Practice Article - June 2008

I just got back from a very stimulating MPI Seminar in St. Louis, where six instructors
presented for 2 hours each. The 150 attending were very pleased with the presentations
and technique work shops.

I once again had the feeling that students were ready for the paradigm shift to a
dynamic, functional model. I presented a case of The Cervical Syndrome with most of
the 21 symptoms. None of the students were familiar with the text “The Cervical
Syndrome” by Ruth Jackson M.D. (I have the 4th edition).

In this old text she showed the relationship between abnormal movement of the spine
and the predictability of the degenerative and hypertrophic changes that occur
commonly at C5-C6.

She than describes the symptoms caused by irritation to the superior sympathetic
Ganglion chain. Many of the symptoms your patients complain of are in the long list.
Howard Vernon DC wrote “The Cranio-Cervical Syndrome” in 2001 Pub. Butterworth
Heinemann, it is more specific for the upper cervical facilitations.

The bottom line to getting rid of these debilitating symptoms is having the skills to adjust
the cervical joints in all rotations around the three x,y,z axes.

It turned out to be a clinic session for me. Many in attendance recognized the symptoms
in themselves and wanted the specific adjustments. It was a great opportunity to have
the students experience an adjustment that actually affected their nervous system.

Some got to experience having the upper thoracic glide improved and the resultant
cervical motion changes that occurred immediately. They were, finally understanding,
that we are treating a dynamic, closed kinematic system; NOT adjusting misalignments.

The next day we heard many reports of changes in their symptoms. The buzz was
exiting and you could see the relief on their faces having realized there really was
something to adjusting. Finding fixations by palpation and then adjusting to see how the
adjustment affected the overall spinal motion and muscles spasms became interesting.

Learning to predict the responses of your adjustments around the three axes of rotation
in a positive and negative theta direction is a challenge worth starting.

I told them my goal is for them to make a professional income by providing a rational
service that gets many patients a better quality of life.

I demonstrated a cervical flexion manipulation that is not on the videos. When more
students get more students to join our site and the paradigm shift; I will add that
manipulation. On that subject, it really saddened me to find out most of the students

there did not know of the site. If you blog on any student site, please give a review. We
need to make more videos.

There was a consensus between the presenters that the basics to practice are;
diagnosis, diagnosis of mechanical insults, palpation of fixations, adjusting skills for all
the restrictions in motion units.

Then someone needed to know when to apply stretching and rehab exercis es. Students
need to follow the workbook they print out from this site.

Practice, practice, practice by going to MPI Club or get a colleague not too far away to
practice with.

Psychomotor skills take practice to master to a professional level.




Don't forget to visit us at: http://www.chiropracticmentor.com

Thanks to Aviv M from anetonline for fixing my office network http://www.anetonline.com