Best Way To Market An Upper Cervical Practice | Internal Marketing & Patient Referrals
February 11, 2010 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
WOW, what a weekend for UC seminars. Dr. Dave Topping, assisted by Dr. Jim Fiore, gave a great Blair Intermediate in LA last weekend and apparently the docs were so fast that the side posture tables are still smoking!!!
Meanwhile in Davenport, Drs. Todd Hubbard, Rob Ohlsen, and I gave the Blair Advanced seminar this weekend and examined 24 students for proficiency (allows them to use the technique in clinic) Regardless of your UC technique, you’d be proud of the accuracy and dedication of these young students. They are sharp!!!
If the next time you see me I am wearing a tweed jacket with arm patches and have a ‘professorial’ (nose in the air) aura as I strut around, it is because I am ‘published’! What am I rambling on about? The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine has informed us that they are publishing our Inter and Intra examiner reliability study on Blair Protracto views. We took one hundred atlas-condyle views and had 26 students and doctors view the films…twice. The amount of agreement regarding the misalignments was impressive. Nice to know we are all seeing the same subluxation we are trying to correct. Although Drs. Hubbard and Brett Vowles (with an assist from Dr. Susan Hooper, DC, Ph.D.) did most of the work, I did get credit…so as my high school football coach told me, the last guy on the pile gets his name announced as the tackler!!!
Speaking of being published, Dr. Mike Burcon has done it again! He just had a Trigeminal Neuralgia case study printed. Rhonda Tomasi forwarded me this: Dr. Burcon also published a paper on Meinere’s case study of 157 patients. He is offering a seminar in June for young UC DC’s and patients. Contact him in Grand Rapids (drburcon@sbcglobal.net) for a pdf information brochure. Check out the attached paper from JVSR and I think you may be impressed with the conclusion:Conclusion: This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of cervical specific care as an alternative to medication or surgery for the control of pain associated with TN.
At lunch on Saturday, we brought in pizza and showed The Power of Upper Cervical (there must be some reversed Dorian Gray thing going on as I look older each time I watch it!) Anyway, the students loved the video and I wrapped it up talking about some amazing pediatric recoveries seen in Dr. Dan Kuhn’s office and then encapsulated the What Time Tuesday? story of James Tomasi. Rhonda Tomasi wrote me this: Check James’ calendar at www.whattimetuesday.com if they are interested in asking him to speak at a Patient Appreciation Dinner? He is in CA, TX and MI in the next few months. Check out the attachment regarding James speaking at the ‘Open House’ at the new UCHC clinic in Rome this upcoming weekend. Does he ever stay home???
Need some UC equipment? Dr. Eric Russell, instructor at Parker College, has a nice collection for sale. Check out the details: http://s858.photobucket.com/
One of the best ways to promote your practice is ‘in house’. A referral practice in which patient already know you fees; that you don’t adjust on each visit (HOLDING IS HEALING); that you will not be manipulating the lower back; that have a support group of like-minded friends already under UC care;…takes the worry out of a practice. With ‘in house’ education, posters are imperative and the UC poster guru is Dr. Daniel Clark. Check out the attachment of his latest. I hung one upside down just to see if the patients are paying attention!!!
After all that feelgood stuff regarding the growth and acceptance of Upper Cervical, now I have to deal with the latest Atlasprofilax (or whatever their name is this week, as they leave town the moment an adverse reaction is seen!) Anyway, they are starting to advertise that they are “better” than Upper Cervical!
Here is the latest:
Here is the latest:
My opinion as expert of the first 2 cervical vertebrae:
The method of Upper Cervical is based on a wrong principle – therefore the gotten results are limited – without counting the fact, that the treatment must continually repeated with considerable costs.
The cervical zone of the atlas is a so important and central point, that alone a slight movement of the zone give benefits. Different techniques have been developed – almost all of these techniques have in common that they have to be continuously repeated to maintain some benefit. The method of Upper Cervical doesn’t make an exception.
The problem is:
The ligaments and the articular capsule that hold together the atlantooccipitale (occipitocervical) are very tight, the ligaments almost doesn’t have at all elastic structures – together with the strong and short musculature this zone become a special character respecting the impulses given to this zone (as in the case of the solenoid of the Upper Cervical) – the given impulses are pulled back as with a spring. As soon as the treatment is finished everything which was moved returns as before – exactly as before. However, some benefits remains because there are many receptors which are stimulated and as I pointed out already alone a slight movement of the zone give benefits. Unfortunately this benefits don’t remain for long time.
To move really the first cervical vertebra and to achieve permanent results one requires other methods:
Not an impulse – but a strength also of a certain entity that extends the vertebra in the course of time to the correct points. Of course, previously (before the treatment) the relevant musculature must be loosened carefully.
This is done with the atlantotec method and the obtainable results are of a completely different significance. The correction is made in the most greater parts of the cases in only one time and a definitive disappearance of the symptoms often was noticed.
Another defect of the Upper Cervical is, that it is only tried to correct the lateral misalignment, while the greater part of the people also have a rotation of the atlas up to 8 degrees. This is not corrigible with giving an lateral impulse (correction) as it is done with Upper Cervical.
The Atlas has a three-dimensional move on more aces – therefore with a treatment “a blow and ready” much cannot be reached. The AtlanticTec treatments lasts well 80 minutes in those are done different things and not only some “milliseconds”.
The things I affirm, I can show with spiral CT and I am very open for the one who wanted to show me the opposite. Through a direct comparison one always can learn something.
With this writing I don’t denigrate the method Upper Cervical – since UC is the opinion, to do something is better as nothing at all – since it is not dangerously and in the worst case happens. The normal chiropractors do many more damages trying to manipulate the upper cervical zone
Alfredo Lerro is from Atlantotec (swiss) – www.atlantotec.com
That’s OK, I’m changing professions next week as I just finished my weekend brain surgery course!!!
This wonderful profession, discovered by D.D. Palmer, developed by B.J. Palmer, and advanced by many luminaries who have gone before us sacrificing substantial time from their families refining chiropractic and even being jailed for their convictions, obviously has enemies…from both within and without! The above ‘Profilax’ is an obvious example of an external enemy (along with MD’s, DO’s, P.T’s, Orthopedists, Physiatrists, massage therapists, Homeopathic Physicians, pain management clinics,…and everyone else touting ‘manipulation’) But another enemy is within! Read Dr. Christopher Kent’s article in the February 12th Dynamic Chiropractic titled Drugs, Chiropractic, and Boiled Frogs and you will find how extensive a small part of our profession is pushing (literally) drug inclusion (Oklahoma and New Mexico especially). Imagine the tarnished image of our profession as iatrogenic drug illnesses, needle infections, unnecessary deaths,… develop because a small % of our profession doesn’t get THE BIG IDEA. Imagine our malpractice rates!!!
Back to UC. Here is a case of Dr. Stan Pfeifroth we could all learn a lesson from regarding referring: Had an interesting case, a 14 year old boy, had been under my care before for low back pain, presented with posterior headache (base of the skull) of about 3 weeks, the last 7 days or so it was worse with swallowing, had been to an internal medicine doctor and an EENT doctor, who could find nothing, meningitis was ruled out, had a slight low grade fever off and on, an elevated c reactive protein blood test, the headache was relieved with meds but came back quickly, we did cervical x rays, and had obvious atlas axis misalignments, had 1.5 inch short leg with positive cervical syndrome, adjusted him C1 ASR and C2 ALS and tapped his coccyx, after I adjusted him he reported immediate relief from headache and the swallowing did not exacerbate headache as it did before, but during the evening after the adjustment he felt extremely bad, worse than before, checked him the next morning, legs balanced no cervical syndrome but still feeling terrible, I never had seen a case of swallowing causing headache, so I sent him immediately that morning for MRI. He had a huge retropharyngeal abscess, with some fluid from base of skull down the neck, was operated immediately to drain cyst and treat the infection. The doctors told me it was a life threatening situation and is very hard medically to treat since the infection was in the deep fascia, do not know if Innate could have handled it on its own but his parents were grateful that we found the source of his problem and I was glad to clear out the upper cervicals to help his recovery. It was not a chiropractic triumph but I was glad not to be one of the doctors that missed the diagnosis and glad that I did not perform a classic cervical rotary adjustment as that could have possibly ruptured the abscess. So far he is doing fine
I know, this e-mail is as long as your tax form! So I will have to wait until next week to tell about the amazing RETRACING experience of one of Dr. Rob Ohlsen’s patients…how’s that for a cliffhanger???
In case you wondered what our fearless leader, Blair Society prez Dr. Drew Hall, has been up to, I’ve attached a summary of his ardous week of fly fishing in Argentina! His “Day in the Life” will be printed in the next Palmer Beacon and here is a snipped of what has happened since he returned to the office: My first day back was met with five new patients. One family brought their five year old in with autism, and after hearing the introduction to Upper Cervical, her four year old daughter who had been battling a four week long sinus infection also started. Both were corrected and scheduled two days later for their follow appointment. The mom was shocked that her daughter, who had had green boogers for four weeks, mysteriously woke the next morning with clear nasal drainage. And the following morning had no drainage whatsoever! Isn’t Innate great? I’m going to suggest Drew write this up as a case study but would suggest he change the “green nasal discharge” terminology!!!
Take care-
Tom
Technorati Tags: marketing, internal, case, study, clark, forest, hall
New Upper Cervical Care Website | Upper Cervical Doctor Directory
February 4, 2010 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
About a year ago at a Blair seminar in Davenport I was having lunch with Roger Titone, developer of the Tytron infrared scanning device. He lives on a number of acres outside of Iowa City and expressed some very serious concerns regarding what Monsanto was doing to the soil and how they seem to be virtually unregulated. Check out the brief video http://films.nfb.ca/monsanto/, keeping in mind that “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!!!”
