Message from the President

The Small Steps to Success was a great effort! We appreciate everyone who participated. We are now able to submit a proposal to the Tao Foundation for the first $50,000 of the matching funds gift they awarded us for research! We have a lot of other exciting things happening now as well: The Palmer NUCCA students will soon be able to utilize a new Anatometer that was purchased from Dr. Shepherd's estate. The cost of this Anatometer will be shared by the NUCCA Educational Fund and donations from NUCCA doctors and students alike. The Palmer Blood Pressure Study is about to begin with Dr. Weidemann doing the adjusting for NUCCA. If you have time, contact Dr. Weidemann and let him know that we are supporting him. He is in a key position for our organization. Then after the first of the year, we will be having the Practice Innovation seminar in Las Vegas. The list of speakers and presenters are the most successful upper cervical doctors from the USA and Canada. Get ready to come and take notes and find ways to create more success in your office. In April we are back in Lass Vegas for the spring NUCCA Conference! The participants from the last conference in Dallas evaluated the event and were extremely positive, and the next conference will be even better!! Let me know how we are doing. I enjoy hearing from the field.

All the best,

Bobbe Goodman, NUCCA President

What Do Patients Ask?

What can cause me to lose my alignment?

Thoughts, traumas, and toxins are all stressors that can contribute to a misaligned state. After your first adjustment in our office you will be given recommendations regarding daily activities to help maintain alignment. The three T's (thoughts, traumas and toxins) are all contributors to maintaining or losing alignment. Thoughts include negativity or stress ? think about the tightness in your shoulders after a long day at work. Have you ever considered what those muscles are connected to? Traumas are a more obvious cause, however doesn't necessarily have to be a car accident or fall. Daily repetitive postures or movements can be considered an ongoing traumatic event. Toxins can be dietary or environmental and can also play a role in maintaining or losing alignment due to the stress they place on your body's systems.

Is it possible for me to go in and out of alignment on my own?

No, a true subluxation will not realign on its own. Many times patients may feel that they were "out of alignment" and they were able to regain alignment on their own. A true subluxation can only be corrected by a third party. What the individual likely felt was the adaptation of the body to stress that they were able to manage without assistance. Our goal in this office is to maintain the body in a state of reduced stress so the body can adapt to the stresses and strains of everyday life without requiring assistance to manage a breakdown.

Why are so many things positively affected by one procedure?

The body is self-healing and its healing capabilities are infinite. With your energy no longer being excessively re-directed to fight gravity, often the body will manage to deal with other issues as well. By improving spinal alignment people experience improved posture as correction of non-adapting reflexive contracture of skeletal musculature is attained. This postural balance leads to better body-weight distribution which improves the position of internal organs and helps protect those structures acting to stabilize the spine. As less energy is required to oppose gravity, you will have more energy to think, function, heal and maintain yourself.

How long until I am better?

Healing is individual and there are many contributing factors. The more personal responsibility the patient assumes in this process, generally the better the results. The healing process takes time. If you were to break an arm, the medical physician would cast it and you would be instructed to keep it in the cast for approximately six to eight weeks. That is because this is the typical healing time for bone. When dealing with spinal misalignment, the integrity of the musculature and ligaments has been compromised and you must allow adequate time for these structures to heal in the aligned position. The longer your spine has been out of alignment, the more possible damage has occurred and therefore the more required healing time.

Research Update

Dr. Chuck Woodfield is presenting a poster at ACC-RAC (Association of Chiropractic Colleges Research Agenda Conference) in Las Vegas March 19th and 20th, 2010. The title, Efficacy of hands-on instructional training for the supine leg check — a feasibility study describes results from a trial conducted at Life Chiropractic College West (LCCW) in August 2009 with Dr. Michael Zabelin as the instructor of the Supine Leg Check training.

The next phase of investigation involves a supine leg check reliability study conducted January 23rd and 24th, 2010 at LCCW. Dr. Zabelin serves as instructor once again. The first day of the study involves an Ôimproved' training resulting from the August trial, followed by a reliability demonstration trial the next day. This study is first in a series of investigations providing needed reliability evidence to the NUCCA Supine Leg Check. This provides the needed background for funding a validity study, Drs. Woodfield and Bakris have written and previously submitted to the National Institutes of Health. Support is provided by the LCCW Research Department coupled with the valuable insight from Dr. Dale Johnson is instrumental in achieving our goals.

Xia Liu, Vijay Goel, Keith Denton, and UCRF Director of Research, Jim Palmer visited Dr. Sam Tocco of Michigan to investigate the potential for use of a DMX machine in a National Institutes of Health grant. The grant would call for "in vivo" measurements for both manual and instrument adjusting and for both cervical and lumbar adjusting in addition to using cadaver and full-spine finite element modeling.

The latest Monograph (September 2009) can be found on the UCRF website (www.ucrf.org) and includes a number of previously published or presented articles.

Dr. Dickholtz, Sr. Research in American Chiropractor

Read about Dr. Dickholtz, Sr.' laser lights and research by clicking this link (pdf 1.26MB).

