Achieving Wellness: The Salutogenic Model Explained (Summer 2019)

The Salutogenic Model Explained

Rejecting ACA X-ray Guidelines Threats in Australia, Canada 7 Strategic Initiatives for the next 7 years VOLUME 40.2

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

VO LUME 4 0. 0 2 . 2 01 9 P UB L IS HER Ronald Oberstein, DC ED ITO R - IN - C HIEF Alana Hope Life West student Josh Wheeler talks with a patient during a recent service trip to Tonga.

C O PY ED ITO R Andrew Champagne

F E AT U R E S

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MAN AGIN G ED ITO R Kathy Miedema

C E L E B R AT I N G S A LU TO G E N E S I S At the intersection of chiropractic practice and chiropractic care lies an expression of health. Dig into this model of care with us.

COMMITMENT TO SERVE While one group celebrates 10 years serving in San Francisco, trips to India, Tonga, and service with Bay Area vets gain steam.

SPORTS PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE Students get the sideline experience as they learn to care for athletes in events like the AVPFirst youth volleyball tournaments.

D E PA R T M E N T S 04 H E ALT H CL I N I C

Pairing academics, clinical experience

05 I N DU ST RY N E W S

Chiropractors in Canada, Australia, face struggles to provide care

06 ST U DE N T L I FE

Manager Dani Lorta’s plans

08 RE SE ARC H

NUCCA head joins staff 3D anatomy software for students

14 I N ST I T UT I ON A L ADVAN C E M E N T

Donation fuels new campaign for labs

16 DON OR ROL L

Thank you for your support!

19 ALUM N I S P OTL IGHT S.F.’s Dr. Steven Adams

22 C O N TIN UIN G ED UCATIO N New opportunity for CE

23 THE WAVE

Don’t miss these speakers

26 ATHL ETIC S

Rugby team welcomes new coach Split victories in Bay Area Classic

29 B US IN ES S IN STITUTE Life West offers guidance for students, alumni

30 C HAMP IO N S FO R L IFE

Mentor Dr. Ray Daniels Student Champion Rebecca Harris

32 B O O K R EVIEW

The Hacking of the American Mind

ADVERTIS IN G C O ORDINATOR Margarita Ablaza P HOTO GR AP HY Mehak Khullar C O N TR IB UTIN G WRIT E RS Ronald Oberstein, DC Dan Murphy, DC Mary Lucus-Flannery, DC Jeanne Ohm, DC Peter Kevorkian, DC Crisselle Garrido Dani Lorta ADVERTIS IN G ad@lifewest.edu B OAR D O F R EGEN TS Jimmy Nanda, DC, Chairman Kristen Giles, DC Cameron Hastings, AASME, AASEM Mark Kimes, DC Angel Ochoa-Rea, DC Jeanne Ohm, DC Steven Silk, DC Scott Turner, CPA C O N TAC T US Life Chiropractic College West 25001 Industrial Blvd.

Hayward, CA 94545 USA +1 (510) 780-4500 Communications@lifewest.edu

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HOT TOPICS

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Life West is proud to honor the recipients of this quarter’s Give Do Love Serve Awards!

It’s fantastic to have such inspiring people as part of our faculty and staff.

01. Elisabeth Miranda – GIVE 02. Dr. Kerri Duggins – DO 03. Mercy Higgwe – LOVE 04. Michael Poss – SERVE

#salutogenesis #subluxation #pediatric #chiro #chiropractic #chiropractor #WellnessWednesday FOLLOW THE CHIROPRACTIC EVENT OF THE YEAR

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LIFE WEST SPORTS #LifeWestRugby

WHAT IS LIFE WEST FOLLOWING? #salutogenesis Life West students got a taste of postgraduate life at Thursday’s job fair, which attracted 33 practices to the campus. We extend our gratitude to all students and practices that stopped by!

#LifeWest’s Ron Oberstein: Our #Chiropractic Team served with open hearts & humility, gave everything they had for 3 long days. My deepest Thank You to Sat Guru Mata Ji, #santnirankarimission for unwavering commitment, love, allowing us to be of service in the BIGGEST way.

Want to learn more about the salutogenic health model?

