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."
RF Digital X-Ray Company Seeking Help With Japan Relief Efforts
RF Co., Ltd., expresses our heartfelt sympathy to the victims and their families who were affected by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami in the northeastern Japan area, and sends prayers for the earliest possible restoration, as well as everyone's safety and health. RF Co., Ltd., and all of our affiliates are committed to supporting disaster relief efforts. We are seeking donations from the chiropractic community in this regard and would greatly appreciate any and all support. You can give by calling 800-905-1554.
Aftermath of the Earthquake on the Sendai Showroom
We were preparing to open our Sendai showroom on March 19. Our employees in Sendai were among those affected by the earthquake. Fortunately, they are all safe However, some of our staff who still remain in Sendai are without electricity, water and the ability to make telephone calls. One of our female employees who was in Sendai during the earthquake requires psychological care. In addition, the corporate housing we were preparing in Wakabayashi-ku was washed away by the tsunami, and the building planned to house the showroom requires reconstruction.
Our Actions to Assist the Recovery Efforts in Northern Japan
Our company's principal product is a digital X-ray sensor, NAOMI. This is a medical device that is required in daily treatment of patients in the medical and dental fields. In all of Japan, especially the northern prefectures, many clinics are still using X-ray machines that require film. Implementation of digital X-ray sensors is crucial considering the broken automatic film-developing systems, as well as the shortages in the provisions of film and developing solutions.
Therefore, we have organized a team of 15 employees at our Nagano headquarters, changing our efforts to emergency assistance in Sendai and Omiya, where we had planned to open showrooms. We have started the relief work in northern Japan as of March 20 with five emergency assistance vehicles certified by the Nagano Police Department. We are working to increase production of NAOMI at our Nagano headquarters, but we need to gather information about how our component manufacturers and suppliers have been impacted. We are ready to work throughout our holidays and weekends to begin production as soon as possible.
Provision of Autopsy Equipment Requested by Police Dentists
We will provide a large number of digital X-ray equipment, although we are unsure how many units, for the identification of earthquake and tsunami victims. We will bear any other related costs. In addition, strong requests for further assistance, such as maintaining equipment, have been increasing each day from medical institutions in areas that have been affected.
We plan to gather people from our branch offices at our Nagano headquarters and do whatever we can to cooperate with Omiya and Sendai – as much as aftershocks, entry to the disaster-stricken areas and reconstruction will allow.
In addition to the above, RF Co. is donating a portion of every sale of our equipment to disaster relief. We ask for your support and participation in these efforts. If you are interested in being part of RF's efforts to aid in the recovery from the disaster, please call us at 800-905-1554 or e-mail ajcheesman@naomi-dr.com.
Publisher's Note: MPA Media, publisher of Dynamic Chiropractic and DC PracticeINSIGHTS, is proud to support the recovery efforts with RF Co.