While on negative subjects, I might as well make you aware of a judgment against a chiropractor in Canada regarding manipulation and hearing loss. Sadly, it seems like a groundswell movement against neck adjustments is taking place just north of our border and I certainly hope the momentum can be stopped and the DC’s start to recognize that ‘done right’ neck adjustments produce results that are amazing, done wrong…You can check out
http://www.nationalpost.com/
Got some reading time? I have attached the most recent data regarding ‘adverse reactions to prescription medication’ sent to me by Dr. Roger Morrison. It is longer than War and Peace and really makes you think of that famous quote from O. W. Holmes, M.D.-Professor of Medicine, Harvard University “If all the medicine in the world were thrown into the sea, it would be bad for the fish and good for humanity.”
(BTW-UCHCA has a boatload of UC posters (I have 5 of them!) at their site that really portrays the Upper Cervical message with beautiful natural pics and quotes like above or some of BJ’s. I’d highly recommend them for your office, keeping in mind that we learn by seeing!)
Speaking of UCHCA, I contacted Billy Doherty regarding the new UC site (www.uppercervicalcare.com) they announced and asked if it would be just for UCHC members or if it was for any UC doc. Here is his answer:
This site is for EVERYONE. It is a patient website designed to create awareness of upper cervical. We are selling placement to all UC docs who want to list their practices. UCHC offices will get their own subsite and preferred placement under the listings.
This is NOT a UCHC thing, This is an Upper Cervical thing. UpperCervicalCare.com is a separate company! Docs that want to be listed on the site will pay (prices TBD). A portion of their fee will go to Upper Cervical Research and the other will go to Uppercervicalcare.com to keep up the website.
The intent with this site is to:
- Create a greater awareness of upper Cervical across the world
- Have all UC docs refer family, friends, patients to the site because it is the MOST comprehensive place to find answers related to upper cervical!
- UC docs will want to be listed here
- This site will continually evolve with the help of all upper cervical doctors across the globe
It is so exciting to see young docs getting excited about UC. We had a Blair elective class last night at Life West and I discussed the fact that 99% of your patients will have had a trauma that initiated their health challenges but oddly enough will frequently deny such injuries…as if the mind does not want to relive that trauma. Dr. Dena King of Novato, CA has such a case worth reading: My “MS” patient made me cry the other day (for joy for her) - after her toggle I asked her if I could help her get up and straight back to the resting chairs. She looked at me clearly (remember her eyes used to roll around in the sockets and she couldn’t focus- too much effort) and said: “no, I can just lay her for the five minutes…it doesn’t hurt anymore. At home I’ve been getting to the point where I can lay on my right side for 15 min. before it hurts – but now I can lay here…I haven’t been able to lay on my right side my whole life…well, since the accident.” She then asked if her hip could really get better. (the entire Quadratus Lumborum was seized to the point of pulling her over severely to the left. Her legs would wobble like they were going to drop her with the knees going helter skelter and the hip was twisted into a pretzel.) - Now her low back has gained tremendous suppleness (still twisting but 78% better) I said to her: “you know you haven’t really told me about the accident before…” (piecemeal – but confusing…) She said in a quiet husky tight voice: “bad…really bad memories…don’t like to go back there….”
This is what she told me Tom: “I was 12 and my head was just about the height of the window – a little more – it was the top of the door that fractured my skull. The drunk hit us while we were doing 65 on the freeway overpass. He hit us so hard that we hit the guardrail and flipped over it (falling down to the underpass). Funny how I only remember little things from it like waking up and being pissed; reeaally pissed, that I couldn’t wash my hair for weeks of the blood and cerebral spinal fluid that was matting it. My jaw was fractured from the right side to the left- gapping on the right about this much (she used her fingers to show about 1-2 inches). My skull was fractured from the right side around the back like a new opening for the spine to come through and my pelvis was shattered….”
There was a looongg pause while I watched her remembering.
She said: “You know, I don’t hurt anymore like I did. Those headaches made me want to die and the “curse” was even worse…Now – its not so horrible – I can even tolerate it and its like I can go on now and even maybe have hope…”
I told her because of the progress we’ve seen – I’m pretty sure we can expect you to continue on this path so long as we keep your brainstem free of interference.
Did I tell you? She has a double Anteriority in the atlas AND in C2. Holy moly. The book doesn’t have an adjustment for C2 dble anteriority…
I do one side and then the other. I can finally feel the lateral masses which in the beginning were crammed SO far up they were actually behind the jaw muscles -REALLY hard to get a good contact. Now it appears they are realigning themselves more normally. Phew.
This is trust from a woman who had so many doctors over the years doing surgeries.(She loves to make a sound like a Ninja after I toggle her! 
When they first came in she was intimidating with her anger and distrust towards anyone who said they could help her. Now she hugs me and laughs a lot. (Thank God!!!)
Take care-
Tom
Is The Word “Chiropractic” Doing Upper Cervical Docs a Disservice?
January 21, 2010 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Dr. Kevin Leach, the first UCHC practitioner in Europe, practices in San Marino. A friend of his, Dr. Steve Nagel is selling his practice in Colorado and although he is not UC, I thought I’d pass on the opportunity to you:The practice is located in Longmont, Colorado, just 40 minutes from the Denver Airport, 50 minutes from Downtown Denver, and 15 minutes from downtown Boulder. It is a family-oriented community of about 90,000, with a plenty of outdoor recreation–mountain biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities very nearby.The building is set up for a family wellness practice, with open bay adjusting area, x-ray, ROF room with view-boxes, exam room, storage area,front desk/reception area, Kid’s play area. Plenty of parking, in complex with 3 restaurants, a coffee shop, among other things. All that you would need are your adjusting tables and the head clamps for the bucky. There is
4 years left on the lease. Current equipment in office is negotiable, depending on your needs. I’m essentially looking for a motivated buyer who wants to take over the property lease, xray machine, and whatever else is needed. I can find a place for everything else, or we can discuss purchase
of the remainder. Please call 720-684-9404 or email drsteve@nlcwellness.com for questions.
of the remainder. Please call 720-684-9404 or email drsteve@nlcwellness.com for questions.
While on the subject of Upper Cervical in Italy, the Grand Opening of the Rome UCHC office is February 13th. So if you need a tax deductible trip to one of the most beautiful cities in the world and be a part of UC history, hop on over. Here is what UCHC co-founder Dr. Ray Drury has to say about the Grand Opening:It is going to be an awesome Grand Opening. Many Italian dignitaries, senators, politicians, medical doctors, Vatican officials, etc. will be there. I hope you can come and meet them all. We will then have a personal tour of the Vatican by the head of the Vatican police and who knows what other events we will have. We WILL get to know Rome like few tourist get to.
Dr. Lee Angle and his wife are opening a Blair UCHC clinic in Knoxville, TN. Here is the info and make SURE you add him to your referral list: My wife Margaret and I are opening a Blair UCHCA office in Knoxville, Tennessee. We are opening February 1st and are ready to schedule appointments. If anyone has a patient to refer, our number is 865-249-7276. I would appreciate it if you would put this info in the next newsletter. Thanks and have a great day.
Dr. Lee Angle
Dr. Lee Angle
Don’t know if you checked out the first page of the most recent Dynamic Chiropractic but it details a study Palmer is doing on UC care and hypertension reduction. They are performing the study in conjunction with a Florida and Iowa hospital, so it looks like two of the three campuses will be involved. A quote from Palmer lead investigator of the study, Dr. Christina Goertz: “Although many medical treatments for diagnosed hypertension are available, only about 30% of the patients achieve blood pressure goals. Many patients report that they are unable to tolerate medication side effects and find it difficult to sustain significant lifestyle changes.Thus, a non-pharmacological therapy that lowers blood pressure could become an attractive option to many patients and their physicians.” Cardiovascular scientist Dr. Gervasio Lamas of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami states, “The concept that manipulation of the upper cervical spine could reduce blood pressure is both novel and appealing at the same time. It is novel because of its originality of thought, and because it is backed up by preliminary data. It is appealing because any treatment for high blood pressure that does not expose the patient to drugs and their side effects should be investigated.”
Rhonda Tomasi, UC Advocate Supreme, wrote me the following food for thought:What would happen if every (1760) UC DC put a $100 a month into a mass advertising campaign? Of course, you’d need to be under banners like UPCspine.com and UpperCervicalAdvocates. IF the ADS came from us, it would set you ahead of Atlas Profilax.
Right now, your worst problem is that patients call us saying they ask
their chiropractor if they do Upper Cervical, and they respond “YES”.
Hmmm…..problems in both camp. Atlasprofilax is one name, set apart and
advertising for anyone under their banner.
We should learn from failures and success. Rhonda
Ierano Joseph wrote:
> it turns out i get more inquiries about atlasprofilax these days than
> people inquiring about chiropractic
> what are we doing wrong?
> the word chiropractic is doing us a disservice?
Got a list of the some of the very best NUCCA doctors all gathered together for a dynamic seminar coming up in Vegas. My copy got cut off a little, so I’ve enclosed theirs also or contact www.nucca.org/practice-
I am continually asked the same question…WHY AREN’T THERE MORE UPPER CERVICAL DOCTORS? In my opinion one of the major reasons for the shortage is that we do what we are familiar with…if your field doc was full spine, you probably will be also. Thus, a paradigm shift is needed and “it aint easy.” So, I would implore all UC docs to get on campus and talk about your technique, have students visit your office, (I had two Life West students in the office last week and barely had time to hide that colonic machine in the basement!), and most importantly…bring in associates so they can not only master the technique, but learn the business aspect of a UC practice. Drs. Patrick and Jackie Newhouse, super UC docs in Moline, Ill, are doing just that…check out what Patrick wrote me:Dear Blair society, I have some good news regarding the Blair society at Palmer. This past Friday we had about 10 students over at the office on Friday afternoon going over BP’s , xray positioning, scanning, etc. Many of which were early tri students! This is a very good sign we have a huge interest in the Blair club on campus. I have agreed with Kyle, the Blair club Prez to have interested students over every Friday afternoon that I am in town. In the future if any of you have a trip planned for the Quad Cities, perhaps you could stop in and teach some eager young minds the wisdom you all have amassed over the years. Look forward to seeing several of you this weekend!!! Have a great rest of the week.
