Message from the President

Hello from the greater Las Vegas area! It has been a hot summer and we are ready for fall - the fall conference that is. Dr. Lee Yardley has put together a conference schedule that will definitely increase your ability to utilize the NUCCA Spinal Correction and create a greater quality of life for your patients, your family, and your staff. Isn't it a great feeling to have such an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life? Together we have positively affected the lives of thousands of people. Surely we will be rewarded for this in our lifetime and beyond! That's why we keep striving to prove to the world that what we do is one of the most powerful tools in health care today. Each one of us has a choice to stay to ourselves with the benefit of the knowledge we have to balance the human body, or to participate in the validation of our procedure to safeguard it for future generations.

As the NUCCA Board of Directors, we want to facilitate greater communication with the NUCCA members. We want to stay in touch with what is happening in the field. We want you to know what we are doing and where we are headed as an organization with a purpose. The Dallas conference is your next best step on October 7th. Please ask your representative about the Gregory Circle and its benefits.

I wish you all a good and prosperous fall season.

Bobbe Goodman, NUCCA President

NUCCA Conference Dallas Oct 7th - 10th

There seems to be a unique magnetic energy around the NUCCA conference this season. The phone and fax are talking to us constantly... not just with attendee registration, but with people who want to present their products, services and research. Our schedule is packed tight with wonderful people and invaluable information.

Our research speaker is Dr. Patrick Gentempo, Jr., internationally renowned visionary, lecturer, business leader and author who will be presenting his thoughts and research to our Dallas audience in two separate presentation periods. Dr. Gentempo is clearly one of the largest draws in chiropractic today, and is considered to be unmatched in his ability to integrate the philosophy, science, clinical practice and business of chiropractic without contradiction. During the past 20 years, he has mesmerized audiences with his vision of world leadership of healthcare in a chiropractic model. He also currently serves as CEO of the Creating Wellness Alliance and is co-founder and CEO of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA) which has over 8,000 chiropractic clients on six continents.

The Upper Cervical Research Foundation is also featuring a panel presentation of current research projects and progress with speakers including Research Director Professor Jim Palmer and Drs. Woodfield, Denton, Brooks, Dickholtz, Sr., Dickholtz,Jr., and Scholten.

We also have several new vendors with us and among them, Dr. Michael Lenarz is hosting a fabulous complimentary Wine & Cheese Event during which he will present a new business model to support upper cervical chiropractors in multiple career pathways to achieve success in areas including associateship, private practice, partnerships, satellite clinics, and research.

There will be a first time ever VIP cocktail reception for Gregory Circle members followed by an address from Parker College President, Dr. Fabrizio Manacini during the President's reception.

Truly, this is an event not to be missed. If you haven't registered, there's still time. Visit www.nucca.org/conference.php and get your registration into to the NUCCA office by email, fax or phone 800/541-5799.

What Do Patients Ask Most?

1.Can Children Benefit from NUCCA?
Children can be adjusted using the NUCCA procedure right from birth. Often children do not need the full NUCCA assessment as their many simple reflexes that can be checked allowing for a modified exam. Due to the tendency for a child's misalignment to have been present for a relatively short period of time the misalignment is typically less complex. Children also generally respond more quickly to adjustments and usually require fewer adjustments to attain spinal stability.

2. How Can Such Light Touch Make Such A dramatic Change?
Although the patient feels only a slight pressure behind their ear while being adjusted, there is adequate force being put into the neck. Using the first vertebra and the weight of the head to gain a biomechanical advantage, the doctor places his/her body on a calculated angle to ensure the adjustment is specific to the patient's individual misalignment. The force generated by the doctor is transferred to the patient in such a gentle and precise fashion that many patients are unaware of any intervention whatsoever.

3. How Can I Tell If I Need An Adjustment?
By paying attention to your body, you may become more sensitive to whether or not you are in alignment. Although some rely on the return of their symptoms to tell them when they've lost their alignment, we suggest patients pay attention to their reflection in the mirror; paying attention to head tilt or a low shoulder for example. Other cues may include where they feel their weight distributed on their feet, or if a change in gait is observed. More subtle indications may even include having to adjust your car rearview and side mirrors. Even with all of these clues, it is still recommended that periodic chiropractic assessments be performed to verify proper balance.

