August 2006

Introducing ...

A member of the RCS International Scientific Advisory Panel

When David Jackson, DC; Matthew McCoy, DC; and Robert Blanks, PhD founded Research & Clinical Science (RCS), they realized that the credibility and validity of the program would rely in great part on the quality of researchers chosen to analyze the data collected by chiropractors around the world.

They sought out a world‑class group of respected scientists with unimpeachable credentials and proven expertise in health care research. The result of their efforts was the RCS International Scientific Advisory Panel, a multi‑disciplinary group charged with overseeing the collection of, and analyzing, data compiled on hundreds of thousands of volunteers and chiropractic patients across the globe.

Each month during this special series, The Chiropractic Journal profiles one member of this prestigious panel.

Michael Whitehurst, EdD, FACSM

This month's featured member of the RCS International Scientific Advisory Panel, Dr. Michael Whitehurst, is an accomplished leader in the field of exercise science and health promotion with a sub‑specialty in the field of exercise programs for the elderly.

In addition to being an innovative researcher and dedicated teacher, Dr. Whitehurst has held numerous academic administrative posts over the past 25 years, serving as department chair and most recently Professor of Exercise and Health Promotion and Dean of the College of Education, Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Whitehurst launched his academic career by completing his Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and Biology from the University of Arizona in 1975. He then transferred to the University of Georgia where he completed his Masters (M.Ed., 1978) and Doctorate (Ed.D., 1981) in Exercise Science.

Always active in sports (collegiate football, basketball, baseball), it was no surprise that he gravitated toward exercise science.

His doctoral work examined the way people learn new motor skills. Subjects were asked to follow moving visual targets to evaluate the best verbal and cognitive cues for training.

Whitehurst found that the best results are obtained by frequent training sessions employing a wide variety of contextually rich and randomly presented training stimuli, instead of the old "learning by rote" method.

The implications for sports are clear. The best way to train infielders in baseball, for example, is to hold numerous practice drills that force them to react to everything from slow balls to fast bunts, and throwing to any of the bases in random order.

The same principles can be applied to any sport. To increase the flexibility and adaptability of soccer players, hold repeated training drills that use a variety of shots from different directions and at random intervals.

All of this is of great interest to health care professionals, particularly since sports injuries have become the second largest reason for visit to the primary care physician. Doctors of chiropractic are increasingly the provider of choice for both professional athletes and "weekend warriors."

But the implications of Whitehurst's research goes far beyond the limits of the sports arena or ball park. The same techniques can be applied to non‑athletes who have to learn new motor skills.

For instance, older patients can be "trained" how to move and walk more safely, to prevent falling, by having them engage in multiple sessions in which a variety of different tasks and conditions are employed. Falls are the leading cause of injury death for Americans 55 years and older and, according to the Center for Disease Control, being able to train them with the same effectiveness as a ballplayer could have tremendous health benefits for this at‑risk population.

Whitehall's expertise in exercise science is matched by his skills as an educator and administrator. During his first five years at FAU, Whitehall refined his teaching skills in Exercise Science, conducted research and received tenure. Following his promotion to Associate Professor in 1991, his career took a major leap when he was appointed first chair of the Department of Exercise Science/Wellness Education, College of Education (1991‑93), then Associate Dean (1993‑2000) and finally Acting Dean (2000‑01) for the College of Education.

In the Dean's office, he had responsibility for all college activities across six departments including oversight for a budget of $4.2 million, allocation of resources, planning, forecasting, personnel, and administrative responsibility for planning two new buildings, writing a feasibility study for a proposed program in Physical Therapy, and a number of distance learning offerings.

He describes this period as an administrator as being rewarding but challenging and views his administrative style as a bridge builder rather than fence maker. It's a style his colleagues appreciate and one that fosters strong programs and a friendly and collegial working environment in which to build strong teams.

In spite of a demanding administrative load, Whitehurst still maintained his passion and dedication for teaching. Over the years he taught a rigorous, evidence‑based nutrition course dealing with health and human performance, a course in motor learning and control for undergraduate students using special posturography equipment to examine posture and central visual control of posture, and a graduate course on aging, decision‑making and mobility largely in seniors.

The latter was inspired by a major finding published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (Fiatarone et al., 1990).

In this study, a total of 10 frail elderly subjects were prescribed an exercise program which markedly reversed the ravages of sarcopenia, an age‑related loss of muscle mass, strength and function.

Subjects in the JAMA study increased lower body strength by an average of 178%. The new‑found strength improved mobility, confidence, and independence and overall quality of life.

Whitehall's new research focuses on fall prevention in the elderly and his research group has developed several clinical protocols to improve strength and conditioning exercises to minimize falls.

These studies will utilize automated testing of posture and stability and incorporate various types of electrophysiological monitoring, including surface EMG.

One project on the horizon is the development of a "center for aging and human performance," which will link university, community and regional resources to promote general fitness and well‑being among seniors.

"It is so important for students to learn that aging need not mean frailty," Whitehurst stated. One answer to the current frail‑elderly stereotype is to remain active and fit by following what he terms a "wellness prescription program." Health care providers adjust this wellness prescription to accommodate the patient's starting fitness level and then gradually increase the intensity to accomplish the fitness objectives.

Whitehurst's innovative research focuses upon a wide variety of exercise and wellness topics. His curriculum vitae lists 32 peer‑reviewed publications, two book chapters and 100 published abstracts and other publications. He is an active member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and a frequent presenter at the annual meetings.

His research studies at FAU concentrate largely on older adults and involved aerobic training on reaction time and blood lipid profiles.

"I love setting up experiments and seeing them played out as planned," he admits.

He also enjoys training students. Over his two decades at FAU, he has trained hundreds of undergraduate students and more than 20 masters students.

The undergraduates generally enter various allied health fields such as physical therapy or exercise physiology. Among the masters‑level students, about 10% go on to earn their PhD degrees in exercise science at other institutions and pursue academic careers. The remaining masters students generally initiate wellness programs in corporate, hospital or other community‑based wellness centers.

As a member of the RCS International Scientific Advisory Panel, Whitehurst is particularly interested in the exercise and fitness benefits of chiropractic.

He is already aware of the large number of chiropractors involved in sports and the exercise field and is interested in the general wellness benefits of chiropractic that are being investigated by RCS.

He is particularly interested in tracking the fitness characteristics, exercise patterns and basic physiological parameters (e.g., body mass index, blood pressure and other components of metabolic syndrome) for those under chiropractic care.

Given the uniqueness of the "chiropractic lifestyle" and its wellness objective, the large RCS database characterizing individuals under chiropractic care will be of considerable value to the general health community.

Clearly, the most difficult challenges facing individuals living in western countries are the lifestyle‑related diseases (heart disease, type II diabetes, and stroke). For this reason, a comprehensive study of how regular chiropractic care influences exercise patterns and thereby general fitness would make a substantial contribution to the literature.

With Whitehurst on its International Scientific Advisory Panel, RCS is one step closer to conducting this study.