The day that the Life West students visited my office, one of my patients became very emotional as she related what UC had done for her teenage son. He started with us in June of 2008 and was diagnosed with Siever’s Syndrome 4 years prior. He felt constant bilateral calf pain, cramping in the feet, and walking any distance gave him a feeling that he was walking on glass and the feet would turn purple. They were very grateful for the pediatric and orthopedic care, but the symptoms were unchanged. Inability to walk 100 feet for a teenager (or anyone for that matter) is a serious impediment. Long story short, the symptoms resolved in 4 months, there was an exacerbation (which quickly cleared) a year later. Last office visit last August states:”Feet are fine!” Now that is the power of Upper Cervical!!!
So, is it really worth all the effort of straining your eyes looking for 1 mm or 1 degree C-1 misalignments? Is it worth the ‘paddling up stream’ as you try to convince a patient that they are clear and DON’T need an adjustment? (and have to pay for it!) Is it worth practicing in the minority with most of the profession feeling that what we do is ‘limiting’? Read the results of a Nicaragua mission trip by Dr. B.J. Kale’s team and I think you will know the answer:
I wanted to let you know about some great
upper cervical work going on. My team just returned from Nicaragua
where we had some true phenomenal care given. One case that stands out
from the many thousands that we delivered care to is a little 13 y/o girl
that has cerebral palsy. After giving her an initial scan and gaining
her listing, she was adjusted on the wall b/c she could not get out of
her wheelchair. We kept her in day care for the morning, checking her
every half hour. She kept a straight scan for over three hours, her
demeanor was ever so pleasant, and had a tremendous change after the
first adjustment. Then after the third hour she began to present a very
distinct movement in her scan so we elected to adjust again. After this
adjustment and with about 30 minutes of rest, her next scan was zero and
her mother started crying because she was beginning to act like she
never had before….she wanted to EAT. Something that simple. Her mom
said she would normally have to force feed her and even through that
Maria would only eat about a handful. Not this time, NOT AFTER THE
REMOVAL OF THE SUBLUXATION that has been with her since her VERY
TRAUMATIC BIRTH. She was calm, she sat, and ate an ENTIRE PLATE of food…
then began reaching for another plate and yelling “MAS..MAS”. Then we
began to notice that she was sitting up on her own without any
assistance in her wheelchair, after asking the mother was this normal,
her mother cried and said ‘NO!!” Her mother explained to us that she
has NEVER seen her sit up on her own, NOT ONCE! Then the little girl
began to stand up and began to walk. Her mother was completely blown
away with excitement. Maria took a ‘lap’ around the church we were in,
all with smiles and giggling. She was so happy. We have all this on
video of course, and will have it out soon. What a great way to
express the power of this principle. This little girl along with many
thousands of others with some really great conditions, have now been
subjected to the Specific Upper Cervical principle that you and I live
by.
upper cervical work going on. My team just returned from Nicaragua
where we had some true phenomenal care given. One case that stands out
from the many thousands that we delivered care to is a little 13 y/o girl
that has cerebral palsy. After giving her an initial scan and gaining
her listing, she was adjusted on the wall b/c she could not get out of
her wheelchair. We kept her in day care for the morning, checking her
every half hour. She kept a straight scan for over three hours, her
demeanor was ever so pleasant, and had a tremendous change after the
first adjustment. Then after the third hour she began to present a very
distinct movement in her scan so we elected to adjust again. After this
adjustment and with about 30 minutes of rest, her next scan was zero and
her mother started crying because she was beginning to act like she
never had before….she wanted to EAT. Something that simple. Her mom
said she would normally have to force feed her and even through that
Maria would only eat about a handful. Not this time, NOT AFTER THE
REMOVAL OF THE SUBLUXATION that has been with her since her VERY
TRAUMATIC BIRTH. She was calm, she sat, and ate an ENTIRE PLATE of food…
then began reaching for another plate and yelling “MAS..MAS”. Then we
began to notice that she was sitting up on her own without any
assistance in her wheelchair, after asking the mother was this normal,
her mother cried and said ‘NO!!” Her mother explained to us that she
has NEVER seen her sit up on her own, NOT ONCE! Then the little girl
began to stand up and began to walk. Her mother was completely blown
away with excitement. Maria took a ‘lap’ around the church we were in,
all with smiles and giggling. She was so happy. We have all this on
video of course, and will have it out soon. What a great way to
express the power of this principle. This little girl along with many
thousands of others with some really great conditions, have now been
subjected to the Specific Upper Cervical principle that you and I live
by.
Take care-
Tom
Upper Cervical Saves Man From Suicide
December 23, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Dr. Charles Ward forwarded an article which I’ve attached titled Little-know chiropractic treatment saves man’s life which was printed in the September 24, 2009 The Des Moines Register. The A.C.A. News November 2009 mentioned the same article which refers to the journey UC advocate James Tomasi traveled trying to find a solution for his trigeminal neuralgia. Fortunately a solution was discovered and the story is greatly detailed in his book, What Time Tuesday? People are so desperate for solutions, so when ‘telling the UC story’, remember this quote from James, “All I had to do was kill myself and the pain would be gone. When you are hurting so bad, all of a sudden those thoughts make sense!!!”
It is about this time of year, the time for giving, that we start thinking about those less fortunate. Oklahaven Children’s Center provide Upper Cervical oriented care for kids with physical and emotional disturbance…some of these kids are quite damaged. So I have attached a flyer from Have-A-Heart program and I’m sure the director, Dr. Bobby Doscher, will be very appreciative of anything you can do!
Dr. John Goodfellow is the top notch HIO DC who took over the practice in Chicago from Dr. Jack Whaley (that bad boy who was long ago crossed off the Christmas lists of the most of the medical profession and eclectic chiropractic!) Dr. Goodfellow also provided care for Dr. Crowder’s patients in Davenport after Bud passed on. Here is the latest from John: I thought you might find this case interesting.
A female patient in her late 30’s and under regular care for at least 10 years came in Monday night. She had been dealing with laryngitis for almost 8 weeks. The ENT she consulted diagnosed her with vocal cord paralysis and scheduled her for an MRI and CAT scan the day after her visit. When she entered, she could hardly whisper and commented from the nerve chart that C5 is important in the vocal cords. Sure enough, there was irritation evident on the cervical graph and she had significant muscle tightness at C5. Now, I could have manipulated C5 as I would have been totally justified in doing such – but I decided to work the problem from an upper cervical perspective. In order to control the lower cervical spine, I modified the adjustic thrust by producing a slower deeper impulse and I raised the superior portion of the headpiece. This allowed the adjustment of the atlas to take place, but it also allowed force to transmit to the lower cervical spine allowing Innate to make the appropriate correction at the potential “subluxation” at C5. After a 20 minute rest, the graph reading reduced both at atlas and C5 and the patient had significantly more volume in her voice. I learned last evening from her mother-in-law that she had much more energy as this has been quite stressful on her body and her voice continued to gain strength. The results from the MRI and CAT scan will be interesting
A female patient in her late 30’s and under regular care for at least 10 years came in Monday night. She had been dealing with laryngitis for almost 8 weeks. The ENT she consulted diagnosed her with vocal cord paralysis and scheduled her for an MRI and CAT scan the day after her visit. When she entered, she could hardly whisper and commented from the nerve chart that C5 is important in the vocal cords. Sure enough, there was irritation evident on the cervical graph and she had significant muscle tightness at C5. Now, I could have manipulated C5 as I would have been totally justified in doing such – but I decided to work the problem from an upper cervical perspective. In order to control the lower cervical spine, I modified the adjustic thrust by producing a slower deeper impulse and I raised the superior portion of the headpiece. This allowed the adjustment of the atlas to take place, but it also allowed force to transmit to the lower cervical spine allowing Innate to make the appropriate correction at the potential “subluxation” at C5. After a 20 minute rest, the graph reading reduced both at atlas and C5 and the patient had significantly more volume in her voice. I learned last evening from her mother-in-law that she had much more energy as this has been quite stressful on her body and her voice continued to gain strength. The results from the MRI and CAT scan will be interesting
Along those same lines we have a psychologist who is a patient and her chronic cough of two months cleared post atlas adjustment, so she sent her 86 y/o mom in for care. Mom does line dancing and is very active, but has been afflicted by a chronic cough for 5 continuous years. GP and ENT have no clue what to do. The cough would occur 10-15X/hr, was intensified by cold air and lying supine, and would eventually develop into dry heaves. She was re-examined today…not once cough since her initial PIL atlas adjustment on 11-09! This stuff really works!!!
Often UC cases are more run of the mill. We had a new patient come in two weeks ago with such intense LB pain that her husband actually had her draped over his back carrying her into the office as she could not walk. Everything said HNP (ruptured L-sp disc) from the 0 degree LB ROM to the intensity of the pain. I insisted she get an MRI immediately but she wanted care prior to the imaging. Adjusted ASR atlas and within 2 days the pain dropped from a VAS of 10 to a 3-4. It is now a 0! She never did get the MRI, she didn’t follow my advice. Apparently Innate doesn’t listen to my advice either!!!
Need a UC practice? Dr. Bart Patzer has been active in trying to keep established UC practices thriving, so I’ve attached information regarding some available. Local DC’s have been predicting my retirement for ages but they don’t know that I’m the Dorian Grey of chiropractic!!!
