When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
Activator Technique Celebrates 35 Years
Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique (AMCT) recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with a three-day conference in Phoenix, Arizona, attended by over 200 doctors. It was a showcase for research, new procedures and equipment that addressed problems such as back pain diagnosis; sleep disturbances (from a biomechanical prospective); neck, arm and shoulder pain; and carpal tunnel syndrome.
The conference opened with a team-building exercise conducted by Drs. Bart Green and Claire Johnson, editors of the Chiropractic Research Review, and former editors of the defunct Journal of Sports Chiropractic and Rehabilitation. Their team-building exercise demonstrated that group decisions surpass individual decisions. Drs. Green and Johnson also presented "How to Write Case Reports," an excellent way for doctors to share their clinical experiences.
Greg Kawchuk,DC,PhD, of the University of Calgary, gave a presentation on ultrasonic indentation, a noninvasive method of locating spinal stiffness. Dr. Kawchuk was the recipient of Canada's first chiropractic research chair, the first position in Canada specifically devoted to chiropractic research supported directly by the federal government (www.chiroweb.com/archives/19/15/03.html).
Dr. Arlan Fuhr, the inventor of the Activator and co-founder of AMCT with Dr. Warren Lee, told the conferees that a paper reviewing the accomplishments of Activator Methods has been accepted for publication in Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. Dr. Fuhr announced that his company has just completed a 12,000-word chapter in a major text book, and a paper on restoring reversed cervical curvatures from whiplash injuries that has been accepted for publication in JMPT. He noted that several case reports have also been accepted for publication.
AMCT prides itself on incorporating the latest advances in orthopedic, neurological and chiropractic examinations to seek joint dysfunction in the spinal column and extremities. The Activator technique has been described as a synthesis of low-force adjustive procedures, including Logan Basic, Derifield-Thompson leg checking, and VanRumpt's directional nonforce technique. The Activator instrument produces low-force, high-speed chiropractic adjustments. Dr. Fuhr noted that AMCT is the second-largest chiropractic technique in the U.S., reportedly with over 35,000 doctors trained in AMCT, and 2,100 doctors "proficiency rated." Dr. Fuhr asserted that AMCT is the "only technique that recertifies its instructors every year, with the latest research and clinical methods to help their patients."
Next year's conference will include an all day workshop that will allow doctors to bring case reports to prepare for publication.