January 2008

Kent presentation named 'most outstanding' by IRAPS

An address by Christopher Kent, DC, Esq, on the NeuroSpinal Function Index (NSFi) was named the "Most Outstanding Presentation in Research" at the International Research and Philosophy Symposium hosted by the Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic in November.

Dr. Kent is co‑founder of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA), president of the Council on Chiropractic Practice, and a member of the World Chiropractic Alliance Board of Directors.

His lecture, "The Mental Impulse: A Strategy for Clinical Assessment," linked CLA's modern‑day diagnostic tools with BJ Palmer's innovations more than seven decades ago.

"In 1935, BJ Palmer began to experiment with the development of the electro‑encephalo‑neuromentimpograph to measure 'the quantity flow of mental impulse, nerve force between Innate above and function below, between brain and body,'" Kent stated. "Today, CLA's Insight Discovery Subluxation Station utilizes five technologies to survey neurospinal function. These include the evaluation of autonomic function through skin temperature analysis and heart rate variability; somatic muscle function using surface electromyography, sensory function using algometry, and biomechanics using spinography and inclinometry. By integrating these five measurements, a neurospinal function index can be derived."

The five separate and objective assessments provide a wealth of information that the chiropractor uses to manage patient care. But, one's NSFi is simply expressed as a single number (1 to 100). Aside from defining a patient's neurospinal health so succinctly, the NSFi allows for easy tracking of the progress that patients make while undergoing chiropractic care, Kent explained.

"My vision is that one day, as people come to understand the importance of the spine and nervous system in human health, the NSFi will be as commonly referenced as our blood pressure readings and cholesterol counts are today," he concluded.