Need some Blair headclamps? Dr. Brandon Harshe has an older set for sale: I am selling a set of Blair headclamps for anyone interested. They are older with some wear and tear, but overall, still work just fine. I am selling them for $500. email me at drbharshe@gmail.com if interested.
Got another piece of equipment for sale. Used Tytron infrared scanners are about as rare at tax cuts, but every now and then you find one. Dr. Ben Locklear of Mangum, OK is selling his lightly used one and you can contact him at 580-782-3141.
Great seminar coming up in Atlanta this January 29,30 titled I’m a doctor, now what? This program will feature famous author Michael Gerber along with Drs. Robert Rectenwald, Jeffrey Scholten • Jon Swartzbauer • Joey Miles, Ray Drury • Thad Vuagniaux • Kyle Troyer • Nick Tedder • Bart Patzer and Billy Doherty. See the attachment for registration information. Atlanta will be rockin!!!
Another UCHC sponsored seminar is a Knee Chest Technique seminar coming up January 16th in Charlotte, NC. I’ve attached the flyer and I think you will be amazed what you can learn in one day! Put on your thinking cap because this seminar will be intense and rewarding. (They wouldn’t let me attend, merely because I repeated 1st grade three times!!!)
My associate, Dr. Allen Cox, assists me when we examine and x-ray the new patient. After we do the Romberg test for balance with the patient’s eyes closed, I have them stand on the posture SAM machine looking straight ahead. Last week a patient was standing on the machine with her eyes closed and Dr. Cox told the patient she didn’t have to close her eyes. She said “They’re closed so I don’t have to look at you!!! OUCH
OK, here is the latest with my former associate Dr. Jake Hollowell in Sicily….remember you have to experience the bitter to enjoy the sweet:
How is it going? I have had every problem imaginable since opening my first office, but I hear this is normal. I’ve learned patience, and gained a sense of humor. I just have to laugh at some of the things. The following is what has happened: I got a broken side posture table and they don’t sell standard size tools here, no ear plugs, office with no furniture, no office supplies, Wobbly resting beds, pictures but no frames, files but no cabinet or storage, computer but no keyboard, printer but no way to plug it in, brochures but no holder, the x-ray marking program won’t let me log in every time windows does an update which is almost everyday, I have a fancy office software program for scheduling, but Sicilians show up when every they want so what’s the point, no person to answer the phones, the x-ray shifting locks broke, so we have to turn the machine off so I can move it, then I have to have my interpreter turn it on when I think I have it in place, bc the collimator light only works when its on. Mind you it takes 15 sec to turn it on or off. (I am lucky to have learned from the best.) And I just found out that almost half what I make goes to taxes. American tax seems like nothing to me now. But I’m still having a great time, and learning Italian is fun but hard. I know how to yell at people pretty good while I’m driving.
So the good stuff. I’m taking care of the head of the MDs in Sicily, (He has only needed on adjustment so far) and he is excited. I adjusted a boy who is paralyzed and has brain damage, He had a C2 myelic fracture 4 years ago that never fully healed instead Innate intelligence started to fuse it to C3. 4 mm misalignment of C1. His scan straightened after the first adjustment and his PT immediately noticed a difference, and I overheard someone talking about it in the bar this morning. Being a Catholic country, they are very found of miracles. Though most people are skeptical, they are willing to take a risk in hope of a miracle. When the word gets out here I will need an associate soon. I have a Parkinson patient, who has only received one adjustment. She was my first patient adjusted. Her neurologist is shocked by the changes, and she called and scheduled next week. I described what I did to another neurologist, and his comment was “So you are kinda like a neurologist!” I replied “No… I have common sense!” Of course I didn’t have that translated to him. Overall I have more patients who are MDs than anything else. It is very strange to actually get respect, and sometimes even admiration from Mds. It feels like an strange Foreign Film. So far No research is being done in my office, but Dr. Conicello in Rome has been getting good results, and an Orthopedist wants to use functional MRI to prove UC.
(GREAT WORK JAKE!)
Take care-
Tom
Know These Signs of a Stroke
December 4, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
I wrote Dr. Brian Mehl of Tom’s River, NJ and asked the top notch UC doc and surfer how life has been treating him and here is his response regarding some travels he has taken:
Life is treating me well, thanks to the last 2 weeks that I spent in St Maarten and Anguilla. Then I got back to the typical NJ winter and life went back to reality real quick. My tan faded 3 levels as soon as I landed at Newark and my skin saw the dark gray sky.
I got to see first hand how important it is to get real chiropractic to the European nations, from the time I spent in the islands which are owned by France, Great Britain, and Dutch. I ran across 3 medical offices with the word “chiropractic” on the sign, and not only were they not offering straight chiropractic, but 2 of the offices didn’t even have a chiropractor. Below is a link for one office who advertises on their sign ”a combination of osteopathic and chiropractic services” and the 2 people that work there are physical therapists. I guess the laws in those countries don’t have licensing procedures for chiropractic. I spoke to 1 guy who went to that office, and he said that they do the same procedure as their chiropractor at home (rotary breaks, lumbar rolls) which goes to show just how much skill and training that requires.
Dr. Jason Blackketter from Palmer was interning on the preceptor program in my office this summer and it looks like he will be setting up practice in Arkansas. Jason could use a S.A.M. (posture evaluation) machine and a side posture table (ideally Nicholas Lloyd) You can respond to his request by contacting him at 925-399-2453 cell or
jwblackk@chirokiddos.com We know Dr. Blackketter will be successful in Arkansas. No comments about his office theme song being “Dueling Banjos!!!”
jwblackk@chirokiddos.com We know Dr. Blackketter will be successful in Arkansas. No comments about his office theme song being “Dueling Banjos!!!”
We have been very fortunate to have a high concentration of top quality UC docs in Southern California. One of these is Dr. James Fiore from Santa Ana and he forward a message that may help you pre-screen stroke patients. Here is a brief summary of what he sent me:
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE, coherently. (i.e… It is sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE, coherently. (i.e… It is sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your Tongue
NOTE: Another ’sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ’stick’ out his tongue… If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
Dr. Autumn Monteiro practiced with Dr. Drew Hall for quite sometime before setting up her beautiful state of the art Blair practice in Las Vegas. She is seeing some fantastic results but it is like pulling teeth to get her to discuss any of her cases. So Drew secreted this to me:
And I guess its been awhile since I’ve updated you on stories from here.
Have a stage 4 throat cancer pt that has been thru chemo 6x and over 35 radiation treatments….holding first adjustment for 22 days….coloring immediately improved, reports that he hasn’t felt this good since 5 yrs prior to his diagnosis, actually makes it around town and has gone back to work……did spill his feeding tube (6 surgeries to expand esophagus and still can’t swallow) all over my office the other day though. NASTY.
His mother in law was taking 8 oxycodones/ day for neck pain and headaches for the last 10 years
hasn’t needed a pill since…pain free
Migraine man is finally off of all lortab, xanax, imitrex, and percocets!
Have my first “traumatic” trigeminal neuralgia patient coming in tomorrow. pretty stoked
Often it is difficult to find the etiology of an atlas subluxation, other times it is quite easy. Had a veterinarian come in this Monday with a big bandage on her forehead as a horse had kicked her in the face two days prior. Needless to say, her atlas “circuit breaker” did not appreciate the kick!!!
There is more research indicating a cervicogenic source of MS! Dr. Kirk Eriksen sent me this from the November 27, 2009 BBC News, which I’ve attached:
Multiple sclerosis ‘blood blockage theory’ tested
US scientists are testing a radical new theory that multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by blockages in the veins that drain the brain. The University of Buffalo team were intrigued by the work of Italian researcher Dr Paolo Zamboni who claims 90% of MS is caused by narrowed veins. He says the restricted drainage, visible on scans, injures the brain leading to MS.
Also there has been a change of date in the Montana Blair Seminar. The new dates are February 12-13 and you can register by contacting Dr. Todd Hubbard at
Todd.Hubbard@palmer.edu BTW, Dr. Hubbard and I will be starting the next Blair series on the Palmer campus December 12,13.
Speaking of Dr. Hubbard, he was recently asked why there wasn’t more research on the Blair technique? I was hoping he would paraphrase the banditos in the Humphrey Bogart classic movie The Treasure of Sierra Madre and say “Research! We don’t need no stinkin research!” but Todd is too much of a gentleman to say that, so here is his response to the question:
Most of the Research we have on the Blair Technique was lost with Dr. Blair. However, we have recently been going back over what Dr. Blair did, trying to replicate his studies. To date there are numerous studies which have verified asymmetry in the cervical spine and question the reliability of palpation. I have submitted a paper to JMPT discussing the low mastoid and occluded C1 transverse process. I will be presenting this study at the 2010 ACC-RAC conference in Las Vegas. After which you will see it in the J. of Chiropractic Education. We also have a case report about Blair and a pediatric Cyclic Vomiting case and Blair and Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. Both have been submitted to Journals (JMPT and JCM respectively). We are waiting for a reply. We also have a study of the Blair Protracto View reliability of results. This study showed a .740 kappa for inter reliability and .940 intra reliability for the Protracto view. This is exceptional results and says the Blair Protracto view is a reliable tool for analyzing the Occ-C1 articulation in the way Dr. Blair described. This paper has been sent to the J. of Chiropractic Medicine for publication. We are a bit behind some techniques in our own personal research but way ahead of most. It is nice to see chiropractic has come far enough in research that we are discussing individual techniques now. In the works for me are 4 case reports with Blair and Parkinson’s; urinary urgency; photophobia; and neck pain (hey, every now and again you have to go to the well. Also, the guy’s pain is gone after 18 months of full spine care. It only took 3 weeks with Blair care). We are also doing a study on the Base Posterior reliability. What needs to be done are studies on the upper cervical leg checks and the pattern analysis. BJ did a lot of this for us, but in today’s world the powers that be will just not accept his work. Therefore we must redo it. I know it is frustrating to find there is not much out there when you are looking for Blair research. Believe me, I know. However, that just means there is a hole to be filled. We are now filling that hole. I guarantee that this time next year, most if not all of the submitted manuscripts will be in press and we will have twice as many waiting to be published.
