Message from the PresidentAs I write my first message as President, I must extend a heartfelt thanks to the tremendous job done by Dr. Bobbe Goodman for these last three years. He has led this organization eight of the last twelve years and has taken the position in the direst of circumstances. We owe him a debt of gratitude that must never be forgotten. It is my intention to change the format of this message during the time that I write it, dividing it into three sections: The first section will be to give you an update on activities of the NUCCA board so you as members are aware of issues and concerns that are facing the organization. The second section will describe a visit to a prominent NUCCA doctor’s office. This is to give you a sense of the various ways that the technical excellence which is the trademark of our work can translate into an operating practice. The third section is a technical tip to make life a little easier as you sit looking at that post x-ray. Board Activities: We had our monthly conference calls and committee chairs were finalized. We responded to the erroneous airing of a number of programs on the effectiveness of Chiropractic in hypertension cases, quoting the Bakris study but featuring non-NUCCA doctors. Certified letters have been sent to the TV stations and we await a response. We will be presenting a program at Life West, September 23 – 25, jointly with the Upper Cervical Community. Office Visit: Last weekend I was in Oakland participating in a pilot supine leg check study designed and supervised by our own Dr. Chuck Woodfield at the Life West research department. While there I also had the opportunity to visit the office of Dr. Michael Zabelin located in the uptown area of San Francisco. I found myself climbing two flights of stairs. The hand railings were lime colored and the inside of the entry door was bright yellow. As I entered, not quite sure what to expect, I was to find an office that effused such warmth and personality that I was totally taken away. As Michael fixed a cup of organic espresso, I was free to look around. The office is about 750 square feet, and contained in that space is everything necessary to provide world-class NUCCA services. The reception area featured a desk with a computer on it and files next to it for records and x-rays. The furnishings and wall hangings all had their own story and added their part to the personality of the office. A bookcase cupboard combination, done in beautiful burled wood, caught my attention, and as I was to learn, was the gift of a grateful patient who had entered the clinic in a walker, but upon recovery had personally humped it up those two flights of stairs. The x-ray department featuring the latest in digital x-ray boasted brand new bamboo flooring. The filters on his collimator come permanently attached rotating off to one side or the other, depending on the view to be taken. The adjusting room featured the leather covered height adjustable NUCCA table, and conveniently on the other side of the room, proudly stands the Anatometer 2. Immediately behind this area is a door that leads to the private office for consultations and report of findings. The office uses the space well without losing valuable square footage to hallway space. Dr. Zabelin himself has done much of the design work and construction. The coffee was truly excellent and I enjoyed a pleasant evening learning more on how the NUCCA software for digital operates. I must say I was impressed both with Dr. Zabelin’s office and the software, if I might say so, very San Francisco. Technical Tip: If you have fun with those Basic Type Ones with a high plane line then you are in luck. The key here is the higher the plane line, get this, the lighter your contact on the transverse process of C1. Try this and see how it works.
What Do Patients Ask?How does an adjustment cause healing? How does the doctor determine if I’m getting better? Why don’t I always get an adjustment when I don’t feel good and why do I sometimes get an adjustment when I feel good? Contributed by Dr. Steven MacDonald 
Research UpdateThe Supine leg Check (SLC) Data Collection Pilot was successfully conducted at Life Chiropractic College West (LCCW) on May 22, 2010. It was quite an event – even college President Dr. Gerry Clum participated as a subject to help validate the Leg Check as NUCCA protocol. The pilot study data handling protocol proved to be sound assuring that the larger Leg Check study will have quality data for analysis. The ability to maintain data integrity ensuring the collection of high quality secure data establishes a standard for NUCCA research which is critical to results as well as review by important funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. The data analysis is ongoing with a post study report to be submitted to the UCRF Board of Directors outlining the results and shortly thereafter, and a manuscript submission to an indexed peer reviewed publication to follow. 
