April 7, 2016
The chiropractor’s role has changed greatly over the last forty years. As it evolves further into the future there comes a necessity to marry two powerful aspects of our cause: the philosophy of vitalism and the evidence base for what we do. Dr Gerry Clum sat down with Spinal Research following the Dynamic Growth Congress in February to have a chat about chiropractic in the future. He talked about the need to end the dichotomy between evidence-based and philosophy-based chiropractic. “If the world can begin to hear our message because we are expressing it in a language they can hear, […]
April 5, 2016
Neurogenesis, or the birth of new brain cells, has long been associated with the increasingly popular topic of neuroplasticity. As research on this relatively new topic advances, we are also starting to see that cognitive decline with aging need not be something we simply accept. Up until the 1990’s, the major school of thought surrounding brain cells was “you’ve already got all you’ll ever have.” Now we know that the brain can rewire itself. Dr. Sandrine Thuret, a neural stem cell researcher at Kings College in London, tells us that we can grow new brain cells, and there are some […]
March 31, 2016
Norman Doidge’s first book, The Brain that Changes Itself, was a game-changer. It shone light on the revolutionary discovery of neuroplasticity: that the brain was not hardwired as previously thought. This new idea stood in stark contrast to centuries worth of thinking that told us we were born with all the brain cells we would ever have, hence those with a mental limitation, traumatic brain injury or neurological problem were essentially stuck with it. The book was fruit of years invested into researching the issue, and comparing notes with other movers-and-shakers in the world of neurology. It offered hope to […]
March 24, 2016
“When you turn on the stress response, and you can’t turn it off, now you are headed for disease,” said chiropractor and author Joe Dispenza in his recent Ted Talk [1]. But Joe wasn’t talking about tangible, real-time stressors. He was talking about the human capacity to turn on the stress response by thought alone. As chiropractors, we are very much acquainted with the sympathetic nervous system that activates during fight or flight. We know that stress has the potential to knock the body out of homeostasis, and that mindset can have an important role in this. But often, changing […]
March 10, 2016
Sometimes you encounter a story that feels eerily like a movie, with a plot that’s unfolding right before your eyes. This one involved a chance meeting in Addis Ababa, the Capital of Ethiopia, when Australian Chiropractor Dr Bronwyn McNamara dropped in to a local clinic while on a humanitarian trip. At the time the chiropractor was treating someone so Bronwyn left her card and left, thinking nothing more of it. But the phone rang that night, with Dr. Selam Aklilu on the other end of the line saying, “You should have interrupted me!” Two years later, that chance meeting has […]
February 25, 2016
Online learning for chiropractors has radically changed the way we develop ourselves and our practices. Podcasts, YouTube videos and online seminars mean that we can learn from home, in our underwear, what we used to have to go to seminars to learn. So why is it that thousands of people choose to travel to Las Vegas every year to attend Parker Las Vegas? Quite simply, because Parker is more than its content, it’s an immersive experience. It’s like the difference between listening to a CD of your favourite band and going to see them live. Sure, you could read the […]
February 18, 2016
It’s been ten years since the first edition of Well Adjusted Babies (by Dr. Jennifer Barham-Floreani*) hit the shelves. This decade has seen a paradigm shift in the way parents consume information, and choose to nurture the little lives they have been entrusted with. “It’s an exciting time for chiropractic.” says Jennifer, who is enthusiastic about the increasing amount and research around chiropractic and holistic wellness. “What we offer is so unique in its ability to work holistically, to strengthen and rebalance health.” The previous generation may have grown up consuming food additives, gluten, and dairy without so much as […]
February 11, 2016
“Many chiropractors feel like they are second class citizens in the world of health care and in the world of evidence. I’m showing up to make the argument that our evidence is robust, and its something we should be celebrating and promulgating not apologizing for,” says Patrick Gentempo of his visit to the Australia this month for Dynamic Growth Congress and his Think! Chiropractic Without a Doubt day seminars. Gentempo will be bringing the applied science of the adjustment, and a powerful message of the impact of philosophy when he treads the stage at DG 2016. “We are delivering this program on a […]
February 9, 2016
Since its publication in 2013, Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter has been making waves [1]. Written by a practicing neurologist and fellow of the American College of Nutrition, this book is a well-written and compelling read from a renowned doctor with a unique combination of credentials. Grain Brain gives us a close and well-researched look at the history of food and illness, and the common denominators behind many diseases that have neurological roots. It challenges commonly held perceptions of what good food is. For many readers, it’s been a breath of fresh air. That’s not to say it hasn’t […]
February 9, 2016
They say that the only constant in life is change. During adolescence, change becomes very constant. Not only is the teenager faced with a steep social and emotional learning curve, but also with a rapidly changing biological reality that represents a constant challenge to homeostasis. Impulsivity is high during adolescence. Neuroscientists can tell us why that is. But interesting research is showing that the simple art of self-control may not only decrease stress but also increase the adolescent’s ability to handle it. Impulsivity and risk taking seem to be hallmarks of the adolescent years. From learning to drive, to navigating […]
February 2, 2016
For decades, the central dogma of genetics told us that our DNA dictated our future, that at the moment of conception our health destiny was set in stone. We believed that DNA was the molecule that controlled our life, programming us towards certain health realities. It was an inheritance that shaped our future. The DNA passed information down to the RNA which passed information to the protein. We were the protein and the expression of our genes. We couldn’t pass information back up the chain, therefore we could not impact our DNA. The implication was that we could not improve […]
January 28, 2016
Palmer College of Chiropractic recently commissioned Gallup to design and conduct a study of more than 5,000 adults aged over 18 in the USA. The purpose was to discover attitudes to chiropractic care and the chiropractic profession. The results were released on September 8 2015. This study is the first of its kind, being that it is the ‘first annual survey of U.S. adults measuring perceptions of and experiences with chiropractic care [1].’ It might not be based here on Australian soil, but it still gives us a good measuring stick on the attitudes towards the profession that may prevail […]
January 26, 2016
The percentage of Australians aged over 65 is increasing by the year, as part of a near-global trend towards ageing populations. As this trend progresses, chiropractors may find themselves caring for an increasing number of elderly people. Gregory Petsko, an American biochemist and scholar, says the ageing population presents us with a problem: “Unless we do something to prevent it, over the next forty years we are facing an epidemic of neurological disease on a global scale [1].” “For twelve thousand years, the distribution of ages in the human population has looked like a pyramid with the oldest on top. […]
January 21, 2016
Brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is a topic that many neurologists, scientists and chiropractors have known about for quite some time. Todd Sampson’s ‘Redesign my Brain’ is a TV miniseries that set about trialing the concept in practical ways, making the topic easily understandable to people from all walks of life. Series one aired in 2013, featuring three episodes on creativity, intelligence and ‘mind over matter.’ Series two aired last year, and it opened on a topic close to many a chiropractic heart: adaptability. Todd Sampson is on a mission to prove that any brain can be trained to cope with the […]