As little as 10 years ago, any statement including the nervous system and Chiropractic started and ended with nerve root compression and vertebral misalignment. We were well schooled that Chiropractic was about vertebral subluxation and nerve root interference and unfortunately, this is where the story ended. Vertebral subluxation and its correction was the totality of Chiropractic.
The facts however were not in evidence to support this theory. Even after over 100 years of the Chiropractic profession’s attempts to defend this position, the science was not in place to offer support.
The fact accepted in place was that Chiropractic care not only achieved results, it was known to achieve dramatic results far beyond the relief of pain for which it had become known. As Chiropractic and Medicine are different in intent and application, the research methods for one do not work well when applied to the other. The double blind controlled studies of drug research do not work well when applied to a vitalistic application. So then how do we measure the effectiveness of Chiropractic? This challenge has been at the center of the Chiropractic dilemma since its beginning in 1895.
The profession was in great need of demonstrating its foundations in modern, supported definitions, terminology and science if it was to survive beyond a back pain relief, marginal healing art.
Throughout the Chiropractic history there has been many references to Chiropractic involving the Central Nervous System (CNS); so while the concepts were suggested, there was never any proof offered beyond the vertebral subluxation theory, which has never been proven to exist.
In the year 2000, I started the concept of Neurologically Based Chiropractic (NBC) in which I originated the concept that the power of the Chiropractic adjustment lay in its ability to alter CNS function – specifically the cortical brain wave patterns. My three years of research working with EEG specialists and psychologists Drs. Long and Byers produced a research paper showing that the adjustment had dramatic effects on altering brain wave patterns. Once this was revealed, the greatest mystery of Chiropractic was exposed. The chiropractic adjustment is a neurological pattern interrupt which then allows the CNS to reset itself into a more appropriate or healthier pattern. There has been two following papers that support my paper.
All this is great news except for one major problem. How can this knowledge be applied to everyday practice? X-Ray studies or orthopedic tests don’t offer any supporting outcome evidence; Static Para spinal sEMG or thermal studies don’t show direct neurological improvement at the CNS level. So how can we show the dramatic effect of a Chiropractic adjustment as evidence of the effectiveness of care?
This is the reason why the NeuroInfiniti instrument came into being. The years of research done by the Psychologists studying brain wave patterns and human behavior plus the great advances in computer based programs in CNS function were a perfect match for the need to show the effectiveness of the adjustment to alter brain function.
Thirteen years later, the work is finally starting to affect the profession. The NeuroInfiniti offers the DCs the ability to show less than ideal brain function in response to stress and/or its ability to recover from stress. These patterns create the health challenges we see today that according to medical research attribute to 95% of all diseases. Today Chiropractors can show how and why the adjustment improves neurological function. This NBC isn’t the Chiropractic of the past and represents a critical breakthrough as important as we have seen in any of the changes in other healing arts. Neurologically based programs such as the advanced work by the Carrick Institute, and Dr. Melillo’s Brain Balance Centers are an example of the new movement in the profession.
Neurology Clubs are springing up in Chiropractic Colleges as a new breed of students is keen to bring Chiropractic into the 21st century. As I speak to the student bodies at Universities/Colleges around the world, it is exciting times to watch the future of the profession prepare to bring Neurologically Based Chiropractic to life. Be sure to check out the NeuroInfiniti web and Facebook sites
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