Sherman College of Chiropractic hosted the 15th Annual International Research and Philosophy Symposium (IRAPS), a peer-reviewed conference on vertebral subluxation research and the philosophy of chiropractic, in Spartanburg, SC, on October 6-7, 2018.  The Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation (FVS) was well represented at this year’s conference and included presentations by: 

• Christopher Kent DC, JD
• Christie Kwon DC, MS
• Curtis Fedorchuk DC
• Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
• Simon Senzon MA, DC

Christopher Kent DC, JD 

Dr. Kent, who is the President of the FVS, presented on Heart Rate Variability and its role in the assessment and management of vertebral subluxation.  According to Kent a number of controlled studies suggest that spinal manipulation may alter heart rate variability. Further case reports suggest that favorable changes in heart rate variability may follow reduction or correction of vertebral subluxations and changes in autonomic nervous system function following reduction or correction of vertebral subluxation may be objectively assessed using heart rate variability. 

Kent also presented on the topic of semantic pathology, epistemic trespassing and ethics.   According to Kent, language should be a tool for minimizing ambiguity and establishing precision in communication. This necessitates the use of terminology that communicates the uniqueness of the thing being described. The use of terms that homogenize rather than differentiate foster ambiguity and imprecision. The pernicious amalgam of semantic pathologies, epistemic trespassing, denialism, conflation of terms, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect cannot be dismissed as mere “minutia and semantics.” Kent ended his presentation stating: “We must ensure a clear understanding of vertebral subluxation and our unique approach to unleashing human potential.” 

Christie Kwon DC, MS 

Dr. Kwon is the Executive Director and a Research Fellow with the FVS currently working on a Masters in Public Health at Emory University. Dr. Kwon’s focus is on advanced imaging for the evaluation of vertebral subluxation and at IRAPS she presented: An Advanced Imaging Research Agenda for the Evaluation of Vertebral Subluxation and Clinical Outcomes Related to its Management. 

The research agenda has been adopted by the FVS and is focused on means to detect and observe outcomes of subluxation-corrective care utilizing advanced imaging.

The scientific understanding of the nature of the vertebral subluxation suggests that there are effects to the central and peripheral nervous system and the physiology of the body. Functional MRI technology allows researchers to observe hemodynamic responses by imaging changes in blood flow which represent changes in neural activity. 

Kwon reviewed the methodology related to the agenda which will be project specific and initially will include formal training in the area of functional MRI (fMRI) and other advanced imaging for researcher(s) through the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation. 

Pilot and feasibility studies will also be designed and conducted including task-oriented imaging, pre-/post chiropractic care in healthy populations and the use of a Practice Based Research Network for multi-site studies. 

Curtis Fedorchuk DC & Matthew McCoy DC, MPH 

In two related presentations on the epidemiology of vertebral subluxation, Matthew McCoy DC, MPH Vice President of the FVS and Curtis Fedorchuk DC, an FVS Board Member, reviewed both the need for a large scale epidemiology of vertebral subluxation as well as reporting on the preliminary results of the largest epidemiological study of subluxation conducted to date. 

It is a well-entrenched belief within the community of chiropractors who practice the clinical science and art of locating analyzing and correcting vertebral subluxations that vertebral subluxations are in and of themselves a detriment to the fullest expression of life and as a result are a significant public health threat. This threat includes the widespread belief among certain segments of the chiropractic profession that vertebral subluxations lead to increased morbidity and mortality and that it represents a serious burden because it effects a large proportion of the world’s population. Indeed, some go so far to suggest that everyone is susceptible beginning at an early age. Additionally, it is a long standing philosophical tenet of the profession that vertebral subluxations develop as a failure of the body to adapt to physical, chemical and emotional challenges. 

Vertebral subluxation also has an epidemiology. It has rates of occurrence, distribution, determinants, and incidence rates. Because of this, it is possible to relate the incidence and prevalence of subluxation to such things as genetic and environmental factors. Unfortunately, the chiropractic profession has not systematically studied the epidemiology of vertebral subluxation by collecting and analyzing the necessary statistical data. 

At IRAPS, Fedorchuk and McCoy outlined the first model for surveillance of vertebral subluxation on a large scale. Fedorchuk reported on the preliminary results of data analysis involving over 2000 subjects with vertebral subluxation. Future data should be gathered from several geographical locations around the world to determine the global burden of vertebral subluxation. 

Simon Senzon, MA, DC 

Dr. Senzon is a well-known chiropractic historian and philosophy expert who was recently granted an academic scholarship by the FVS to get his Ph.D at Southern Cross University in Australia. The topic of his dissertation and his presentation at IRAPS is on the Crisis in the Chiropractic Peer Reviewed Literature in Regards to Vertebral Subluxation: A Critical Discourse Analysis. 

Senzon is focused on the crisis in the chiropractic peer-reviewed literature, which has been mapped out by several authors, including Senzon. His qualitative research will use Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze the chiropractic literature. CDA is a methodical way to critique discourse on several levels in relation to asymmetrical distributions of power and control in social networks. Research has already shown that a coup d’état is currently being staged by an academic elite in the chiropractic profession using discourse through control of journals, lexicon cleansing, and domination of institutions to redirect the chiropractic profession towards the medical paradigm. Senzon’s research will build on previous work and explore important questions about the role of chiropractic, the use of vertebral subluxation in the literature, and larger questions about the rationalization of society. 

Best Practices/Guidelines Development

In addition to the IRAPS presentations, the FVS also convened a meeting of its Best Practices/Guidelines Committee being overseen by Anquonette Stiles DC, MPH, another Research Fellow for the FVS. 

The meeting was convened to plan the next phase of the Best Practices initiative started by the FVS several years ago when it embarked on a process to compile the most current research on management of vertebral subluxation and develop guidelines statements to assist practitioners in clinical decision making. 

That phase of the project is coming to completion and the FVS is now establishing a permanent and ongoing project to systematically search, gather, compile and review emerging research related to vertebral subluxation on a monthly basis. Several Research Fellowships have been established by the FVS for students at Sherman College of Chiropractic in order to carry out this objective and several training sessions have already taken place.   

The goal of IRAPS is to bring together leaders in philosophy and research as well as practitioners who are centered on the vertebral subluxation practice, to build a stronger academic community worldwide regarding the subluxation model of chiropractic. The symposium’s intent is to foster a view that the chiropractic profession is centered on vertebral subluxation, based on vitalism, dedicated to research and developing a discipline of philosophy.

ABOUT Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation

The mission of the Foundation is to advocate for and advance the founding principles and tenets of the chiropractic profession in the area of vertebral subluxation through research, education, policy and service.