October 2005

Rondberg matches NIH research grant

In August, the National University of Health Sciences (formerly National College of Chiropractic) received a $756,000 "science education partnership award" from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One month later, Research & Clinical Science (RCS) announced that Terry A. Rondberg, DC, President of the World Chiropractic Alliance and publisher of The Chiropractic Journal, topped that amount when he provided $760,000 in funding to the private-sector research company.

Although the two amounts are similar, there are major differences in how the money will be spent. National noted that its award -- which will be spread out over a four-year period -- will go towards "the research component of the doctor of chiropractic degree program" as well as "research sabbaticals and opportunities for faculty and students to engage in coursework and lab mentorship at the University of Illinois."

David A. Jackson, DC, co-founder and CEO of RCS, stated that the money received from Dr. Rondberg and other investors will go to fund global research into the impact of vertebral subluxations on general health and well being. "We are specifically looking for concrete and incontrovertible proof that chiropractic care has long-term benefits for all people. That means proving that it strengthens immune function, improves quality of life, and helps elevate levels of wellness."

Although the recipient of substantial research grants and funding, National's research projects do not address the impact of subluxation and often have little or no relevance to actual chiropractic practices. Its current projects (as described on the National University website) include:

** A study to determine if flexion/distraction and manual trigger point therapy techniques can reduce chronic pelvic pain in women

** A survey of techniques used by Chicago chiropractors

** A survey the patients of an urban chiropractic clinic and a suburban chiropractic clinic about their use and thoughts of chiropractic services

** A project to examine the prevalence of chest pain among new cases presenting to a typical chiropractic teaching clinic

** A study to assess the antimicrobial effects of garlic against Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus.

"The hypothesis being proved by RCS is that chiropractic has a significant, positive and far-reaching impact on health and wellness for people of all ages," stated Dr. Jackson. He added that the goal of RCS is to compile valid evidence of chiropractic's ability to:

** have a positive effect on quality of life

** help raise healthier children

** reduce the dependency on drugs and hospitalization

** decrease health care spending

** make anti-addiction programs more effective

** have a beneficial effect on lifestyle

** strengthen the immune system

Dr. Rondberg said he was motivated, in part, by the fact that most chiropractic colleges that receive NIH or other research grants fail to conduct the type of research projects needed to prove the lifetime benefits of subluxation correction I order to position chiropractic as the leading health care discipline of the 21st century. "Compared to medicine, chiropractic receives very little money for research," he stated. "Still, we've received millions of dollars over the past few years in private and government grants and we've squandered it on research that doesn't mean anything to the average layperson -- or even the average field doctor. The biggest criticism of chiropractic is still that we are 'unscientific' and have a '"dearth of good research to prove efficacy,' as <I>Newsweek<I> put it. How many more millions of dollars are going to be wasted before we have the scientific proof to show the world?"

Jackson agreed, noting that even the best intentioned chiropractic colleges would have difficulty developing , funding and conducting the kind of massive project undertaken by RCS. "To silence our critics, we must have an extremely large amount of data, compiled from people from all segments of society and geographically diverse. The RCS program intends to creates a network of thousands of field doctors who are trained to become clinical investigators, each collecting information on thousands of  recruited volunteers and  existing patients. That means we'll be able to analyze standardized data on millions of people.

The ability of the private sector to conduct the kind of project needed for this type of health care research has long been accepted in medicine. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, "Medical research is an interdisciplinary, multi-agency effort involving both the federal government and the private sector." In medicine, the private sector companies that usually conduct research are pharmaceutical makers, who use research results to market their drugs. "In chiropractic, there is no equivalent to the Pfizers or Eli Lillys," said Jackson. "We have to be the ones to step up to the plate and create the private sector firms that will fill the void in chiropractic research. That's what Dr. Rondberg has helped RCS do with his generous investment in chiropractic's future."

Not surprisingly, a small fringe element within the profession immediately attacked the program, based primarily on their assumption that Rondberg was involved. "Dr. Rondberg has been our most generous and enthusiastic supporter," Jackson admitted. "But he is not an officer of the company nor does he play any part in the running of RCS.  Making chiropractic research into a political football because of personal or philosophical differences is deplorable. Would these people prefer to destroy chiropractic rather than join RCS in supporting subluxation based chiropractic research? Is there hatred and fear of principled chiropractic that intense?"

All doctors of chiropractic -- regardless of their practice purpose or technique -- need to realize that the future of all health care is evidence based, Jackson stressed. "If you have evidence you win.  If you don’t, you lose.  If you believe that what you do everyday benefits humanity and improves the quality of life in all human beings, it is time to prove it. Join RCS today!"

For more information about RCS, call 800-909-1354 or 480-303-1694, or visit the RCS website at www.rcsprogram.com. Doctors of chiropractic may log on to a special limited-access area of the site by using the username DC2 and password RESEARCH.