Editor's note: The following reports are reprinted with permission from the World Federation of Chiropractic's latest Quarterly World Report (December 2010). To view the complete report, visit www.wfc.org.
Botswana: World Spine Care (WSC) had Canadian chiropractor Dr. Geoff Outerbridge on the ground in Botswana as of January as it commenced its Shoshong Project, a pilot project to test its model of providing comprehensive spine care in developing countries without spine care resources. The WSC president is Dr. Scott Haldeman, clinical professor, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine; WSC vice president is Dr. Margareta Nordin, professor and program director, Department of Orthopaedics and Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, New York University.
The WSC is endorsed by the WFC, Palmer College of Chiropractic and the Bone and Joint Decade; its liaison at the BJD is Deborah Kopansky-Giles, DC, of the WFC Council, who is now a member of the BJD International Coordinating Committee. The WSC is also affiliated with the World Health Organization; its liaison is Molly Robinson Nicol, DC.
Canada: The Canadian Chiropractic Association's December Canadian Chiropractic Research Bulletin (No. 18) describes the flourishing chiropractic research scene in Canada. See this and past issues of the Bulletin at www.chiropracticcanada.ca. Highlights in the December 2010 issue include the announcement of another university research chair - Mathieu Piche, DC, PhD, has been awarded a five-year Research Chair in Pain Neurophysiology by the Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres (UQTR). Dr. Piche is an assistant professor at UQTR and his research interests are focused on cerebrospinal mechanisms involved in pain modulation and the effect of spinal pain on autonomic functions. In 2009, he received his PhD in neurological sciences from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal.
The December issue also includes an update on a major clinical trial in which principal investigator is Pierre Cote, DC, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Toronto. This is the University Health Network Whiplash Intervention Trial, which is looking at the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three programs of care for the treatment of whiplash-associated disorders. Funding of $2.7 million is from the University Health Network Toronto and major auto insurer AVIVA Canada.
This is a pragmatic RCT that aims to determine which of three interventions is most effective and cost-effective in improving the recovery of patients with recent whiplash-associated disorders - the government-approved framework of care in Ontario, the care model designed by AVIVA Canada, or a physician-based education and activation intervention. It is expected that the recruitment phase of the trial will end in winter 2011.
Denmark: Denmark is the first country in which chiropractors have established a role as admitting specialists first seen by patients in a spine care hospital setting. Speaking on this at the WFC's Rio Congress, generously sponsored by the Danish Chiropractors' Association, is Dr. Soren O'Neill.
Dr. O'Neill currently serves as chief chiropractor at the Spine Centre for Southern Denmark at Lillebaelt Hospital in Middelfart. This is the main hospital of three that serve the Spine Centre for Southern Denmark. It is also the facility where chiropractic students at the University of Southern Denmark (USD) receive much of their clinical training.
Dr. O'Neill, who holds a master's degree in rehabilitation from the USD, is currently studying for a PhD, looking at the reversibility of generalized deep-tissue hyperalgesia in chronic low-back patients scheduled for surgical management of intervertebral disc herniation. In Rio, he will speak during session 9, which deals with different models of chiropractic practice, on "Danish Experience: A Hospital-Based Specialist and First Point of Entry."
Jordan: In Jordan, chiropractic is one of the health professions listed under the Public Health Law and the Ministry of Health is now preparing the regulation under the law for recognition and regulation of the profession. Dr. Yousef Meshki, president of the Jordanian Chiropractic Association, has been appointed to the advisory committee to the commissioner of licensing, Dr. Azmi Hadidi, who is responsible for promoting regulations for health professions.
Dr. Meshki attended a first meeting of the advisory committee in Amman on Nov. 30, 2010, accompanied by WFC Secretary-General David Chapman-Smith and Dr. Silvano Mior of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. When the regulation is passed, Jordan will become the sixth country in the region with legislation to regulate chiropractic practice - the others are Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Norway: The Norwegian Chiropractors' Association (NCA) held its 75th anniversary convention in Bergen Oct. 21-23, 2010, with a theme of New Insights Into the Autonomic Nervous System. Keynote speakers included Dr. Brian Budgell, director of the Neurophysiology Laboratory, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College; Dr. Heidi Haavik-Taylor, originally from Norway and now director of research, New Zealand College of Chiropractic; Dr. Michael Hall, professor of clinical neurology, Parker College of Chiropractic; and Dr. Stephen Poiges, professor of psychiatry, University of Illinois, College of Medicine. The Chiropractor of the Decade Award went to Dr. Oystein Ogre, who was resigning after an eight-year term as NCA president and assumes the presidency of the European Chiropractors' Union (ECU).
The Chiropractor of the Year Award went to Dr. Lise Lothe, in part for her extensive work in establishing postgraduate education in Norway and Europe. The Original Research Prize went to Drs. Marie and Mark Cashley from Forfar, Scotland, for their paper, "Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome Associated With Pelvic and Lumbar Spine Dysfunction: A Multiple Case Report Series."