Upper Cervical Forest | Lots to be thankful for
November 25, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Dr. Mike Burcon, the UC doc who has written a number of Meniere’s papers for publication, holds the distinction that as a student he found BJ’s electroencephaloneuromentimpog
Got any extra UC equipment? Dr. Ray Rickards requests the following: In the “cervical stuff” I would like to put a request for used Blair headclamp and a Blair x-ray chair Contact Dr. Rickards at Email innate1953@yahoo.com or call 760 745 1511 Wk , 760 751 0557 Hm. San Diego,Ca
Here is UC equipment for sale: A knee chest doc selling an xray unit, processor, headclamps. His name is Dr. Tom Woodman who can be contacted at 203-246-7928. Located in Connecticut is an L-Frame, laser-aligned upper cervical x-ray machine and everything that goes with it. 2001 from American Xray. Headclamps, Tilting Bucky, Positioning chair, Laser mount. Comes with everything needed, including processor, film bin, safety glass, aprons, red light. I have more photos if you if you are interested!
Must be out by 12/15/09. $8000.
Must be out by 12/15/09. $8000.
Rock and Roll in Upper Cervical? Check out the radio interview with UCHC Dr. Ian Bulow ’spreading the word’, which I’ve attached. This is a vivid example of how desperate people are for the simple solution we have. Do you realize the billions spend on headache medication…. and yet no pill can reposition an atlas!!!
How is your Korean? Dr. Drew Hall had a reporter write an article on his office and Upper Cervical which I’ve attached. You may want to copy it and hand it out to your Korean American patients. Just don’t do what one of Dr. Kirby Landis management doctors did as he took one of Kirby’s newspaper ads, put it in his local paper, and then was disappointed he didn’t get any new patients off the ad…because he kept Kirby’s phone number and address in the ad!!!
Got new UC docs setting up everywhere! It’s exciting. Dr. Loyd Rye studied with us at Palmer, worked with Dr. Scott Matz in Missoula, MT, and has now become a Texan. Here is the latest, so add him to you referral list:
We moved down to Fort Worth, Texas and are now settled in. I decided to share an office with Dr. Mike Thompson in the old Pruitt clinic. We will each have our own practice in there. It’s certainly big enough; it’s around 5,000 square feet. I’m almost ready to open my office. I’ll try to be open by December 1st, but that date is approaching fast. Here’s my info:
Loyd Rye, D.C.
2214 Hemphill St.
Fort Worth, TX 76110
(817) 927-7879
Need a UC doc in Norway? Soon Dr. Michael Dibley, PCC grad, will be opening his clinic with his partner. Here is what he says:
I am currently in the Optima Kiropraktikk Klinikk but My Girlfriend of 5 years (Dr. Cathrine S. Walle D.C.) and I will be opening up our own within the month. I am able to shoot film here no problem and as far as I know the only Upper Cervical (Toggle and NUCCA) practitioner in the country. I just ordered 4 toggle tables, 3 with drops and one with a NUCCA style head piece (One of my first Chiropractic loves is NUCCA as well)
We will officially open December 1st. We have two clinics. one in Bø i Telemark and one in Skotfoss Norway.
The clinic name is as follows.
The Institute For Human Potential
A 360° Clinic
We are currently building our website. We have a fully functional and operational Facebook Page. All of our necessary information is there. Add them to your referral list.
We also have a new Upper Cervical office in Orlando opened by Dr.Matthew Roe. Add his clinic to your referral list:
Upper Cervical Health Centers in Orlando has officially opened!
Dr. Matthew Roe
Upper Cervical Health Centers
407-614-5974
uchcorlando@gmail.com
www.uppercervicalcare.com
Upper Cervical Health Centers
407-614-5974
uchcorlando@gmail.com
www.uppercervicalcare.com
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the great accomplishments of ’student’ Brandon Harshe (harshe@gmail.com) and his ideas of spreading the UC word via blogs. He made up Done By Hand: The Blueprint to Chiropractic Blogging Success which you can download at http://bit.ly/1dtd08 I did make one mistake regarding his student status:Thanks for putting my message in your email. I have to correct you though… I graduated in August. I’m just waiting to take my TX jurisprudence test on Monday. I shudder to think about still being a student.
Of course I called my former associate Brett “Jake” Hollowell, when it is actually Brent, so I guess I made two errors last week!
OK, make that three, while owning up to my errors, I apologize for misspelling Dr. Opal Garman’s name in my last e-mail as I was so excited about the UC testimonial she sent me that the brain went on cruise control. (I know,…. what brain?) Anyway, here is more from that great UC clinic:I have been under UC care now for a little over two years now. My story is quite, well, what I would characterize as “unremarkably remarkable”. I have no testimony of a chronic condition being suddenly healed, no incredible transformation of health occurring, or other type of “wow” story. As you recall, I first came to your office (after my wife did so) as a then full spine chiropractic patient. My wife had brought home some information and pamphlets from your office about UC, and she tried explaining to me how UC care was “different” than the full spine chiropractic care we had received in the past. I didn’t really understand her explanation, so I read the materials and went to the web to research and to try and understand why it was different. I combed numerous sites for information. I was quite intrigued and spent a lot of time reading in order to gain a level of understanding before my first appointment so I could at least talk intelligently about the subject. I quickly grasped the “big picture” concept, but was initially confused by the various UC certifications, as well as the techniques and methodologies used to accomplish what I know today to be the same end goal of UC. I also had loads of questions. In our early meetings in your office, as a result of our discussions, I began to understand the true principal of UC and the benefit it could provide to almost anyone. Oh yeah, and then there was the scene in your office that I will never forget, when you asked me point blank, “what is your problem today, why are you here?” When I replied “I’m not here for a specific malady, but for future good health”, you looked at me in almost utter disbelief, as if I was some sort of spy who was being ratted out! I don’t think you had ever encountered a patient who just looking for a long life of good health instead of a problem fix! As we talked further, I did discuss my prior history of occasional low back issues from playing golf, yard work, living life, etc. After my initial visit, you patiently showed me my x-rays and explained the potential degenerative process I was exposing my cervical spine to if I did nothing. Even with just what I knew at that time, I saw immediately the benefit and value of coming under corrective care. So much so that I insisted that my 17 and 20 year old sons begin UC care (it’s a lifetime of health for them). As you know, my wife, sons and I have now been under care for the two plus years. Although I have had almost no further low back issues since then (as opposed to the 6 times or so per year I would see a fill spine chiropractor), and have generally remained in good health, my story doesn’t end there.
While I have long since been a proponent of alternative or complimentary health care, I have become a staunch UC Advocate. I have referred numerous friends and family to UC care, some even with your help to out of state UC docs. Surprisingly to me, when I thought about the people and families who had been referred, the number was over 20; and that didn’t include the people they may have come in contact with! Several of those I know about (and probably some I don’t) have had some remarkable changes in their health and lives because of UC care. These cases and others I have heard and read about, along with my own benefit of continued good health (and that of my family) keep me inspired to continue to spread the word of UC. From being a host of 3 or 4 movie nights for The Power of Upper Cervical (of which I’ve now seen probably a dozen times and can recite lines from particular docs and patients!) to participating in Advocate meetings, to handing out UC flyers from my car, to the coup de grace of attending last years Evolution in Las Vegas, I have gained a much greater knowledge and understanding of UC and how it can be a tremendous benefit to everyone! As we have talked about on many an occasion, having good health is invaluable and the way we were meant to live!
I cannot ever really thank you and Dr Michael enough for the care, compassion, patience and understanding you have shown for me and my family as patients. I especially appreciate the (extra) time you have spent answering my questions and helping educate me, which I believe ultimately pays dividends to the UC cause and those in need of care. Hopefully I can, in my own way, continue to pass on the message and vision of UC, provide support to you all, and be an encouragement to others (maybe somehow even other UC docs!).
So, you see, while my actual UC “care” story is somewhat unremarkable (but believe me, I don’t discount its effects on my health and well being), being exposed to and in a small way participating in the UC movement has had a remarkable effect on my life, and hopefully touched the lives of others!
But my story doesn’t end there…(to be continued!)
Your voice regarding the direction of our profession can make a difference. Drs. John Goodfellow III, Greg Adams, & Jenny Dusibar all sent me the following:
Subject: CHIROPRACTIC SURVEY
To ALL Chiropractors, We need your input ASAP, please pass this along to your e-mail group of Chiropractors. Please go to http://bsu.edu/chiropractic
Want to know what it happening regarding UC at the New Zealand Chiropractic College? Dr. John Hilpisch sent me this reply from Dr. Graham Dobson:
I present our upper cervical specific course with an articular focus and have done for several years. I teach UC biomechanics as per Panjabi and White and I include the Blair concepts of atlanto-occipital misalignment tracking and sliding etc. I took my first Blair seminar here in NZ in 1972. I also teach pattern work and we use the TyTron 3000 scanner. Other analytical procedures taught are palpation for tone and position; muscle palpation; motion palpation; muscle testing analysis; leg check analysis, all of which are included in pattern analysis.
In conclusion, we have so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. The changes your patients experience physically and emotionally are astounding. Could you imagine doing anything else? As Dr. Charlie Ward once asked me, “Would you rather be a proctologist???”
