John Wiens DC

An interview with Dr Greg Stewart, president of the WFC

By John Wiens DC|January 8, 2015|Public Health|

Dr Greg Stewart

Mari-Len De Guzman of Canadian Chiropractor magazine talked with the president of the World Federation of Chiropractic Dr Greg Stewart about global opportunities, collaboration and the chiropractic values.

What Dr Stewart is most excited about is the opportunity to help advance the chiropractic profession as an equal player in the global health care arena, helping solve some of the world’s most pressing health issues.

“The opportunities have never been better. It’s a matter of whether we have the courage to walk through the doors that are open”, says Stewart. The World Health Organization has acknowledged the need for leadership in the area of spinal disorders, which are now a greater contributor to the burden of disease than HIV/AIDS, malaria, stroke, lung and breast cancer, and diabetes.

Says Stewart, “We have the ability to change the way the world is dealing with their health care. It’s cost-effective, it’s drugless, it has unlimited possibilities to help improve the health of the world and decrease the burden of disability world-wide.”

There are many reasons to be encouraged. “We have situations like in Denmark and Switzerland, where the curriculum for chiropractic and medicine is the same for the first three years, with chiropractic and medical students in the same classes until they branch off to their different streams in later years, “ Stewart notes. This early exposure to one another is enabling a new generation of health care practitioners that is much more inclined to collaboration.

“We have to leave our little comfortable areas and actually go into areas that are challenging, and sometimes confrontational, in order to get ahead,” he says.

Stewart acknowledges there are still ongoing issues that may have to be ironed out within the profession, but cautions against letting these internal disagreements get in the way of progress for the profession.

Stewart is confident the profession can effect big changes in health care, nationally and globally. “It’s my personal goal to really move away from chiropractic just trying to survive, into a world where we flourish.”

Read the full interview at Canadian Chiropractor.

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Assessing the Oracle at the Fountain Head: BJ Palmer and His Times, 1902-1961

By John Wiens DC|November 18, 2014|History|

Source Journal of the Association for the History of Chiropractic

This article is from Volume 7, No. 1 of the Journal of the Association for the History of Chiropractic, 1987. From the text of the article, “It may be an understatement to observe that while it is quickly apparent that the opinions, writings, influence and impact of B.J. Plamer have blanketed the history and evolution of chiropractic, few objective studies have explored the inner workings of its “Developer”.

The article contains some fascinating insights . It mentions that the only in-depth interview and study of the early years comes from the research of a New York lawyer by the name of Cyrus Lerner. Lerner was a well-respected attorney and at one time had been personal counsel to Joseph Kennedy, the father of JFK. The manuscript produced in 1952 was massive, some 780 pages in length and provides insights not only into Palmer but into the state of chiropractic through the first half of the 20th century.

You can read the original paper here.

Mr. Lerner’s report as reproduced by Joseph C. Keating, Jr., Ph.D. for the Association for the History of Chiropractic can be read here.

Dr Keating’s notes for his many articles on chiropractic history are archived here at chiro.org.

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The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge

By John Wiens DC|October 30, 2014|Philosophy|

Source The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge

What’s the Buzz

A recent social media posting has generated a bit of a buzz in the world of chiropractic. It seems that a short essay by chiropractor Rob Sinnott on October 16th elucidating the role that chiropractic and the subluxation play in the regulation of the immune system created some disagreement among the ranks. To demonstrate his thesis Dr Sinnott chose a timely example. Ebola. As you read his piece you may have some doubts as to the wisdom of this choice. You can read his original post here.

At any rate, Dr Dave Newell, Director of Research at the AECC and long time chiropractic academic with over 25 years experience in the sciences and clinical research, felt the need to protest the claims presented by Dr Sinnott. Dr Newell expressed his concerns regarding Sinnott’s post in an email to the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research (AVSR), which is published by the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, where Sinnott is an advisory board member. You can read that letter here.

The Sinnott piece was then, in turn, defended by Dr Matthew McCoy in an article on his website, The Chronicles of Chiropractic – The source for news on conservative, traditional chiropractic. You can read that reply here.

The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge

And so, the evidence-based group is convinced that the view expressed by Drs McCoy and Sinnott is a minority position and are challenging chiropractors to take a stand. Are you for or against the original article that they claim damages the profession as a whole.

You can cast your vote here.

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Straighten Up for World Spine Day: New Free App Launches to Help All Ages Improve Posture and Spinal Health

By John Wiens DC|October 20, 2014|Posture|

Source Newswire

Musculoskeletal issues are the cause of one-third of missed work − second only to the common cold; poll reveals almost half of Canadians suffered from four or more MSK conditions in the last year.

TORONTO, Oct. 16, 2014 /CNW/ – The Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA), in partnership with the 10 provincial chiropractic associations, has launched a new app today to mark World Spine Day. The 2014 World Spine Day theme is “Straighten Up and Move”, and the aptly named Straighten Up Canada app aims to accomplish just that—improve posture and spinal health through simple preventative posture exercises. It is the first free Canadian app of its kind.

The Straighten Up Canada app provides users with 12 short exercise videos as well as a tracking feature to monitor progress and share with others through social media. It also includes a “Find a Chiropractor” search function to locate musculoskeletal (MSK) experts nearby.

