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."
Conference on Philosophy in Chiropractic Education (November 10-13)
The World Federation of Chiropractic, in conjunction with the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, will hold a conference on philosophy in chiropractic education at the Radisson Bahia Mar Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 10-13. The conference program directors are Reed Phillips, DC, PhD, president of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, and David Koch, DC, president of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic.
A highlight of Saturday's first session, chaired by Dr. Phillips, will be The Roles of Philosophy and Belief Systems in Complementary Health Care presented by Ian Coulter, PhD, a health consultant for the RAND Corporation and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and LACC.
The second session, chaired by Dr. Koch, features: The Primary Regulatory Role of the Nervous System: To What Extent is This Unique to Chiropractic? (Howard Vernon,DC,CCS, associate dean of research at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College); A History of Chiropractic Beliefs and Values: The Therapeutic Approach (Joseph Keating Jr.,PhD, a professor at LACC); and The Non-Therapeutic Approach (Thom Gelardi,DC, past president of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic).
The day's third session focuses on the philosophy behind patient care and is chaired by Gerard Clum, DC, president of Life College of Chiropractic West and the co-chair of WFC education. Featured presentations include: The Philosophical Basis of Condition-Centered Practice(Marion McGregor,DC,MSc, Institute for Spine and Biomedical Research); The Philosophical Basis of Vertebral Subluxation-Centered Practice (Dr. Koch); and The Philosophical Basis of Patient-Centered Practice (Meridel Gatterman,DC, assistant professor, Western States College of Chiropractic).
Sunday's first session will present the results of an international survey on philosophy in college courses, as interpreted by regional representatives. The session will be chaired by Cleveland College of Chiropractic President Carl Cleveland III. Survey results for North America will be discussed by Guy Riekeman,DC, president of Palmer College, and Jean Moss,DC, president of CMCC. The European perspective will be covered by Susan King,DC (director of the department of chiropractic at Glamorgan University in the United Kingdom), and Anders Christensen,DC (faculty member, Odense University, Denmark). Australia will be represented by RMIT University School of Chiropractic Principal Andries Kleynhans,DC, EdD; Africa will be represented by Glynn Till,DC, head of the Technikon Natal School of Chiropractic. (Editor's note: There will also be a representative for Latin America , but that doctor was not named at press time.)
The second session on Sunday, chaired by Dr. Till, expands on the subject of philosophy in a chiropractic curriculum, with presentations on methods of teaching philosophy. Monday's sessions will concern the development of principles on philosophy in chiropractic education, leading to the WFC Education Committee presentation of draft policies. After a sign-off of final draft policies, Drs. Koch and Phillips will provide a summary and overview.
Those interested in participating in this conference should contact the World Federation of Chiropractic at:
Tel: (416) 484-9978
Fax: (416) 484-9665
worldfed@sympatico.ca