Message from the PresidentThe feedback we received from those attending the Spring Conference in Newport Beach, California has been phenomenally favorable. The finale with NUCCA jeopardy and a photo presentation of the conference's Kodak moments wrapped the program on a remarkably positive note. Dr. Cripe introduced some innovative approaches to teaching the work by embracing doctor participation that was particularly enjoyed by conference attendees and provides insights on developing the presentation of future conferences. I would like to thank all of the instructors for their hard work, and also the attendees for their feedback. For those receiving the printed directory, Dr. Robert Brooks was not included as the Chairman of the Board and as such as a member of the Executive Committee. My apologies to Dr. Brooks for the omission, this has been corrected on the website. The dates, location and hotels for the next three conferences have been confirmed. Please mark them on your calendars: Fall 2011, October 13th-15th Reno, Nevada. Spring 2012, April 12th-14th, Orlando, Florida. Fall 2012, October 25th-27th, Newport Beach, California. The title of the upcoming Fall 2011 program in Reno will be "Honoring the Heritage" a celebration of those doctors practicing NUCCA 20 years and longer. We will have special events for these doctors, so keep checking your emails and the website for further details. A new award was created by the NUCCA board in addition to the Gregory Award and was presented at the spring conference. Just as the Gregory Award honors contributions to the organization in the important area of Technical Excellence, the new award honors contributions to the organization in the important area of SERVICE. This award is known as the "Dr. Robert Brooks Service Award" and the first recipient is Dr. Brooks. For those who were not at the conference, you may want to email your congratulations to Dr. Brooks for this well-deserved honor. I flew into the conference early to visit Dr. Tymothy Flory's office. This gave me the opportunity to visit a doctor new in practice and to see how he set up and is operating his office. He has been in his own practice less than two years, and graduated less than five years ago which made me curious to see the elements of a practice that was collecting over $20,000 per month. I think success is multifaceted and should never be measured by dollars alone, but I have seen too many new graduates struggling with the heavy weight of student debt either not making it or barely making it in practice. So here was a young doctor and I wanted to see if this could be achieved utilizing NUCCA protocols. His office it is a part of a professional modern plaza building that is designed not unlike a strip mall. The name of the office was appropriately "Atlas Spinal Care". Entering the front door, one is greeted by the receptionist behind a cherry colored front desk with a backdrop of lettering on the wall portraying the office logo, name and the subtitle "Gentle Proven Care". To the left of this is the reception area with seating for nine, a water cooler, large screen monitor featuring patient education programs and table with reading material. Next to the reception desk is a hallway that leads to the doctor's office and correction rooms (Dr. Flory's term – I liked it). The first office is a little larger with a desk and room for consultations and reports of findings. This one office did have a door on it. However, Dr. Flory has opted to design his office as a cross between the open room concept with a community adjusting suite with multiple tables and patients/practice members in the one large adjusting area, and the separate correction rooms. Dr. Flory has individual correction rooms but WITHOUT DOORS on them. Another unique factor in Dr. Flory's office layout is in a common area, accessible from all of the correction rooms, a space surrounded by three foot walls housing the Anatometer. Beyond the Anatometer space is the x-ray suite with ample space allowed. I often see this area compressed into far too small spaces which must result in a poor impression on new practice members given the reliance our work places on x-ray imaging. I understand Dr. Flory's office to be 1,500 square feet allowing for four correction rooms, an associate's work area, staff lunch area, private office, Anatometer area, and x-ray lounge. Dr. Flory has computerized his office with a Mac/Apple based system that is both economical and meets the demands of his busy practice. He features the Myovision Semg system for progressive evaluations. Dr. Flory has completed part 2 of certification and is a candidate for part 3 currently submitting 3 sets in a row. An exceptional chiropractor, Dr. Flory has demonstrated that an office operating on the NUCCA protocol with an emphasis on technical excellence can be successful in a short period of time without compromising the technical and philosophical principles our work is based on. Dr. Flory has a seven year lease on this space, but confided that he hopes to grow out of it before the lease is up. I think he may well be on his way to doing that. Technical Tip: Be conscious of the setting of your pisiiform bone in the proximal aspect of the anatomical snuffbox throughout the Roll In Phase. Anytime it lifts out at any point in the Roll In, your adjustment will become for the most part, a waste of time. This should be done with a relaxed but not flaccid spreading of both hands facilitating the alignment of the wrist levers. Consciousness of performing the 8 steps of the Roll In phase will be vital to achieving this. Lee G. Yardley, D.C.
June Book ReviewDr. Michael Flanagan's book, The Downside of Upright Posture, is extremely important for the NUCCA doctor to read and study. It is a book that helps the doctor understand even more clearly and explain to his/her patients the importance of maintaining the health of the upper cervical spine through specific atlas adjustments. 
Dr. Flanagan thoroughly describes the flow of cerebral spinal fluid throughout the spinal canal and skull, and the importance of its draining properly from the head. He also accurately reviews blood flow through the upper cervical spine and into the head and returning through the veins into the heart. When reading this, I began to see more clearly the importance of the flow of blood and the cerebral spinal fluid throughout the upper cervical spine, throughout the skull, and how an atlas subluxation complex and cervical spine degenerative change can interrupt the health of these systems. Flanagan takes time to show the connection of the atlas subluxation complex and cervical spine DJD in being a very likely cause of Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Dementia and other Neurodegenerative diseases. An unhealthy upper cervical spine and cervical spine can likely interfere with the health of the brain. For the brain to remain healthy, the cervical spine must be healthy. That is the job of the upper cervical specialist for maintenance of health and treating head and neck injuries. This can't be emphasized enough, and opens up a whole new area of educating our patients. Chiropractic has always stressed the importance of the nervous system in treating spinal subluxations, but Flanagan expands this to include the circulatory system and cerebral spinal fluid system as equally benefitting from a correct atlas adjustment. They are all interdependent on each other. Many neurodegenerative diseases can be properly treated through adjustments and often prevented. I am encouraging all NUCCA doctors to purchase this book for their library, study it and improve their understanding of these important conditions that we can properly treat our patients. Dr. Steven MacDonald, Board Certified NUCCA Board Member *Please note: For those wishing to purchase last month's book on review, Curing Chronic Fibomyalgia-Choosing What Works, please contact the publisher, Phil Vera - Edge Publishing Company, (703) 447-3780 and request the second edition which includes a review by Dr. MacDonald. 