“Canadians are becoming more sedentary and are experiencing postural issues at an earlier age, due to the increased use of technology in both their personal and professional lives,” explains Dr. Robert David, Chair, Canadian Chiropractic Association. “What most people don’t know is that practising simple exercises daily to adjust poor posture habits is one of the best ways to reduce aches and pains.”

Musculoskeletal conditions account for one-third of missed work in Canada.
Each year, over 11 million Canadians suffer from at least one musculoskeletal condition.¹ In fact, low back pain and other MSK conditions account for one-third of missed work in Canada − second only to the common cold. Many MSK problems are the product of poor posture, resulting from using poor body mechanics while engaging in everyday activities, like hunching over computers, tablets or smartphones, lifting children, slouching at a desk or even carrying heavy purses, laptop bags and groceries. Sitting for prolonged periods at work and heavy manual labour can put further strain on the body’s MSK system.

Alison Dantas, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Chiropractic Association, explains that adopting good posture habits early on is key to minimizing and even avoiding chronic MSK pain in some cases. “As a vital part of every Canadian’s healthcare team, chiropractors are experts in musculoskeletal health and can provide people with preventative measures to promote and maintain a healthy spine. The posture exercises in the Straighten Up Canada app are not only fast and easy, they will help people of all ages prevent, and in some cases even eliminate, their habits around poor posture.”

Almost half of Canadians were afflicted by more than four MSK ailments in the last 12 months; leading symptoms are back pain, stiffness, headaches/migraines, neck and joint pain.
According to research conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the CCA, 43% of Canadians have suffered from four or more MSK issues within the last year. The leading health concerns are back pain and stiffness (53 per cent), headaches and migraines (44 per cent), neck pain (35 per cent) and joint pain (35 per cent). In fact, MSK disorders account for the highest disability costs among all chronic conditions in Canada ($15 billion). ²

“The main goal of the Straighten Up Canada app is to help people become regularly aware of their posture so they can start to correct it themselves,” explains Dr. David. “Another advantage of this app is these exercises can take as little as three minutes to help you reset and become more mindful of your posture. Everyone can find three minutes in their day, and if they do, it may just help them lead a more active and healthy lifestyle resulting in a wide range of long-term health benefits.”

The Straighten Up Canada app is available for free download through the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and on www.straightenupcanada.ca.

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Study offers suggestions on what to do when sex is a pain in the back

By John Wiens DC|September 12, 2014|Biomechanics|

Source Canada.com
SHERYL UBELACKER, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Professor Stuart McGill demonstrates the motion of the spine during sex in a handout photo. Contrary to popular belief, spooning is not always the best sex position for those with a bad back, according to new research from the University of Waterloo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-University of Waterloo

For many people, intimacy in the bedroom often takes a back seat to low back pain, say researchers, who have scientifically determined the best sexual positions to prevent spinal muscles from seizing up at an inopportune moment.

In what they believe is the first biomechanical study of its kind, researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that certain positions are better than others for keeping different kinds of back pain at bay.

And they’ve thrown out the long-held belief that spooning — where partners lie sideways curled back to front — is the only pose for back-saving sex.

“Before now, spooning was often recommended by physicians as the one position that fit all. But as we’ve discovered, that is not the case,” said Natalie Sidorkewicz, a PhD candidate and lead author of the paper published Thursday in the journal Spine.

“What that failed to do was recognize that there are all sorts of triggers for back pain,” she said from Waterloo, Ont. “So someone may find relief in one position that may cause pain for someone else.”

To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 10 heterosexual couples, with an average age of about 30, to have sexual intercourse in a controlled laboratory setting.

Each participant was fitted with remote sensors, which tracked how their spines moved when they engaged in five common sex positions. Infrared and electromagnetic motion capture systems — such as those used to animate figures in video games and films — showed how the men’s and women’s spines flexed when they assumed each position.

“So we were able to actually determine what angle the spine is at, at each moment in time that they’re having sex,” said Sidorkewicz, adding that electrodes on participants’ skin also captured activity in their core and hip muscles.

The findings were used to create an atlas, or set of guidelines, that recommends different sex positions and thrusting techniques based on what movements trigger a patient’s pain.
(more…)

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Miss Correct Posture

By John Wiens DC|September 12, 2014|Posture|

Source Neatorama and Google Life Archives

In the 50s and 60s, American chiropractors held a series of rather unusual beauty pageants where contestants were judged and winners picked not only by their apparent beauty and poise, but also their standing posture (backed with X-rays of their spines, of course).

The contests were a publicity stunt, Reginal Hug, past president of the Association for the History of Chiropractic, told Scott Hensley of NPR, and was meant to burnish the reputation of the profession. The message, he said, was that good posture led to good health and that chiropractors could help with that. “In those days, nobody was concerned about radiation,” Hug added, noting the use of X-rays to check for spinal structures.

Why not contests for men? Actually, there were some but they weren’t as popular and didn’t last very long. “The guys always slouched,” Hug added.

Like many things that were hot back in the early 20th century (like flagpole sitting, goldfish swallowing and phone booth stuffing), the popularity of the chiropractic beauty pageant waned. The last big contest was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1969.

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About John Wiens DC

An interview with Dr Greg Stewart, president of the WFC

Assessing the Oracle at the Fountain Head: BJ Palmer and His Times, 1902-1961

The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge

What’s the Buzz

The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge

Straighten Up for World Spine Day: New Free App Launches to Help All Ages Improve Posture and Spinal Health

Study offers suggestions on what to do when sex is a pain in the back

Miss Correct Posture