting on that knife’s edge? A way of adjusting that could be performed with a joint in its neutral, totally relaxed position? That “way” already exists and patients will love you and enter into very deep states of relaxation when you adjust with this method…
8) “Bone-crunching”
“Bone-crunching” has made chiropractic famous – It has also made Chiropractic infamous: There is a large segment of the population who will never go to a chiropractor that “crunches bones”. And I know that there isn’t a single chiropractor on the planet that thinks they are a bone cruncher – but if you manually adjust, producing audible popping sounds, then good luck trying to convince the skeptics that what you do is not bone crunching. These skeptics will however visit a chiropractor who uses a low force methodology: I know this to be true because 50% of my new clients nowadays, have never been to a chiropractor, and all of them tell me the same story; “I swore I would never go to a chiro but then someone told me that you helped them without crunching their bones, so I figured I would give it a go”
There’s lots more of this untapped new patient market place awaiting you too…
9) Less specificity of vectors
Imagine if there were some tests you could perform that would differentiate exactly what correctional vectors were needed to provide the most effective adjustment – wouldn’t that be great? They exist and are very quick and simple to perform. However, is there any point knowing within a few degrees these vectors required, if you then cannot deliver those vectors with your adjustment. Unfortunately with a manual adjustment there are some basic flaws which preclude exact correctional vectors.
It requires an instrument which has true reproducibility to be able to deliver precise vectors. Unfortunately most instruments on the market require the practitioner to fire the instrument, and research has shown that this can vary the reproducibility of the thrust by as much as 300%. There is however one instrument which has pre-loading with pressure sensitive firing, so that every adjustment varies minimally from the last…
10) Iatrogenic risks – disc, Fx, vascular
We all know that what we deliver is amazingly safe, especially when compared to the statistics from other more “conventional” healing practices. Nevertheless there are some published risks especially associated with manual adjusting: Most of the risks appear to be proportionate to the amount of mass delivered during the adjustment, and the positioning of and thrusting upon patient’s joints into “para-physiological” ranges.
Exacerbation of disc prolapse is one such documented risk – I would hope that every DC exercises a great degree of caution and a certain amount of hesitancy when faced with a patient showing classic signs of disc protrusion; and I would hazard a guess that a significant number of DCs have erred on the side of too much force on at least one occasion.
I’ve seen two cases of cracked ribs in my practice in 18 years of practice – one was produced by a locum DC who adjusted an elderly female client’s thoracic spine in the prone position producing a loud crack, and instant pain which took 6 weeks to resolve and much “TLC” to appease. The second happened to me when I was setting up for a prone thoracic adjustment on a seemingly healthy mid 30’s male – we both heard the weird cracking noise – and then I was astonished when he announced that he should have told me that he had cracked that same rib several times and he sincerely apologised for not warning me!? I suspect that any other form of fracture supposedly attributed to chiropractic would be due to some un-diagnosable pre-existing weakness in the bony architecture.
The issue of vascular complications due to neck adjustment is controversial: It is clear that the estimates of the relative risk are at best imaginary and seemingly always overestimated. I have seen other statistics which claim that chiropractic reduces the risk of stroke in an adjusted population! The obvious fact is that nearly every DC will never see this in their practice. Let’s say that the risk of stroke from cervical “manipulation” was 1 in 1 million. In my estimate this means that there are 20 people in the whole of Australia who shouldn’t have their neck adjusted manually. My secret prayer has been that not one of this tiny group lives anywhere near my rooms, and that if they do, they intuitively know to go and see a Physio instead of me…
It would seem that every chiropractic cynic has a story of someone who was crippled by a chiropractor; one loud-mouthed critic I was confronted by once even claimed that “a nurse had told him that there was a whole ward full of chiro-cripples at a well-known Melbourne hospital”. We all know that this is absolute nonsense, but this does demonstrate a common fear of our “therapy” – safety – there are chiropractic techniques available right now which minimise risk and maximise safety…
11) One segment at a time – no "Double Ended Contact Assist"
To understand this concept fully you need to attend Torque Release Technique training. The concept of Lovett Brother Reactors is not a new one in chiropractic, but it is an ignored concept in many manual models. I wonder if this is due to the fact that you cannot manually adjust two segments at the same time? Most DCs if they possess a protocol to determine if an adjustment has held (you’ll learn this at TRT too) will keep adjusting the same segment until it submits. Deeper understanding of the neurological coupling known as Lovett Brothers provides the answer to this scenario though; and if the DC also possesses a protocol to simultaneously correct the two coupled segments at the same time then these persistent subluxations can be coerced into correction in a very quick and gentle manner.
The shortcomings discussed here have all been carefully solved through the research and development of Torque Release Technique and you will learn numerous strategies to evolve beyond these flaws as well as how to adjust with the purpose-built Integrator Instrument…

