March 2004

Researcher Chung‑Ha Suh received much deserved recognition

>>> Called an 'Unsung Hero of Chiropractic Research' by Dr. Edward F. Owens, Jr., M.S., Associate Professor of Research, Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, and Karen Brower Rhodes, Director of Public Relations, Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic

Like many of chiropractic's unsung leaders, contributors and supporters, retired University of Colorado scientist Chung‑Ha Suh, Ph.D., has done much good for the profession ‑‑ without much recognition.

But a little recognition for Suh made its way into the Tenth Annual Vertebral Subluxation Research Conference sponsored by Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic last December, when Suh was presented with a spine etched in glass from a computer model in honor of his contributions to chiropractic research.

The glass spine was a particularly apt gift for Suh because he was one of the first researchers to develop a computer‑graphics model of the spine.

During the conference, Suh spoke to attending doctors of chiropractic regarding his contributions to the field of chiropractic research and his perspective on how chiropractic biomechanics research should best proceed in the years ahead.

In addition to Suh's report, three notable doctors of chiropractic spoke to Suh's career accomplishments and their experiences working with him.

Harley Gilthvedt, D.C., of Aurora, Wash., a member of the Board of Trustees of Palmer College of Chiropractic, spoke about the early days of the International Chiropractors Association and that organization's relationship with Suh.

Michael Haneline, D.C., and Fellow of the Institute of Chiropractic Research, spoke about a post‑graduate research program supported by the ICA in which D.C.s would work with Suh as head educator.

And Gerard Clum, D.C., president of Life Chiropractic College West, spoke about his experiences co‑hosting a biomechanics conference with Suh in Korea in 1985.

"Dr. Suh was the first scientist to ever look at chiropractic in a serious and unbiased way," said Gilthvedt. "That took a lot of courage and integrity. Dr. Suh played an important role in the original research that showed that nerve compression alters function and chemistry of the nerve, refuting the argument of the day that chiropractic was based on a myth."

Haneline thanked Suh for his involvement in the profession. "His team's high‑quality research was the impetus for many of the worthwhile advancements that have taken place in this profession to date," he said. He went on to thank Suh personally for being an inspiring educator.

"In all my prior education, I cannot think of any other teachers who truly inspired me to excellence," Haneline said. "Some were good and some were bad, but I can honestly say that Dr. Suh was the best. He was able to explain the exceedingly complex subject of computer modeling of the spine so that I could not only understand it, but also go on to use the methods in spinal biomechanics research."

Developing the science In "The Annual Biomechanics Conference on the Spine: A Review of Basic Chiropractic Research at the University of Colorado from 1969‑1985,"an article published in Chiropractic Research Journal, Volume 3, No. 3 (1996), Edward F. Owens, Jr., M.S., D.C., discusses Suh's many accomplishments and studies. Owens is associate professor of research in the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa and previously served as director of research at Sherman College from 1998 to 2003.

"The proceedings of the [Annual Biomechanics of the Spine] conference show that a well‑developed chiropractic basic science program existed at the University of Colorado well before the advent of organized research directives at the chiropractic colleges," Owens asserts.

"Nevertheless, the contributions made by Dr. Suh and his team are hardly recognized by current chiropractic researchers, perhaps in part because the conference proceedings are not included in any chiropractic literature databases."

Humble beginnings When chiropractic had little or no research to support it in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Suh, a professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in biomechanics and x‑ray analysis, took on an ambitious project upon the urging of Boulder, Colo., chiropractor Allen Messer: measuring the effects of chiropractic care and studying the related neurophysiology and spinal kinematics.

Suh enlisted the help of engineers, other professors and graduate assistants at the University of Colorado at Boulder, drawing from various experts in the departments of engineering design and economic evaluation, aerospace engineering and psychology. His team started at the ground floor, making basic measurements of bony geometry and ligament and disc material properties.

Suh's team of engineers and scientists developed a keen understanding of the challenges involved in chiropractic research. They developed two major hypotheses of how the chiropractic subluxation could affect human health and contemplated the difficulty that researchers within and outside of the chiropractic profession might have in attaining recognition.

Making a national impact Initial funding for Suh's research was provided by yearly grants from both the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the International Chiropractors Association (ICA). In the mid 1970s, Suh's group became the first to receive federal funding for chiropractic research when they were awarded $250,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NS 12226‑01A1).

That grant money was used to support continuing research at the University of Colorado from 1976 until 1981. Suh's main areas of research focused on the development of a computerized kinematic model of the spine and three‑dimensional distortion‑free x‑ray analysis.

Suh's study, "The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy," was included in a 1975 workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare: the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS) conference, and Suh presented a paper entitled "Biomechanical Aspects of Subluxation."

In addition to carrying out quality research in the fundamentals of chiropractic, the University of Colorado's program offered research‑training opportunities for doctors of chiropractic in the field. Through a fellowship program in the Institute for Chiropractic Research, field practitioners and college personnel could study with Dr. Suh in Boulder.

The biomechanics conferences Suh developed and coordinated the annual Biomechanics Conference on the Spine from 1970 until 1985, and these programs were hosted by the University of Colorado in conjunction with various chiropractic colleges and associations. These conferences convened to present basic and clinical research on the chiropractic subluxation.

Beginning in 1977, the biomechanics conferences were held at other locations besides the University of Colorado, including Cleveland Chiropractic College in 1977, Life College in 1978 and Palmer College in 1979.

But Owens reminds us that Suh was the true leader and educator at these conferences. "Before 1979 there had been only two presentations at the biomechanics conference by personnel from chiropractic colleges," he says. "This dearth of presentations demonstrates the state of development of the research efforts in the chiropractic colleges at that time."

As the years went on and the popularity of the conferences grew, more papers were submitted and presented by chiropractic faculty or field doctors.

When Suh's federal grant money ran out, Owens notes that the amount of neurophysiological research carried out at the University of Colorado began to decline. "With the continued support of the ICA, the University of Colorado and particular chiropractic colleges, the biomechanics conference continued its annual meetings until 1985," he says.

Making an impact The chiropractic research program at the University of Colorado preceded the development of research by the profession by at least five years, Owens says. He looks to the formation of professional research journals as the first sign of the growth of research within the profession.

Chiropractic's first research journal, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics did not begin publication until 1978. The Federation for Chiropractic Education and Research held its first annual research conference in 1982 at Logan College of Chiropractic.

"Outside of the Biomechanics Conferences, chiropractic researchers had no place of their own to publish or present their work before 1978," Owens says.

Credit where credit is due Suh has made a lasting impression in developing and conducting some of the chiropractic profession's first and most complex research. "That research reached a high level of sophistication in testing chiropractic hypotheses in the area of spinal kinematics, neurophysiology and clinical assessment methods before there were any well‑developed research programs in the chiropractic colleges," Owens says. "In essence, the chiropractic research program at the University of Colorado ushered in the modern era of chiropractic research."

To read Owens' article ("The Annual Biomechanics Conference on the Spine: A Review of Basic Chiropractic Research at the University of Colorado from 1969‑1985"), visit Sherman College's web site at www.sherman.edu/research/rsch510/biomech.html.