NUCCA Fall Conference Smashing Success!

There was a magnetic energy around the Dallas NUCCA conference with new programs and participants from vendors to students to doctors pursuing certification. The schedule was packed tight with wonderful people, invaluable information, and palpable enthusiasm.

Dr. Patrick Gentempo, Jr., internationally renowned lecturer, business leader and author, offered a dynamic presentation in two separate segments. 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.

The Upper Cervical Research Foundation featured a well-received panel discussion 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.

Dr. Michael Lenarz hosted an elegant wine & cheese event during which he presented a new business model to support upper cervical chiropractors in multiple career pathways to achieve success in areas including associate ship, private practice, partnerships, satellite clinics, and research.

As an added highlight, Parker College President, Dr. Fabrizio Mancini addressed the crowd with a lively upbeat commentary at the President's reception and dinner party.

Overall, the entire event was a huge success! Join us again this coming April 2010 in Las Vegas at Green Valley Ranch and Resort for the spring NUCCA conference!

Click here for photos from the conference.

Certification Update

In 1983, Dr. Gregory initiated the development of the NUCCA certification program. The purpose of the program was to qualify doctors in the NUCCA work and establish a set of standards for all NUCCA doctors to maintain. The certification was also developed to support inter-professional and public identification of quality of service. Its creation came in response to a request for a directory of doctors who had attended NUCCA seminars. Dr. Gregory believed it was important to understand or identify the specific skill levels of the attending doctors in order to have a reliable and safe referral network.

The first configuration of the certification program was solely as a testing process. It became evident that while some doctors had passed the examination, many had not. With little or no feedback provided to the participating doctors, there was increasing resentment when failures occurred. It became clear that there was an increase in the skills and performance of the doctors who participated, and a reduction in the ASC.

The next format or evolution of certification initiated the concept of the certification program serving as a coaching, mentoring, and proficiency testing system. This program was very successful in supporting the growth of NUCCA education. It attracted the largest number of participating doctors in the history of certification. Quality standards fundamental to the NUCCA procedure regarding x-ray imaging and accuracy in the analysis of the ASC were raised and more consistent and complete reductions have become more effectively performed. Methods of instruction have improved as well as the certification process has become the backbone of our education.

The number of reviewing doctors increased from one to seven during this time. Certified doctors who have participated in the reviewing of candidates' films for levels one and two are Drs. Yardley, Hoeller, Dunn, Friedman, Read, Hasick, and Zabelin; only one doctor, Dr. Marshall Dickholtz Jr., was mentoring and testing at level 3.

During use of this certification program format, several aspects have become evident that require improvements, and specific changes have been requested by the NUCCA membership.

The proposed changes to the existing program are as follows.

1. It has frequently been observed that if a candidate at any level is not actively participating in his or her growth and development within the NUCCA procedure, his or her skills are not growing but degenerating. Doctors who have had a particular distinction or level of completion in NUCCA certification will, over time, lose the rigors that were present at the time of the completion of their specific levels of skill or candidacy. Given the initial premise of certification—that is, the creation of a directory with specific distinctions reflecting particular qualities of work—it has become obvious that regular retesting at every level is necessary. Without this reevaluation, the listings on the NUCCA directory cannot accurately reflect current skill levels or capacities.
2. Candidates who are not actively participating over a reasonable period of time will lose their candidate status. Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines a candidate as "a student in the process of meeting final requirements for a degree." A process is defined as "something going on." If there is nothing going on, meaning no movement or progress, there is no process and the doctor would not meet the criteria of being a candidate. Reapplication will be necessary for candidates renewing their participation in certification, with resubmissions and seminar participation necessary to regain past levels of completion.
3. Certified doctors will also be required to demonstrate certain levels of proficiency and seminar attendance to maintain their NUCCA board certifications. Reapplication for certified doctors who failed to maintain their certifications will be managed with the appropriate logistics, and seminar participation will be necessary to regain their past NUCCA board certification levels.
4. Requests for blinded testing will be provided to the membership. However, the logistics of blinded testing throughout all levels of certification within the current structure would make an effective mentoring or coaching relationship impossible. The new format will expand coaching and evaluation capabilities to every NUCCA board-certified doctor. Any certification candidate within this program can ask to work with any NUCCA board-certified doctor. If the candidate is accepted by that certified doctor, that doctor will be able to mentor and evaluate that candidate throughout his or her candidacy up until a final testing submission. The goal will be to prepare and support the learning in a positive environment, enabling the certification candidate to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to submit a final series of films to a review board consisting of up to three NUCCA board-certified doctors. The review would be a consensus of more than one examining doctor. The requirements of the final submission of x-rays will be a set of ten consecutive pre- and post-x-ray series in which seven out of ten will require a reduction of 80% or better. X-rays submitted for any one part as before, may not be used in any subsequent levels of testing and the last x-ray in the series must not be more than 30 days old. The quality of the submissions needs to be consistent with the standards of care reflected in previous levels of testing. This will be primarily a pass or fail submission not intended to be an integral aspect of a doctor's mentoring program.
5. Currently, levels one and two of the written certification examinations are being rewritten to reflect both what is written in the NUCCA text book and what is taught in the classes. This rewrite should be completed prior to the next NUCCA conference.