Jeanne Ohm, DC, talks about salutogenesis and how it relates to chiropractic in a recent video and again in a podcast with President Ron Oberstein: info.lifewest.edu/salutogenesis

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Had the honor of being present at a friendly match between Central Washington University and the Life West Gladiatrix rugby teams. Both sides showed great sportswomenship and respect for the game. Everyone broke bread afterward, and new friendships were made. So proud of our Life West squad...humility and talent equals Champions!! #lifewest #lifewestrugby#lifewestproud #rugby

LifeChiropracticCollegeWest linkedin.com/school/lifewest @LifeWestCollege @Life_West LifeWestChiropractic

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

DR. RON OBERSTEIN PRESIDENT

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ Many in the profession feel chiropractic has lost its identity. In fact, there are those who want to abandon the principles and philosophy that chiropractic was founded on ...

Bob Dylan wrote this song in the 1960s, and it was picked up by the people as a rally song for change. The ‘60s were times of great distress as well as great change—Vietnam was in full flight, with a divided U.S. feeling unsure about whether we should be in that country. Eighteen-year-olds were being drafted against their will, and many ran to Canada and Mexico to escape the call to fight. Activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was making his own call for equal rights, and President John F. Kennedy put a man on the moon while working tirelessly to create a country with sound moral strength.

It was a time of peace and war, love and hate, and a time where people started to express their inner feelings. Though it was a challenging time, great things emerged from the ‘60s—from the changes and from the disruption. Bob Dylan had no idea the impact his song would have on society.

I say that the same is true today about chiropractic.

Many in the profession feel chiropractic has lost its identity. In fact, there are those who want to abandon the principles and philosophy that chiropractic was founded on and create a much different-looking profession. There are those who want to introduce pharmaceuticals, injections and forms of surgery that do not fit with the chiropractic model which has existed for the past 123 years.

With this chaos and change, one can easily assume there is no agreement on what chiropractic is, or what chiropractic can do. From the outside-in and inside-out, it comes down to the profession’s identity.

In this issue of Life West Magazine, we are putting a magnifying glass on the identity of chiropractic.

Read our articles on Salutogenesis, and know that we feel this term and what stands behind it is a firm foundation for

the identity of chiropractic, which is thoughtful and validated by science.

Salutogenesis is an all-encompassing framework for health, allowing individual practitioners, no matter what techniques they may use, to easily become part of the Salutogenic model. I trust you’ll enjoy the concept, and see how easily it defines who we are as chiropractors.

As we move through the changes in our profession, one area we cannot ignore is research.

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE OF LIFE WEST MAGAZINE, WE WILL ASK QUESTIONS SUCH AS:

1)

The answers to these questions will not only surprise you, but support you in practicing a Vitalistic model of chiropractic.

It is my hope and the position of Life West that as a community, we embrace who we are as a profession with a strong identity, moving forward while honoring the experiences of our practice members/ patients/clients, the clinical skills of our doctors and research values of our scientific community, all to create a profession with an identity that is solid and sustainable.

What are the clinical standards for acceptable research?

2) 3)

What role does research play in everyday practice?

How does research fit into the evidenceinformed practice model?

#LIFEWEST

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Dr. Ron Oberstein, President Life Chiropractic College West

H E A LT H C L I N I C

SHIFTING THE LEARNING CURVE

By Kathy Miedema

Life Chiropractic College West is a few quarters into a new curriculum program that gives students clinical experience earlier, as well as changing the flow of their academic experience to coincide with the clinical experience. Life West’s academic leadership is hoping the changes will balance the load of requirements from both the classroom and the clinic throughout the learning process.

The Clinically Inspired Learning program began with students who enrolled in Fall 2018.

“Research shows that when student learning is coupled with hands-on experience, reflective analysis and realtime exposure, it becomes more tangible and concrete,” said Dr. Pardeep Kullar, Vice President, Academic Affairs, who is working to change the way Life West students earn their chiropractic degree, alongside Dr. Scott Donaldson, Vice President of Clinic Operations.

Right now, Dr. Donaldson said, many students experience their education in two phases: academic courses, then clinical experience. It can feel like two separate programs. “The students experience clinic as starting school over,” he said. “They shouldn’t feel so much stress and anxiety.

It’s one program, and the clinical portion is the application of what they have been

learning in the classroom.”

The new program looks to meld the two together, Dr. Kullar said, so that students are getting relevant clinical experience on a topic they have just studied in the academic courses. The program also looks at changing the timing in which academic courses are delivered. As students begin to practice in the clinic, the academic pressures should ease off. By the time students are in their final quarters, the academic load should be lower, and the clinic experience increases proportionately.