4. Why Should I Get Checked If I'm Feeling Fine?
We feel prevention and optimization are better that reactive, distress care. It is best to be assessed periodically to ensure that if you are misaligned but non-symptomatic, you can be adjusted to prevent your body from being accustomed to a misaligned state once again and avoid the spinal deterioration that often involves a return to pain.

5. Why Are You Looking At My Feet If You're Adjusting The Top Of My Neck?
There are many postural muscles that are constantly contracting and relaxing in response to normal body movements to prevent us from falling over and allow us to maintain an upright posture. When our first vertebra is misaligned, the weight of the head is no longer evenly distributed over the neck and the rest of the body. The body therefore responds to this imbalance by contracting different muscles in its attempt to maintain an upright posture. It is the contractions of the postural muscles that result in the contracted/ shortened leg.

Research Update

X-ray reliability, the ability of the practitioner to repeatedly and accurately with precision, mark and measure x-rays that indicate an atlas misalignment and its correction, is a major issue NUCCA/UCRF is currently validating along with the Leg Length check reliability.

A survey has been developed for all NUCCA Doctors to provide input regarding the criteria for the leg length check. Click here for the survey.

Practice Based Research (PBR) plays into this equation as well as it correlates changes in NUCCA misalignment assessment measures to changes in quality of life measures. With an extremely large dataset containing this correlated information, the statistical power required to make validating statements regarding NUCCA assessment procedures is clearly feasible.

The Finite Element modeling at the University of Toledo is driving development of a cervical model having unprecedented detail and is pushing the limits of the finite element technique. New ways are now being sought to validate the model. Effects of misalignments on ligaments, architectural asymmetries, and discs are being investigated. Papers are in the process of being prepared and external funding is being sought for a full-spine model.

In addition, mini pilot studies of typically 3-7 patients have been proposed by the Director of Research to enable building of a literature base thereby setting the stage for external funding for larger studies.

The Monograph will be available in late September or early to mid-October. Featured articles will include early Finite Element modeling findings, a reprint of the non-migraine headache study in JVSR with an occupational addendum, a reprint of the September 2008 Canadian Chiropractor article on the history of the hypertension study, a short history of upper cervical chronic low back pain literature, and a brief look at Biedermann's KISS syndrome

The Palmer Hypertension Study is scheduled to begin in October. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded a $1.2 million study to duplicate the results of the now famous study by Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Sr. on human hypertension. The facility conducting the study, the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR), has been busy during the past several months developing the protocols and establishing the screening criteria for the participants.

Dr. Robert Brooks has been the liaison between the Upper Cervical Research Foundation and Dr Christine Choate, who is heading the study and Dr Robert Vining, who is responsible for the day-to-day clinical operations. Weekly conference calls, many emails and two meetings at Palmer have been necessary for the study to meet the criteria of the UCRF.

NUCCA is proud to announce that Dr Robert Wiedemann will be the clinician for the NUCCA portion of the study. Dr. Wiedemann has moved to Davenport and is becoming a part of the research team and has been experiencing extensive training in research methods.

The study will have a rubric (study participants) of more than 200 in the beginning and the project will finish with approximately 165. Three distinct approaches will be used to determine the effect of upper cervical procedures on human hypertension. In order to receive the grant the PCCR is using the NUCCA procedure, Toggle Recoil and a control group. Each group will have pre and post Lateral, Nasium and Vertex X-rays, which can be used in a sub-study on X-ray reliability and validity.

The project will reach completion in about two years. Publishing the results of the study may appear in a multitude of journals both in the medical and chiropractic professions.

NUCCA would like to acknowledge the PCCR for including us in this study and for the confidence in our procedure to produce the same results as the previous study. NUCCA and the UCRF would also like to acknowledge the participation of both Dr Lee Yardley and Dr Marshall Dickholtz Jr. for their participation and contributions to the success of the X-ray reliability and validity sub-study.

$mall $teps for $uccess

Beginning October 15, 2009 and lasting for one month, NUCCA doctors and their staff will highlight NUCCA's research efforts by offering patients an opportunity to be a part of our fundraising commitment by contributing an extra dollar or more when they pay for their clinic visit. If by chance there is someone who would like to contribute more substantially, tax receipts will be made available for any donation over $50. Susan Wikler (susanucrf@gmail.com) will be available to be of assistance to those who would like to make even more significant contributions.