Take care-
Tom
Upper Cervical Care & Abdominal Migraines
November 21, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Want to know why taking the extra effort to master your Upper Cervical technique is necessary? Check out these results from Dr. Daniel Judge (newly certified Blair Proficiency doc):
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Hey Tom,
I thought I would shoot you a quick e-mail about two very interesting cases. First one is a 29 year old woman who has been suffering with abdominal migraines since she hit puberty. I have never heard of this problem before, but the way that she describes it is quite devastating. Since 13 she vomits uncontrollably and has intense abdominal pain throughout her menstrual cycle. Literally vomiting 10-15 times an hour. This has been going on every month for 16 years. Every medical option has been tried. They removed her gall bladder and part of her small intestine (why not?). Since no solution has been found, medical management has consisted of admitting her to the hospital every month and keeping her on IVs and meds for the duration of her period. Her health insurance company has literally spent near $2,000,000 on her care. Her back story is that she had a birth trauma to the upper neck when the nurse tried to hold the babies head IN while waiting for the doctor to show up. Ok, now for the good part. Another chiropractor referred her to me for specific upper cervical care. Miraculously, Innate took over after a C1 ASR/ASL, followed a few weeks later by a C2 ARS adjustment. She has now had 3 MONTHS of no vomiting and no abdominal pain for the first time in 16 years! What a blessing to be a Blair doctor and have the tools to change people’s lives by turning their power back on! Think about the savings on our health care system if she had seen an upper cervical doctor after birth! Second story: A C3 major??? We had a dinner with doc one month after which we signed up 33 new patients. A husband of one of my patients came in from this dinner with a writing problem. He is a retired autoworker, and was once know for his excellent printing skills. Anyone in the company needed something written clearly, he was the guy. Over the last 7 years that ability has faded. He told me that his hand “just feels wrong” and his writing is cramped and squished. For several years his wife has been doing all the writing for the family. On exam, his prill tests were non-reactive. Both is protractos looked even, which had me jumping at shadows to come up with a listing. Eventually I decided to stop trying to imagine a C1 listing and adjust the really obvious C3 ALS that I saw. The next day he came in to office ecstatic and waving a form that he had filled out a few hours after his adjustment. He said that his handwriting was 90% back to normal within a few hours of the adjustment! How cool is that? Now before you have a tantrum about a C-3 major, think about what the doc said, the patient showed NO atlas or axis displacement! (it can happen) I remember an atlas only doc being asked what he would do for a patient if C-1 was fused and he said he wouldn’t adjust the patient, even it C-2 looked displaced! If atlas is fused, axis becomes atlas! We are atlas-axis doctors but remember exceptions to the rule do exist…maybe once a year or every couple years you will see a case like this and you deal with it. If you see it very frequently, you may not be practicing upper cervical!!! (just my opinion)
On the same subject of dramatic UC recoveries, check what a patient of UC Dr. Opel Garman has to say:
Oh, where to begin……. Thirteen years ago I was hit head-on by a driver who chose to cross over into my lane on a two-lane highway . The impact was at 70 mph. It was a miracle I survived. The injuries I sustained were from my seat belt and from the sudden jolt of the impact. The majority of my muscles in my back, neck, and chest were torn and several of my ribs were fractured. I underwent physical therapy for a year and a half. Then I was released because there was nothing else that could be “medically” done for me. I was told by two doctors, upon my release from their care, that they were sorry because I was so young and they went on to give me a list of “things” I could not and would not, ever, be able to do for the remainder of my life and that within 10 years I would have to have back surgery that would fuse several of my bones together. I asked, “What about having children? ” They proceeded to tell me not to, even, try it and that I should just be thankful I survived. At 23 years of age, I was unwilling to except such a bleak future.
Several days after the “accident”, my dad took me to a chiropractor. With great pain, I was put back into place. I continued chiropractic care for 12 years and I know it helped me continue to keep going on with my life.
About a year after my physical therapy ended, I began to have what two years later would be diagnosed as seizures and “possible” epilepsy. I underwent numerous tests and eventually gave in to taking prescription medication. For the next 9 1/2 years, without warning I would experience seizures. The seizures would include the inability to speak clearly(many times my sentences would come out in reverse word order or with every other word missing) or not at all, the temporary loss of consciencenous, loss of muscle control, and falling. After the seizures occurred, I would be totally exhausted(mentally and physically).
At the age of 34, my regular visits to my doctors and chiropractor were literally doing no good. In addition to the seizures, I began have trouble bending down and getting up due to dizziness and my back ”locking-up”. It was then that I became desperate for someone or something that could help me.
That help came in form of a childhood friend who had recently discovered upper cervical care. Shortly after talking with my friend, I called and set up an appointment. Being under the care of a wonderful Upper Cervical Doctor has literally changed my life. I am now 35 years old, “drug free”, have not had a seizure in months, am able to bend down and get back up without experiencing dizziness or my back ”locking-up”. The benefits of Upper Cervical Care are tremendous. By keeping my body in proper alignment, it is literally healing itself. AMAZING!
And how about this for fast UC results. UCHC doc, Dr. Bart Patzer forwarded this to me regarding a young patient of UC Dr. Gene Lusk:
We had a kid came in for exam 2 adj.wellness care,…Dad wasn’t supportive of care, his mom was under care, 2 mo go by same thing , s-flu shot, within 2 wks wheel chair bound. His mom brought him back in we rexrayed his upper cervical spine, Adjusted his ATLAS using hand-held instrument. 2days WALKING FINE.
GOD BLESS UPPER CERVICAL CARE—–WE MOVE THE BONE GOD DOES THE HEALING
Want to hear a great lecture on swine flu? Make sure you watch the talk given by Drs. Kevin Krieg and Jarrod Fancher. Check out http://www.youtube.com/
The above swine flu talk would be a good video to play in your office so that you are not answering the same questions 50 times a day. Regarding repeating ourselves, I am thinking of getting a tape recorder and placing it under my adjusting tables and when I step on a button it will say “Turn your head to the right, to the left, gently lift your legs up,…” and it would go through my whole leg check protocol….just like when you are at the airport and hear over and over again,”The white zone if for loading and unloading only!!!”
You may have thought that I spent my entire college career playing pool while I worked my way through college, “what do you mean your not supposed to sink the black ball first!” Anyway I had many ideas that were way ahead of their time and I’m going to share one with you so you can race everyone to the patent office! My idea was to have a machine in the wall about the size of a microwave in airports and other public places and you would push a card inside which would have your x-ray listing information. After you put your credit card in, you would put your head inside the box, and an adjusting machine inside the box would precisely align your atlas!!!
I wanted to update you on the latest with my former associate, Dr. Brett ‘Jake’ Hollowell. He is just getting his UCHC practice rolling in Trapani, Sicily, I’ve enclosed a photo sent to me by Dr. Ray Drury. He started this Monday with 40 new patients just waiting for that door to open. Jake wrote me last week stating “I can’t wait to give my first Blair adjustment!” He wrote me yesterday and said, “We are up and running. Adjusted the first patient today. Took the first xrays last week. Blair first! The xray tube is a hospital quality tube, the pictures are coming out pretty good.” I know he is excited and, as a lifelong fan of the hapless Oakland Raiders, he has to have something to get excited about!!!
GET READY FOR THE NEXT UPPER CERVICAL EVOLUTION!!! Check out the attachment and read about the phenomenal featured speaker, author Michael Gerber. He has written the famous E-Myth books and is a must-see for any small businessperson. I first became aware of this amazing man when Dr. Guy Riekeman touted his books during the Quest Seminars pinpointing this man as a guru regarding business trends. So check out www.UpperCervicalEvolution.com
and get registered early. Remember the first 100 students to register get their rooms FREE!!! Take care-
Tom
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Psychiatrists Vote?
November 12, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Want to get your dander up? Check out the video on psychiatric treatment ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?
(1) Psychiatrists admit that there are no medical tests that can prove anyone has a “mental illness.”
(2) Psychiatrists admit they cannot cure their patients.
(3) Yet, insurance in the U.S. alone pays out $69 billion in mental health costs annually. (Could you imagine that money going into UC research and wellness care?)
(4) International psychiatric drug sales have reached &76 billion per year…despite international warnings that psychiatric drugs can cause suicide, violence, psychosis mania, heart attacks, and sudden death.
Doctors interviewed stated “Who benefits from all of this? The person making the diagnosis”. The interesting wrap up consists of these doctors answering the question, “How many patients have you cured?” The answer…. NONE!
New and talented UC docs opening everywhere. Life West grads Drs. Marc & Katie DeMeester have just opened up in the Lakewood/Golden, Colorado area. Write down their contact info, which is:
Drs. Marc and Katie DeMeester
14828 W. 6th. Ave. Ste. 16-B, Golden, CO 80401
phone# (303) 601-3820
Katie wrote me about the new concussion study from the NFL, here is what she wrote:
“In the new study, 1,063 ex-players were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other memory-related disease. About 2 percent of the former players ages 30 to 49 said yes. That’s 19 times the rate for the same age group in the general population.”
For retirees over 50, the rate of about 6 percent was about five times higher. The study, which hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal, was done for the NFL by researchers at the University of Michigan.”
Got some top notch UC docs looking for an associateship opportunity. Dr. David Yates, interned with Dr. Drew Hall, and has been practicing in Colorado. He is now looking for a position as an associate in an Upper Cervical office starting in January. If you have an opening, contact him at dryates1@gmail.com
That wasn’t BJ turning is his grave Friday night, that was BJ applauding! What am I talking about? Dr. Drew Hall gave a talk to 300+ students and faculty on the Palmer campus at the Lyceum Hall and, as Drs. Schurger and Ohlsen told me, it caused quite a stir! Drew spoke for over an hour and the subject was THE GREAT DIVIDE. Drew talked about chiropractic education straying away from INNATE towards musculoskeletal therapies and then showed a power point of some amazing recoveries he has seen ( cognitive improvement, seizure disorders, diabetes,…) and then stated ‘tongue in cheek’ that he was glad musculoskeletal chiropractic ‘cured’ those conditions! Needless to say, there were some ruffled feathers…but a three minute standing ovation lead me to believe that the students were excited about his SPIZZ!!!