With increasing public demands for the continuity of our finest efforts as well as expanding demands of consistency of research, NUCCA board certification is vital to our education today just as it was in its inception, and is still the finest education in the reduction of the ASC in the entire chiropractic profession. In the months to come as the specific aspects of these changes become implemented, further updates will be posted.

Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Jr.
Head of Standards and Certification

NUCCA Spring Conference 2010

The 2010 NUCCA conference entitled: The Upper Cervical Difference, promises to be the most transformational event yet. Slated for April 21st to 24th at the lavish Green Valley Resort in Henderson, Nevada, our educational venue is tighter and more provocative than ever. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Christopher Kent, D.C., F.C.C.I., J.D., the co-founder of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance. His passion for facilitating human empowerment led him to the chiropractic profession where he has served as a practitioner, educator, author, lecturer, and researcher. Dr. Kent graduated from Palmer College in Davenport, IA, in 1973, and later joined the Palmer faculty. While at Palmer, he was elected president of the faculty senate and worked as a principal investigator in the research department. Dr. Kent eventually left Davenport and moved to Florida to practice full-time. He qualified as a specialist in chiropractic diagnostic imaging, was named a Fellow of the College of Chiropractic Imaging, and completed visiting fellowship programs in magnetic resonance imaging.

Acknowledged as one of the brightest minds in chiropractic, Dr. Kent returned to New Jersey in 1990 to develop technologies that would objectively demonstrate manifestations of nerve interference and ultimately provide certainty for chiropractors and their patients. Dr. Kent, who is also an attorney, was recognized as "Chiropractic Researcher of the Year" in 1991 by the International Chiropractors Association (ICA). He was also named ICA's "Chiropractor of the Year" in 1998. In June 2001, Dr. Kent was elected Chair of the United Nations Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Health Committee, the first chiropractor to hold that office.

For conference details click here

Practice Innovation 2010

Register Today! Take advantage of Early Bird Rates! SAVE $80!

Innovation is not a word we use casually. It means change, cutting edge, creating a different spin. That's why we're thrilled to present this superstar cast of doctors! Finally, a weekend seminar that reveals what makes the stars shine. Get the inside story on everything from practice management to team building, marketing, bio-mechanics, and dramatically pumping your bottom line! Just take a look at the schedule! These are the people who set the bar for the chiropractic community!

Join us Friday evening and all day Saturday February 26th and 27th at Green Valley Ranch Resort (www.greenvalleyranchresort.com) in beautiful Henderson, Nevada. This information-packed, luxurious weekend includes two light meals and entrance to more than 15 seminars including an amazing session with practice coach Dr. Steve Hoffman.

Reserve your place before the end of the year and save $80.00! And as an added perk, Green Valley is offering us a special sleeping room rate of $110/night inclusive of the resort fee and the following luxuries: daily newspaper, coffee maker with condiments, local & toll free calls, access to fitness center at The Spa, Internet in guestroom, and airport shuttle service on set schedule. Reservations must be made with the online link below.

» Click here to book now

But they are only extending the offer to make reservations between December 2nd and December 31st after that the normal rate is over $220/night plus resort fees. So hurry and don't miss out! BTW, this resort has its own Five Star spa, array of restaurants, casino, and easy access to and from the airport and Strip! This is going to be memorable weekend! Don't miss it!

Call the NUCCA office with concerns at 702/966-8479 or 800/541-5799.

Click Here to download the registration form (last updated Nov 17, 2009)

Patient Spotlight

Christy Carlson receives NUCCA care from Dr. Jeff Scholten in Calgary. She's been a patient for about a year and half and says NUCCA changed her life. It's not simply that her chronic back pain that was exacerbated by a few rear-end car accidents was relieved. She says NUCCA impacted so many areas of her life positively, there's a remarkable overall difference!

She explains that after pursuing the traditional route for back pain and quickly reaching a plateau where her pain was still present, she very skeptically tried the NUCCA work. After her first correction there was a profound reduction in pain. Soon afterwards, it vanished altogether.

Christy believes that being pain-free provided an opportunity to address other health issues. She lost 40 pounds, gets sick less often, has more energy and now truly appreciates the philosophy of proactive health care. She no longer believes in fixing something when it's broken. Rather, she now gets checked every four months or so to maintain alignment.

She says NUCCA impacted her life in many ways. Her children now ages 9 and 5 are also NUCCA patients who get sick less often and have fewer allergy symptoms.

Christy remarks that if more people knew what a difference NUCCA could make in their lives with lasting results and fewer and fewer visits, there would be a dramatic change in the entire healthcare system. NUCCA clearly is a wise, informed choice to make. "I wish people understood that this is an alternative that works!"