Research Symposium and Colloquium 2009
Top researchers share their knowledge of pain and its management at the CMCC Research Symposium and join together for the first ever CMCC Colloquium

Some of the most respected names in chiropractic research shared their insights with a captivated audience at the CMCC Research Symposium -  Managing Patient Health: Pain & Beyond, held Saturday, October 24, at CMCC. Faculty members and invited guests presented highlights of recent work, sharing results and sparking dialogue among more than 120 attendees.

CMCC faculty members Drs. Brian Budgell, Sil Mior, Jay Triano and Howard Vernon contributed research findings reflective of the two research centres at the institution: The Centre for for Interprofessional Health Dynamics and The Centre of Mechanobiology, Injury, and Health. Together, they and their guest speaker  revealed research findings that spoke to patient profiling; tissue behaviour and mechanotransduction; differentiating spinal pain from that of peripheral tissue; and pain arising from internal disorders that may present as musculoskeletal in origin.

Guest speakers Drs. Heather Tick (University of Arizona), Bernadette Murphy (University of Ontario Institute of Technology), Michael Schneider (private practice), Jeff Hebert (University of Utah) and Cheryl Hawk (Cleveland Chiropractic College), shared their expertise, ranging from little known nutritional insights, evidence for altered central processing in repetitive strain injuries, to a treatment-based classification approach to back pain and using chiropractic for non musculoskeletal conditions. A panel session followed.

Keynote speaker Carlo Ammendolia spoke to the challenges of reliably assessing and grading the severity ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in particular,  and demonstrated new treatment techniques for both AS  and central stenosis. His approach is multi-modal and is in the process of rigorous testing for its robustness in treating sub-groups of patients with lower back pain.

Colloquium invites discussion and debate
The ambiguity surrounding the term subluxation makes it a focal point for internal debate among the profession. On day two of the weekend conference, CMCC hosted its first ever forum for delegates to discuss the term and hopefully develop a greater understanding of its definition and the issues and consequences of its use in health care.

Short presentations from panelists Drs. Philip Bolton, Brian Budgell, Marion McGregor, Sil Mior, Bernadette Murphy, Heidi Haavik Taylor, Howard Vernon, Jay Triano and Alice Kwong addressed diverse areas of study related to subluxation. Following the presentations, Dr. Scott Haldeman joined the panel and all participants joined in an engaging discussion, sharing their experiences and perspectives. A number of important issues were raised surrounding use of the term, such as the need to subscribe to it a common meaning among health care specialists and policy makers, and the danger within the profession, of using a broad term to describe a genre of problems.

Putting the discussion into context, Dr. Scott Haldeman spoke about the first committee in which he participated to define subluxation, in 1967. He also shared his experience defining the term at the New Zealand Commission of Enquiry into Chiropractic, 30 years ago, highlighting the importance of context in use of the term.

The participation and ongoing interest in the symposium signals the increasing importance of research and its recognized impact on the profession. Research, and sharing knew knowledge, will remain a high priority at the institution through annual or biannual symposia. A high degree of engagement in the colloquium also demonstrated an ongoing interest in the topic and the promise of future colloquia.

As part of our focus on research, CMCC has expanded its research agenda to include a Research Chair for the Study of Instability, Degeneration and Subluxation, for which an endowment fund is being established.

 

CMCC is grateful to Obus Forme, gold sponsor of the Research Symposium and Canadian Chiropractor Magazine, our media sponsor.

The colloquium was presented with thanks to National University of Health Sciences and Palmer College of Chiropractor