Dr. Roger Morrison sent this site to me regarding a place to purchase ‘real bone specimens’. Here is what they say: You might notice that Skulls Unlimited International recently launched
a new and improved website. Skulls Unlimited is “The Worlds Leading Supplier
of Osteological Specimens” http://cts.vresp.
a new and improved website. Skulls Unlimited is “The Worlds Leading Supplier
of Osteological Specimens” http://cts.vresp.
Brandon Harshe is an Upper Cervical chiropractic student who really wants the UC message to spread like wildfire. So here are some of his ideas:
I would really love to see other chiropractic blogs on the Internet, mostly Upper Cervical Chiropractic blogs.That’s why I’ve put together an e-book teaching chiropractors how to properly set up and maintain a successful blog. It’s called Done By Hand: The Blueprint to Chiropractic Blogging Success. It is available for download on my blog at the following link: http://bit.ly/1dtd08
We, as upper cervical docs and students, complain that people don’t know what we do, or that they think we’re just a bunch of back-crackers. Only we can change that, and a blog is the perfect tool. Considering most people get their information from the Internet nowadays, you need a website to establish yourself as an expert in your field. A blog allows you to constantly share fresh material with your readers a.k.a. patients or future patients.
Not to mention, what if your patients are reading your blog and learning about upper cervical between office visits? How much better would they understand the upper cervical principle if you could teach them that “holding is healing” without having to be there?
Go download this e-book and follow the instructions inside. If you have any trouble whatsoever, or are stuck on something, email me at drbharshe@gmail.com and I will be happy to help you. Enjoy
This may be a typical in California case:
32 y/o woman came in for care due to very severe constant neck and thoracic pain, constant headaches,…and despite meds and PT, absolutely no changes occurred. So she tried chiropractic…daily supine rotary break on each side followed by a jolting traction maneuver. She would cry out in pain when ‘adjusted’ and the doctor’s flippant comment was, “That is part of the process!” She even read an article that said that silicone can cause neck pain, so she had her implants removed. (Needless to say, she didn’t get that advice from Drew!) Got her adjusted Monday and she was amazed that a segment could be repositioned painlessly. Glad she gave our profession a second chance!!!
Take care-
Tom
Why You Must Be Precise With Upper Cervical X-rays
November 5, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Great recoveries happening all over in UC offices. Check out this case in Dr. Drew Hall’s office:
ok so a 28 year old male comes in……fell head first into a coffee table at age five….His entire life he has had suicidal depression. In fact I talked with his mom and she said five years ago she was sure that he was going to kill himself…..He had major trouble cognitively in school, headaches.etc etc etc….The only thing that helped him to this point was neuro feedback. His frontal lobes showed a 20 percent coherence on the neuro feedback tests. They were able to get him up to 40 percent which helped his depression. After a bilateral AS correction his frontal lobe coherence was tested one day later at 85! His neuro feedback specialist was completely astounded. We will be going to lunch soon!
Second case just happened this am..We did a dinner with doc and a man of 65 came in. He has had 18 orthopedic surgeries. His wife is an RN and during the dinner with doc had her arms folded the entire time and prior to arriving the husband told me that she thought we were quacks. I thought better of telling him what I thought of her profession and went through with the dinner with doc!!!He came in this am post adj and is on fire. His energy has rocketed. Insomnia has cleared . His entire body which listed way off to the left is now erect. He was like a deer in headlights. He did not really know what to say. I told him now tell your wife about how you feel every ten minutes for me ok!!!!! Upper Cervical is the truth! If you can’t get the result then look in the mirror!!!! Unfortunately I have had to look in the mirror many times over the past year. But I harp on the point over and over and over……….and I will harp on this point at Palmer College in a few days!! The chiropractic principle is the undeniable truth! If the sick do not get well it is the chiropractor NOT the principle!! Most will not like to swallow that pill…..but the fact remains that the principle is unwavering and undeniable……release innate and YOU WILL see miracles…..fail to do so and you will be frustrated, and so will your patients be!(FOR YOU PALMER STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT HEARD DREW SPEAK, THIS IS TYPICAL OF WHAT YOU WILL BE HEARING TOMORROW AT LYCEUM HALL…ABOVE DOWN, INSIDE OUT!!!)BTW, Dr. Ohlsen, I expect you to drive over from Geneseo to hear Drew!
Second case just happened this am..We did a dinner with doc and a man of 65 came in. He has had 18 orthopedic surgeries. His wife is an RN and during the dinner with doc had her arms folded the entire time and prior to arriving the husband told me that she thought we were quacks. I thought better of telling him what I thought of her profession and went through with the dinner with doc!!!He came in this am post adj and is on fire. His energy has rocketed. Insomnia has cleared . His entire body which listed way off to the left is now erect. He was like a deer in headlights. He did not really know what to say. I told him now tell your wife about how you feel every ten minutes for me ok!!!!! Upper Cervical is the truth! If you can’t get the result then look in the mirror!!!! Unfortunately I have had to look in the mirror many times over the past year. But I harp on the point over and over and over……….and I will harp on this point at Palmer College in a few days!! The chiropractic principle is the undeniable truth! If the sick do not get well it is the chiropractor NOT the principle!! Most will not like to swallow that pill…..but the fact remains that the principle is unwavering and undeniable……release innate and YOU WILL see miracles…..fail to do so and you will be frustrated, and so will your patients be!(FOR YOU PALMER STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT HEARD DREW SPEAK, THIS IS TYPICAL OF WHAT YOU WILL BE HEARING TOMORROW AT LYCEUM HALL…ABOVE DOWN, INSIDE OUT!!!)BTW, Dr. Ohlsen, I expect you to drive over from Geneseo to hear Drew!
Fellow UCHC doc, Dr. Chad McIntyre produces an excellent Weekly Well-Being he sends out to his patients. I have attached this weeks issue as I really feel the subject is something we have all faced. It starts out: It seems that wherever I go, when someone finds out that I’m a chiropractor, a joke about back popping or bone cracking comes about. These repeated scenarios have inspired me to tell you a little bit about the word, profession, and purpose of chiropractic. Let’s get right to it…
Got an e-mail from Dr. Heidi Grant, the UC doc in London. I guess we aren’t the only continent having problems with the Atlas Profilax people. Here is what she wrote:I was going through this newsletter and I the email you had received from Dr. Mindy Drake regarding a acupuncturist doing atlas profilax caught my eye. This is something I’ve been dealing with here in London, as atlas profilax practitioners are more prevalent here in the EU. I’ve had to fix their mistakes, and I get really angry when I hear and see their promotional material, it’s a total rip-off of chiropractic. So if any of you have discovered a way to combat these ‘posers’, let me know so I can pass the info onto Dr. Grant. I am very worried that a wrong manipulation by these unqualified laypersons could result in severe neurological damage and start an anti-neck manipulation campaign, which is a wildfire that is almost impossible to extinguish!!!
I know I am preaching to the choir about the need to be precise when dealing with the UC spine. One of our new patients who started yesterday commented that 20 years ago he flew over the handlebars on his motorcycle landing on his head and shoulder. Guess what the x-rays showed? His left atlas transverse was snapped in two and the distal end is now sitting 90 degrees upward to the rest of the tp. That would be pretty handy information to have before you thrust on that transverse!!!
Well, while I’m being negative, why not bring this case up. As you may recall, Dr. Brent “Jake”Hollowell left my office for the sunny beaches of Sicily, to open the 1st Upper Cervical clinic in Italy. (His fellow UCHC doc, Dr. Kevin Leach, opened in San Marino…which technically isn’t Italy, even though it sits in the middle of that country!) All of Jake’s patients transferred over to me and one asked me last week if UC could help her nephew. When the nephew was two he knew his numbers and alphabet…then he was vaccinated. He is now 10, and for the past 8 years he has had hydrocephalus (left side of head 30% enlarged), epilepsy (10 grand mal seizures a day), and his left arm is rigid against his chest). The GP readily admits that is was probably the vaccine that caused the problem, but proper medical protocol calls for a ‘risk versus benefit’ judgment and this child just turned out to be RISK!!!
OK, back to the positive. Life West president, Dr. Gerry Clum came up with a very innovative plan to introduce the entire student body to various UC technique in a core curriculum series. Those who pass the class and show a desire to learn more of an individual technique can then choose to take an elective class. One problem we have had at the college is the need to take both ‘orthogonal’ and ‘articular’ x-rays. Here is what my Blair co-instructor, Dr. Hari Khalsa, reports regarding that issue:We have a new American unit with 2 buckeys.
We are just waiting for the Blair Headclamps, & we need a Blair chair…the new unit is very nice So now they can take the orthogonal x-rays on one side of the room, flip the tube, and take articular x-rays on the other. Just like my patients, if they are clearing, I just flip them over….NOT!!!
We are just waiting for the Blair Headclamps, & we need a Blair chair…the new unit is very nice So now they can take the orthogonal x-rays on one side of the room, flip the tube, and take articular x-rays on the other. Just like my patients, if they are clearing, I just flip them over….NOT!!!
One of the instructors at Life West is the internationally known Dr. Dan Murphy. Dan used to practice two blocks from me but got tired of me removing the doorknob from his office front door! Anyway, check out his latest article in the October 2009 American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic which is based on The Cervicogenic Oto-ocular Syndrome, a suspected forerunner of Meniere’s disease, International Tinnitus Journal Vol. 5, No. 2 1999 pp. 125-30 A couple facts from the article:
(1) The authors propose that there is a functional relationship between the upper cervical spine, the pupil of the eye, and the inner ear.