Participate in Practice Based Research!We need you! Are you ready to participate in some clinical research? Many of you have heard Dr. Scholten quoting his powerful Practice Based Research statistics for years. And now, if you are interested in learning more about what is happening in your practice or wondering how to get training on an ongoing basis about the quality of care you are providing, the answers to these questions and more will come from Practice Based Research (PBR)! NUCCA’s Practice Based Research Initiative is now active. This project is co-chaired by Drs. Reney and Scholten and much work has been put into creating a user friendly site for you and your patients so that you can easily participate in clinical research from wherever you are. Start by using this website to source your clinical intake forms and help strengthen our position on NUCCA care while improving an understanding of what happens in NUCCA practices. This is just Phase 1 of the project and if the NUCCA membership participation is strong, we will be able to take this study into its next phases and likely answer many of the questions you may have had about patient responses to NUCCA. The stronger the number of participants, the stronger case we can make relative to securing future funding as well as increasing the quality of information we will have about the benefits our procedure brings to patient communities. Our world needs NUCCA and your organization needs you to take part in creating the evidence as to why we know that to be true. Try the site by visiting www.NUCCAforms.com and choose ’test clinic’. If you use your real name, you will be sent the report that is generated when a patient visits the site and fills out the questionnaire. Please keep in mind that this is a patient oriented site. Each patient will have his/her own user name and password. The PBR project will make your participation in research easy with no extra staff attention or double entry necessary. To sign up as a participating clinic go the bottom of the home page and click on the “To Join This Project” link or click on http://www.nuccaforms.com/joinnuccaforms.htm. For more information please contact Dr. Scholten at drscholten@hotmail.com or Dr. Reney at mr@kiro.ca. 
Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Sr. Publishes on AutismFind out how the NUCCA procedure impacts autism. Click here to read Dr. Dickholtz’s article published in The Autism File USA.
Who Is Paul Chek?The Autumn NUCCA conference, slated for October 13th through the 16th in Atlanta, Georgia is entitled: ‘What is the Future of NUCCA?” The event will feature, in addition to our rigorous academic program, a Job Fair, complimentary Wine and Cheese evening, President's reception, and guest speaker Paul Chek, a prominent expert in the field of holistic health, posture, and corrective high-performance exercise. For more than twenty-five years, Paul's unique, holistic approach to treatment and education has changed the lives of countless clients, students and peers. By treating the body as a whole system and finding the root cause of a problem, Paul has successfully coached clients toward complete resolution of their health and performance challenges. Paul is the founder of the C.H.E.K (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology) Institute, based in California, and a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner. 
Student Scholarship ProgramNUCCA is initiating another essay contest for students who can answer the question "What is the Future of NUCCA?" Complimentary conference fees will be awarded to one student winner per chiropractic college. Entries can be emailed to: Dr Stan Dombroski at drstan@myamazingspine.com or 300 South State St., Ste. 4, Zeeland, MI 49464, to be received no later than September 24, 2010. Contestants must be sure to include their name, address, school, anticipated graduation date and phone number. 
NUCCA Patient SpotlightRogan on left, brother Vaughn on right. “You gave me a new child!” Those were a mother’s joyful words after she brought her eighteen month old son Rogan for his first NUCCA adjustment with Dr. Barbara Read. “My son has always been rather angry-spirited in his temperament,” Kim explained. “He would wake up in the morning and instantly—if he didn't get his way, he would lie down and bang his head against the floor, and give other outbursts like that constantly...all day-everyday.” There were also other signs that Rogan was having problems. “He wasn't babbling or making speaking sounds. I always thought, through my mother's intuition, that something was not right with my son.” “I have friends who had talked about their great experiences at the chiropractor and I had heard that they adjusted babies, but I never considered taking him to the chiropractor,” Kim said. “But my mother sees Dr. Read, and she was telling about her practice and how much it has made a difference for her. My husband was completely opposed to the idea, but I thought it was worth a try.” After one upper cervical adjustment with the NUCCA protocol, Kim reports that Rogan began babbling. And in the month after the adjustment, she identified 10 words that he had learned. “He still has temper tantrums,” Kim reports. “He still has a strong personality, but he is a totally different kid. You can actually get through to him and reason with him.” Those episodes of screaming and slamming his head against the floor have completely been eliminated. What does Rogan's father think about the trip to the chiropractor now? Kim reports that after the first adjustment, she and the kids spent a week with her parents. When they returned, her husband spent 20 minutes with Rogan and realized he had a new son—a change he attributes to NUCCA care. |
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