WHAT CHIROPRACTORS LOVE ABOUT TORQUE RELEASE TECHNIQUE

2007-05-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

Speeds up your decision making – provides an extremely fast assessment process that delivers absolute certainty that you are adjusting each client exactly where they need to be adjusted on each and every visit.
Is so much easier on their own bodies – are you paying a personal physical and emotional price for the healing that you provide to others? Why not upgrade to a new-generation technique that is easy on your body and mind?
Provides an extremely effective low-force adjusting strategy – If you are like me, you may have steered away from instrument and low-force adjusting because you perceive it to be inferior to manual adjusting. The Integrator actually provides you with specifications that surpass manual adjustment – higher speed, greater specificity, recoil and torque, pre-loading mechanism to make every adjustment reproducible and consistent, exact correctional vectors, true adjustment for force, can deliver adjustments with spine in neutral posture to reduce iatrogenic risks.
Helps make the quantum shift to a neurologically-based system – You may think in your own mind, that when you produce a cavitation in your practice members’ subluxated spine, that you are releasing the flow of the mental impulse: But in most of your patient’s minds, they think you are cracking their back to stretch their stiff and sore bones… This is a sad but true fact about public perception. But, the good news is that when you shift to an assessment process which utilises neurological indicators, and adjust with an instrument that has been designed to initiate neurological change; it becomes so much easier to shift your practice members’ understanding to the fact that you are a nerve doctor, and not a back doctor.
Allows them to see more clients in less time – Speed up your assessment and clinical decision making, reduce the number of adjustments you perform on each visit, cut back on the extra stuff that you do out of habit as opposed to clinical necessity – All this translates to increased productivity and profitability, and decreased time wastage and brain drain.
Opens up your practice world to the emotional component of Subluxation – You don’t have to become a counsellor, but when more of your clients experience emotional, mental and even spiritual change following their adjustments, they’ll want to tell you about it. They’ll also want to tell their friends, family and colleagues about it; and usually what happens in a TRT practice is you become inundated with folks desiring and experiencing the same changes.
It fits snugly into a wellness paradigm - Chiropractic has succeeded in positioning its identity in the community: The average person on the street, the local GP, other health care professionals, and your local media all think you treat sore backs reasonably effectively, and then try to keep them coming back for no particular reason. If you want to reposition yourself as a “wellness” provider then you are going to have to appear very different; and your “product” or “unique selling proposition” needs to appear cutting-edge, exciting and modern. TRT fulfils all of these criteria – you’ll actually find your practice members asking “I know this is really great for my total health and energy, and I don’t seem to get sick very often anymore, but if I develop a sore back should I still come and see you, or should I go to one of those old-style chiros?”
It’s actually becomes easy to write a case study – Because the protocols of TRT analysis are well documented and consistent, because you learn neurological indicators that can be documented and even quantified, and because you seem to attract more diverse clinical presentations, most DCs find themselves having a steady stream of cases that can easily be written up and published.