(1) The authors propose that there is a functional relationship between the upper cervical spine, the pupil of the eye, and the inner ear.
(2) Nearly every patient suffering from ear fullness, episodic vertigo, fluctuating vertigo and tinnitus also suffer from neck and/or back symptoms and 60% will have a history of whiplash injury.
(3) “The functional disorder of the upper cervical spine is regarded as a potential threat to the Eustachian tube,” leading to a dysfunction that upsets the function of the inner ear.
Got any extra UC equipment? Dr. Andy Gibson just graduated from Palmer and is thinking of heading back to his home state of Pennsylvania. He needs Blair headclamps, side posture table, Tytron,… You can contact Andy at agibson.dc@gmail.com
Time to start thinking of registering for the next Upper Cervical Evolution:
Register Today to take advantage of the Early Bird Rates!
We are extremely excited to bring you the fourth annual Upper Cervical Evolution Conference. Join us from April 8-10, 2010 in Charlotte, NC for a glimpse into the future. See how technology will play a major role in patient education, subluxation analysis, and research to authenticate what we already know to be true. You are sure to be motivated, inspired and excited about the future of Upper Cervical (see attachment)
We are extremely excited to bring you the fourth annual Upper Cervical Evolution Conference. Join us from April 8-10, 2010 in Charlotte, NC for a glimpse into the future. See how technology will play a major role in patient education, subluxation analysis, and research to authenticate what we already know to be true. You are sure to be motivated, inspired and excited about the future of Upper Cervical (see attachment)
In Closing, try to keep your fees affordable. Taking care of only one member of a family instead of multiple family members because the fees are too high, doesn’t really help us accomplish BJ’s vision. A sad story was in the Sacramento paper yesterday of a Sacramento State student who was beaten to death in his dormitory. He was in the hospital 5 minutes before he died and the grieving family got a bill a couple days later for $29,000!!!
Take care-
Tom
BTW-for you California docs, it was announced in the paper last week that due to California’s dire financial situation, the tax board has decided to go after MD’s, DC’s, PT’s, acupuncturists,…for not collecting state taxes on cervical pillows, cervical collars, BioFreeze,… Most of these adjuncts could only be bought at a doctor’s office which is why many DC’s would provide it. Now your patients can get it all cheaper online, so you might want to rethink carrying those products. Remember that most other states start to copy what we do in California, so look out!!!
Upper Cervical Forest 29 October 2009 | Removing Ones Head Relieves Headaches
October 29, 2009 by drhambrick
Filed under Upper Cervical Forest
Just got an e-mail from our former Palmer intern, Jason Blackketter, who just arrived back in Davenport. Here is what he wrote me:I just spoke w/ Dr. Kern earlier this week and shared with him some of my experiences in your office. He was very positive about you (and Dr. Hubbard too) and the Blair technique. He also agreed with me that you are a gem, commenting that “they broke the mold after Tom Forest was made.” I can just imagine them violently breaking that mold stating, “Well, he should set society back a couple centuries!!!” (BTW, I forgot to attach the site of Jason’s article last week, here it is: https://docs.google.com/Doc?
Want to hear an excellent talk by Judge Andrew Napolitano regarding state rights and attempts to NATIONALIZE healthcare? Check out the brief video http://www.youtube.com/watch?
My wife, Chris, just came in the room with a shocked look on her face regarding a radio interview with a plastic surgeon she just heard. He is now advertising that if you have migraines, he is snipping the trigeminal nerve; crown headache=a nerve on top of your head; sinus headaches= a facial nerve near the nose; occipital headache=he cuts the muscles and nerves at the base of the head. When asked by the interviewer if this wasn’t a dangerous procedure for something as harmless as migraines and if he was actually qualified to do these procedures, the plastic surgeon said, “Botox works well but this is permanent and we discovered that after giving facelifts, often the headaches would disappear.” My comment, “CHOPPING OFF ONE’S HEAD ALSO MAKES HEADACHES DISAPPEAR!!!
Check out the current Palmer Beacon online beacon@palmer.edu and you will see in the September 2009 issue a nice article by Dr. Tron Malachowski titled The Kale Cases (pg 23). There is an excellent article by Stewart McMillan on Holding is Healing he talks of retracing and SURVIVAL VALUES. (pg. 11) On page 5 there is a SEPARATED AT BIRTH section comparing Dr. John Strazewski (head of Palmer Technique Dept. and UC instructor supreme) comparing his photo to actor Gabe Kaplan! There also is an October 2009 must-read article by Dr. Drew Hall as the Upper Cervical influence in the college newspaper continues to grow. Drew will be back in Iowa at the SPIZZ night November 6th. Make sure the house is packed as I know he will blow the roof off the place!!!
There are two upcoming KCUCS knee chest seminars. The first is Upper Cervical Neurology November 7th in Davenport and the second is”Ignite the Passion” seminar in Atlanta November 20,21 hosted by Dr. Rob Kessinger. Check out the attachments, head out to Davenport or down to Atlanta, and get excited by this superexcitable instructor!!!
I’m continually singing the praises of that superenthusiastic UC doc, Dr. Daniel Clark. He has done it again with some new posters and brochures (see attachment). Since all my walls are filled with his excellent UC posters, I’m thinking of putting any future ones on the ceiling in the rest area!!!
Need a portable side posture toggle table? Dr. Frederick Schurger, UCHC doc from Springfield, Ill, is starting to manufacture them. You can contact this talented doc at schurger@mac.com Hope his works better that the one I designed which had built in acupuncture!!!
Need a Blair doc in Alaska? A husband-wife team, the Lovedahls, graduated from Palmer recently, interned with Dr. Scott Matz, and have set up their practice in Anchorage. Make sure you ad these two to your referral list. Here is the info:
Drs. Shawn and Jennifer Lovdahl
6831 Jewel Lake Road
Anchorage, Alaska
phone # 907-245-0808
balancedhealthak@gmail.com
6831 Jewel Lake Road
Anchorage, Alaska
phone # 907-245-0808
balancedhealthak@gmail.com
We are all familiar with the concept of disposable income…the money left over after we have purchased our essential items. Consumers (patients) are actually our bosses and can choose to fire and hire us at will. A consumer will probably not go without their insulin, but may choose to not use this discretionary income on chiropractic. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand how to market to the consumer when the economy is tight. There is an Upper Cervical Practice Building and Marketing seminar on this very subject in Charlotte, NC coming up November 6,7. Check out the flyer as you will see that the speakers range from the famous Dr. Reggie Gold to the infamous Dr. John Hilpisch. Actually John is one of the sharpest UC docs I’ve ever met…just don’t tell him I said that! Anyway, check out the flyer. With the phenomenal speakers and current subject matter, this is probably the boot in the rear that you need to light your practice on fire!!!
Dr. Paul Hambrick has had some excellent interviews with docs including Drs. Ray Drury, Rob Kessinger, Shawn Dill, B.J. Kale and myself. His latest interview is with UC advocate supreme, James Tomasi. Check this:
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Http://www.uppercervicaldocs. Last week I had mentioned that Dr. Michael Burcon of Grand Rapids, MI was in the process of getting two separate papers published on Upper Cervical care and certain neurological conditions. I am happy to report that his paper: Cervical Specific Protocol and Results for 139 Patients Medically Diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in the November or December issue. Great job Mike!!! |
Last week I also forwarded a heart-rendering story of a child with severe asthma and the amazing recovery seen in UCHC office of Dr. Rob Ohlsen. The patient’s family drove him 6 hours to get the UC care and were so thrilled they have been referring other family members in for UC care. Is that always the case? Check out a similar experience with an asthmatic case from Dr. Ben Locklear of Mangum, OK:
I had a asthma patient who is described in your email. He had been in the emergency room several times for crisis care over the previous several months. His parents were obviously distressed and couldn’t sleep because his wheezing became worse when lying down. Out of shear desperation they “thought they would give me a try”. Isn’t that the way people think? Anyway, one correction and one hour later he and his dad was playing hack sack. No wheezing, coughing and slept through the night for the first time is several months.
That was about a year ago. I stopped by our high school this morning to speak with the HS principle. I saw this young man walking down the hall. Doing really good. Now playing sports and has not been in for care in over 6 months.
What has to happen to get people to open their minds to UC care. This young man should have been a walking poster board for me. People saw what happened with him, but not one referral, not one mention of his success.
We all have patients who have unusual ways of subluxating their necks. A Life West student referred in a patient last week who had been standing on her desk trying to rescue/kill a spider. She stepped off the table onto a desk chair that had wheels and her body flipped horizontally and she struck with full force her head against the table as she fell. Constant occipital and neck pain has been present since the fall, with lateral head translation of 1 1′2″! The most intense symptom of all is a continual throbbing in the right temple that can actually be palpated as the neurovascular mechanism there seems substantially disrupted. (Could that continued pressure on that vessel eventually result in an aneurysm?) The UC x-rays show that the alignment of the axis odontoid and center of the spinous are off 10+mm. The great news, the night of the atlas/axis adjustments, the throbbing pain cleared for the first time in 30 days and she is so thrilled that she stated, “I felt like dancing.” That statement may have been prophetic based on her history of dance. If you ever come to San Francisco, the longest running musical is the must-see Beach Blanket Babylon, which is a hilarious, irreverent parody on everyone from Oprah to Obama. The participants wear hats that are often 10 feet high and shaped like the Transamerica Building (a huge pyramid), Coit Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge,… and, fortunately for their necks, the heavy hats are supported by bracket anchored to the stage or a back brace. In the old days, the head and neck supported the landmark laden hats…(check out the attached pic of this patient) and especially note the hats on the right and left. That is one method to increase the cervical lordosis!!!
