During 1993, hundreds of doctors and students of chiropractic attended the MPI continuing education programs in the US, Canada, and Europe. The new MPI programs for 1993 are at present being updated with current material to once again expand the chiropractors ability to treat the various components of the subluxation complex.
1994 will start with an exciting program being offered by Dr. Leroy Perry (MPI's Clinical Excellence Seminar in Hawaii, Feb. 27 - March 5th). The balance of 1994 will see more coupled motion, motion palpation tests, and coupled motion subluxation adjusting.
During the 1993 programs, MPI faculty were able to identify areas of educational shortcomings. I would like to share these with you:
Doctors
1) Knowledge of anatomy
a) muscles and their function b) joints and where they actually are
c) relationship of muscles and joints (arthrokinesic reflex)
2) Knowledge of neurology
a) dorsal horn b) pain referral patterns
c) course and distribution of the sinuvertebral nerve
3) Anatomical landmarks
4) Spinal function in all seven ranges-of-motion was not understood by many doctors
Before listing the student areas, I would hope that those doctors reading this will not take this as a personal affront, but as an opportunity to read and study those areas that apply.
Students
This was very difficult to do as students from all years attended the seminars, so a division was made: those in clinic, and those not.
1) Students in clinic:
a) Remember that not all your patients will get better in six treatments. b) Believe in the hands-on osseous adjustment and in chiropractic -- it does work.
c) Being a doctor of chiropractic means that your education is about to start.
2) Students not in clinic:
a) You cannot learn to adjust if you cannot find the subluxation and its plane of restriction. b) Practice your palpation more than anything else because if you can find it, you can fix it.
c) There are no bad techniques in chiropractic, so learn them and become proficient in all of them.
These comments came from the seminar evaluation sheets and indicate a desire by all attendees to update their personal database. As head of the MPI faculty, I would like to thank all of those doctors and students that attended the 1993 programs. I look forward to your comments and feedback, suggestions and criticisms; most of all, to seeing you at future MPI programs in 1994.
Keith Innes, DC
Scarborough, Ontario
Editor's note: Dr. Innes will be conducting a Full Spine (FS) seminar in Toronto, Ontario on January 16-17 and a Spine 1 (S1) seminar in St. Louis, Missouri on January 22-23. To register, call the Chiropractic Order Desk at 1-800-359-2289.