Research UpdateINTEREXAMINER RELIABILITY OF SUPINE LEG CHECKS FOR H. Charles Woodfield, RPh, DC, B. Burt Gerstman, DVM, MPH, PhD, Renate Henry Olaisen, DC, MPH, and Dale F. Johnson, PhD recently published the findings of this pilot study in the May Issue, Volume 34, of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT). A note from the JMPT editor reads: "....... Woodfield et al (p. 239)(presents) quantified interexaminer reliability of a standardized supine leg check procedure used to screen for leg-length inequality. Two doctors of chiropractic used a standardized supine leg-check procedure to examine 50 volunteers for leg-length inequality. They found that examiners demonstrated moderate reliability in assessing leg-length inequality at 1/8-inch increments and good reliability in determining the presence of a leg-length inequality." The publication of this research is groundbreaking in that it is the first indexed peer reviewed paper published on the Supine Leg Check (SLC) and serves as the foundation for further research in the reliability of the SLC. Many thanks to Dr. Woodfield and the research team for their expertise and perseverance, and to all of those who supported UCRF research with generous donations and Gregory Circle membership. Without your help, milestones in NUCCA research cannot be realized. Copies of the article may be obtained through JMPT and the paper will soon be posted on the NUCCA website. 
Fall Conference in Reno!The luxurious, exciting new Atlantis Resort and Spa in gorgeous Reno, Nevada is our destination for the fall NUCCA conference October 13th to 15th entitled Honoring the Heritage. We will be celebrating NUCCA doctors who have been in practice for more than 20 years in addition to our comprehensive schedule of events and classes. This beautiful destination offers strong competition to our last venue in that it has something for everyone from the spectacular outdoors, golfing, dining, casinos, and spa with superb treatments and stunning relaxation areas. This is a unique destination with a great deal to offer including terrific sleeping room rates. Call 800/723-6500 for the NUCCA group rate. Conference classes and special event details coming soon! 
Student Scholarship ContestEnter the Student Scholarship Contest and address the topic: "Honoring the Heritage". Complimentary conference fees will be awarded to one student winner per chiropractic college. Entries can be emailed as a word document or video to: Dr. Stan Dombroski at drstan@myamazingspine.com or 300 South State St., Ste. 4, Zeeland, MI 49464, to be received no later than October 1, 2011. Contestants must be sure to include their name, address, school, anticipated graduation date and phone number. 
Referrals Are Coming In!Last month, Dr. Jeff Scholten addressed the national convention of nurses from the Canadian Association of Foot-Care Nurses on health and NUCCA. As a result, many NUCCA doctors across the country can expect to receive referrals from that talk which helps to fulfill our mission to have health professionals aware of our procedure.
NUCCA Patient SpotlightThe benefits of holding your alignment Rosanne Ward, PhD is a special education teacher and adjunct professor in education in a suburb of Chicago. She is also a NUCCA patient. "Flare-ups in sciatic pain began after the birth of my last child at the end of the 1990s," she told NUCCA News. "The pain traveled into my left leg. It was all down my left side. This continued on and off for years." In addition to the nerve pain, and pain in her low back, Dr. Ward also experienced a host of other confusing symptoms that are commonly seen in NUCCA practices. "I had frequent headaches," she said, "to the point I was getting them nearly everyday before my first NUCCA adjustment. I have a history of terrible allergies, which would lead to a headache, or make my headaches worse. I also had a hard time moving my neck, or turning my head to the left." Dr. Ward knew she had to do something different for herself after a few flare-ups of sciatica made it difficult for her to get out of bed in the morning. In 2007 she visited one of the oldest NUCCA practices in the world, the practice of Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Sr., where she received care from Dr. Young Chung. "I was first adjusted in 2007. I was able to hold my initial adjustment for close to two years, which was amazing to me. And the reason I went out of alignment is I had a fall, and that pulled me out of alignment. Since that time, I've been adjusted two other times, both due to injury." Four years into her care, Dr. Ward says she is a lifetime NUCCA patient, and continues to get check-ups every few months to make sure she is holding her alignment. When asked about her previous care for these issues, she had this to say: "There is no comparison for me. I never have back-pain. Ever. My legs may hurt after I garden, but that's it. Lifting and similar kinds of activities don't bother me at all. I rarely get headaches. And I'm not as tired because it doesn't take so much out of me, and I'm not dependent on Tylenol or other drugs to get me through the day. It's been so long that I have a hard time remembering what it was like to feel like I did." Upcoming EventsJuly 15th - Dr. Robert Brooks speaks at the Life Chiropractic College West Friday Seminar. July 15th - 16th - Taking Care of People and Issues in the Tissues Classes with Dr. Robert Brooks at Life Chiropractic College West. July 23rd - 24th - Dr. Robert Brooks speaks to the Palmer NUCCA Club at 9:20am, then offers Taking Care of People and Issues in the Tissues Class beginning at 5:30pm Friday night. Class ends Saturday night at 9:00pm. Oct 13th - 15th - NUCCA Fall Conference Reno, Nevada, Atlantis Resort and Spa. www.NUCCA.org/conferences.php |
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