A delegation of chiropractors, medical physicians, researchers, nurses and government representatives from the United States made history last month during a week-long scientific, educational and cultural exchange program with Russia.

The program was so successful that Russian officials arranged for one of the chiropractors to establish a Spine Center, work with Russian specialists, and perform research. The chiropractor chosen for the assignment, Matthew McCoy, D.C., will spend an entire year in Vladivostok.

The delegation had been invited to Vladivostok, in the Primorsky Region, by the Primorsky Government and Vostok 1, a major Russian fishing company. The exchange was sponsored by the company and its president, Valery Shegnagaev, and vice president, Gennady Kotkov, after they experienced positive benefits from chiropractic from Harold McCoy, D.C., DACS, while in Seattle.

Dr. McCoy, a board member of the Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP) and the Washington State Spinal Health Institute (WSSHI), led the delegation.

Accompanying him were:

*** William R. Boone, Ph.D., D.C., CCP vice-president and editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research;

*** Robert H. Blanks, Ph.D., professor, Dept. of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of California-Irvine, and member of the CCP board;

*** Eileen. L. Cody, R.N., state representative from the state of Washington's 11th District, ranking member of the Health Care Committee, and a member of Commerce & Labor, Law & Justice;

*** John J. Gerhardt, M.D., contributing author to the "AMA Guidelines for Permanent Impairment," board member of the CCP and WSSHI, and associate clinical professor (emeritus) in orthopedics and rehabilitation;

*** Veronica Gutierrez, D.C., CCP board member and chair of the Managed Health Care Committee for the World Chiropractic Alliance;

*** Matthew McCoy, D.C., CCP board member and a certified Independent Medical Examiner;

*** Alison Krupnick, program manager for emerging markets for the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development; and

*** Alec Polishchuk, a certified Russian-English interpreter.

During the exchange, the American delegation met with various Russian government and health care officials, including Evgeny I. Nazdratenko, governor of the Primorsky Territory; Dr. Alfred Hartman, vice governor in charge of social services; and Vladimir Bugaev, deputy governor. All three Russian officials received chiropractic care.

Presentations were made to the leaders by Krupnick, who personally delivered letters from Washington's Governor Lowery and Tacoma Mayor Brian Ebersole. Tacoma is a sister city of Vladivostok.

The group had several discussions with Dr. Yuri A. Selyutin, head of the Health Service Department for the Region. He told them of recent public health events in the region, such as the introduction of an ambulance and 911 emergency phone system similar to the one in the U.S.

Dr. Selyutin was eager to discuss the impact of conservative spinal care for the region's workers. Arrangements are being made to have Selyutin visit the U.S. in the near future.

Additional meetings were held with officials of the Vladivostok State Medical University, including its director, Dr. Yuri V. Kaminski, and professor Anatoly F. Belyaev of the department of occupational medicine and president of the Far Eastern Division of the International Association of Manual Medicine.

The delegation toured the University and discussed the possibility of a student exchange program which would involve U.S. chiropractic college students. In the Russian Far East, manual medicine is a specialty requiring post graduate training and an internship after receiving a medical degree. The University hopes to coordinate its educational program with chiropractic colleges in the U.S.

Site visits to several hospitals in the cities of Artem, Nakhodka and Vladivostok including "grand rounds" with Dr. Vladimir Polin, a neurologist, children's surgeon and manual therapist, as well as several other specialists.

Chiropractic demonstrations and sessions were held daily in the hospitals. Patients included inpatients, outpatients, and several medical doctors. The exchange program also included visits to the 600-bed Regional Clinical Hospital, the 600-bed Municipal Children's Clinical Hospital, and the 1,000-bed Fisherman Hospital.

A major part of the program included lectures at the Regional Hospital Auditorium by the American delegation, which spoke on a wide variety of topics, including: the vertebral subluxation and its influence on patient health and well-being; objectification of spinal outcome assessments through range of motion; objectification of the VSC through spinal outcome assessments, computerized muscle testing and quality of life questionnaires; vitalistic considerations for healing; and quality of life assessment of patients under subluxation-based chiropractic care.

In addition, American and Russian participants spent several hours in a lively round table discussion which covered: the vertebral subluxation and its influence on health and well-being; the autonomic nervous system in chiropractic and manual medicine; the history of chiropractic; technique; the chiropractic approach to DJD, scoliosis, disc pathology and trauma; the inter-relationship between chiropractic and medical sciences; the organization, structure, personnel and equipment used in chiropractic centers; visceral relationships to spinal pathology; and the economic implications of chiropractic care.

The participants also discussed the possibility of developing international guidelines for spinal care.

"The most satisfying aspect of the mission," stated delegation leader Dr. Harold McCoy, "was the understanding of chiropractic principles by the Russian doctors. We didn't limit our discussion to the alleviation of pain syndromes, but exchanged ideas on the body's innate health ability, chiropractic's role in visceral disease, the evaluation of children and preventive practices for spinal health, as well as objectification of what we do."

Participants quickly recognized the strong influence of Oriental Medicine in the Russian Far East. Most of the neurologists were also trained in acupuncture and a large percentage of the doctors utilized natural remedies, including herbs, massage, exercise and lifestyle changes in their treatment regimes.

"It was interesting that the government and the doctors often made a point to say that they dislike the reliance on drugs in dealing with health problems," McCoy noted.

Enthusiasm was high on both sides, and everyone welcomed the idea of having one of the chiropractors return to Vladivostok and establish a Spine Center. Dr. Matthew McCoy (no relation to Dr. Harold McCoy) volunteered to spend the year there, working with his Russian health care counterparts and conducting research with them.

One major obstacle which needs to be overcome is the lack of chiropractic equipment available for the Center. Dr. Matthew McCoy noted that he would need computerized muscle testing equipment, outcome assessment software, spinal and extremity range of motion equipment, adjusting tables, X-ray machines and view boxes.

In order to ensure the success of the program, McCoy appealed to the profession for donations of any item(s) which might be useful in the Spine Center. It is hoped that several manufacturers might be willing to donate much of the equipment, although a great deal could be obtained from individual practitioners as well. Anyone willing to donate equipment -- large or small -- should contact Dr. McCoy at 800-768-7253.