This is a very exciting time for NUCCA research. As the technology develops to monitor the structural and physiological changes made through the reduction in the upper neck misalignment and we enter an era of ever expanding communication and social inter-connectedness, we have the opportunity to expand the awareness of what we do through high quality research. Currently a $100,000 matching funds pledge has been made by NUCCA patients in Calgary, Canada for brainstem blood flow studies and we hope this 'Small Steps to Success' campaign will allow us to acquire that money for use to better understand the effect our adjustment has on well-being and health.

Please help us help you give back to the development of the procedure that has impacted so many and commit to being a part of taking several 'Small Steps to Success'.

Diplomat in Upper Cervical Chiropractic

There is ongoing progress in the development of the Diplomat program as the curriculum is being forged by representatives of both the orthogonal and articular upper cervical procedures. With the progress being made it appears that the program may be launched by the end of 2010.

Dr. Lee Yardley has led the committee for the development of the orthogonal curriculum and has been working with Dr. Bo Rochester and Dr. Larry Arbietman representing the Orthospinology and Advances Orthospinology groups.

The newly formed Council for Upper Cervical Care is a membership organization and it is not necessary to belong to the International Chiropractors Association to be a member of the Council. Annual dues are $150 and represent support for the creation of the diplomat program.

This program will give anyone interested a way to understand the various theories and approaches to the upper cervical spine and may ultimately provide insights for the improvement of all of our approaches.

Upcoming Events

October 7th - 10th Dallas
NUCCA Autumn Conference at the Dallas Sheraton. Register now!

October 7th - Calgary
Mary Tidlund Charitable Foundation Fundraiser
The Mary Tidlund Charitable Foundation (www.tidlundfoundation.com) is responsible for managing the personal donations and issuance of tax receipts on behalf of the Ralph R. Gregory Foundation, the Canadian support for NUCCA. There are a number of projects and programs the Tidlund Foundation currently coordinates throughout the world and we are now part of that family. As a result, the Gregory Foundation has been invited to participate in an elegant fundraising event at the Cantos Music Foundation in Calgary on the evening of October 7th. This venue will provide an opportunity for enhanced public awareness and for people to donate to the Ralph R. Gregory Foundation which supports NUCCA research, education, public awareness and endowment. If you would like to attend or for further detail, please contact Dr. Gordon Hasick at info@rrgfoundation.org or at the Britannia Clinic at 403/243-0155.

November 22nd - Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Dr. Keith Denton and Professor Jim Palmer have been invited to give a presentation at the Michigan Association of Chiropractors (MAC) fall 2009 conference held in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan at the Soaring Eagle Casino on Sunday November 22nd. They will discuss the Hypertension study and the Finite Element Project as well as the Orthogonal Upper Cervical Interpretation of both the study and the project.

February 26th, 27th - Las Vegas
Innovation Seminar at Green Valley Ranch. High energy! Open to all upper cervical practitioners. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how other upper cervical doctors generate thriving practices. Join us Friday evening and all day Saturday for this upbeat intensive with the best in the field. Registration details coming soon!

Patient Spotlight

Rosemarie Sims used to be a tomboy. She would tear her dresses jumping out of trees in her homeland Germany. Even now in her sixth decade, she has always been active and felt good in her body... until a couple of years ago when her neck and shoulder pain began.

She says she's not aware of anything significant that triggered it, but gradually what was intermittent pain became constant and extreme. At first she thought it was because of sitting in front of a computer all day at work, so she went to her family doctor who sent her to a traditional chiropractor. She saw the chiropractor 24 times and feels that as a result of twisting, popping and cracking, her condition worsened. From there she saw an orthopedic specialist who suggested surgery which Rosemarie flatly declined. Then it was on to physical therapy and the suggestion of pills for pain management.

Finally, a co-worker told her about NUCCA and Dr. Robert Goodman who practices in Henderson, Nevada.

When she discovered how different the length of her legs was, she says she remembers how her seamstress would always comment on that, but she didn't think anything of it. After only one correction she was pain-free. "I felt totally refreshed" she says. "And I could feel the blood and warmth rush into the shorter leg". "I'm just extremely happy to be pain-free without medication and I'm looking forward to more success!"