This really makes clear for students how what they’re learning in the first year or two applies to clinical experience and to being a chiropractor, Dr. Donaldson said.

Dr. Kullar said she expects this approach to push students to make connections at a deeper level.

Setting students up for success But clinically inspired learning goes beyond making lessons relevant, intending to also instill more confidence in students and help them transition from student to chiropractor more smoothly after graduation.

“We want them to be competent and confident at the same time, and this plan is designed to help develop that confidence as well,” Dr. Donaldson said. “When they

CCE ACCREDITATION RENEWS In January, Life West received notice from the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) that accreditation has been reaffirmed for eight years. This was done following a self-study initiative, a site visit from the CCE to Life West’s San Francisco Bay Area campus, and a follow-up visit with Life West administrators and the council.

Life West congratulates the entire campus community and thanks staff and faculty members who worked so hard preparing the self-study and participating in the site visit.

CCE is the national accrediting Agency for Doctor of Chiropractic Programs within the United States. Accreditation

provides assurances of educational quality and institutional integrity to governments, jurisdictional licensing and regulatory bodies, institutions, professional organizations, students, other accrediting agencies and the public at large.

The Council on Chiropractic Education accredits 15 Doctor of Chiropractic degree programs at 18 locations in the United States. CCE maintains recognition by the United States Department of Education as the national accrediting body for Doctor of Chiropractic Programs and chiropractic solitary purpose institutions of higher education. LW

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Dr. Pardeep Kullar

Dr. Scott Donaldson

leave this program, they can go forward with confidence in what they’re doing. I think that’s really important, especially in this generation of students that we’re training.

We’re kind of at the front edge of that with this program.”

Students will also have greater opportunities to participate in preceptorships, where they’ll get an expanded clinical experience as they join a real practice in their last quarter of school.

“Confidence comes from hands-on experience. It comes from the delivery of chiropractic care and successfully doing so multiple times, over as much time as you can give them,” Dr. Donaldson said.

Life West is continuing to fine-tune the details. “Students get experiences that tie to student learning in their Diversified and subluxation analysis classes, as well as in other classes, as part of their clinical experience portfolio requirements,” Dr. Kullar said.

In the third quarter after its launch, 70 students were enrolled in the program; that number will jump to 140 by the fourth quarter, with enrollment continuing to climb. Dr. Mary Lucus-Flannery, Dean of Enrollment, says, “The enrollment team has been talking to prospective students about the program for the past few months, and when they hear about how much clinical experience they will get at Life West, they get really excited. The prospective students totally understand what a big deal this is. They know that the clinic experience is the place where all the elements of their education come together, and they get a glimpse into what their lives will look like when they are in practice.”

The program sets Life West apart because of what it achieves, Lucus-Flannery added. “This program gives students nearly double the clinical experience, which allows them to graduate with more confidence and competence.” LW

INDUSTRY NEWS

the CCBC. Several chiropractors who have been reprimanded or fined for not following the CCBC policy are now coming together and discussing how to combat what they consider to be unfair treatment toward Vitalistic chiropractors, according to sources familiar with the issue.

Life West President Ron Oberstein, DC, reports that while many chiropractors, and Life West itself, feel that research is an important part of health care, being able to teach and act upon the Salutogenic model of health is just as or more critically important.

“It’s very important to understand that evidence-based care includes patient values, clinical values, and research values,” he said. “They all count, but if you don’t have the research to support a particular finding, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Research only uncovers what is already there. When Christopher Columbus discovered America, it was already there. You can’t rely on a research project that may take years to complete to determine the efficacy of care when you see patients getting better every day in chiropractic offices.”

The Salutogenic model of health care recognizes that the body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism, and when vertebral subluxations are removed, the innate recuperative power within the body allows it to repair and flourish.

In Australia, Dr. Sim said trying to promote the movement for a Vitalistic and Salutogenic model of health care has been frustrating. He sat on the board of what is now called the Australia Chiropractic Association for several years, trying to offer a different perspective of chiropractic.

Now he’s leading the new Australian Chiropractic College, which will be focused on a Vitalistic/Salutogenic model.

“It’s not about a new program, but really about how do we enshrine or protect core chiropractic tenets,” he said. “No one else in the country does that, and we need to teach it and breathe life into it or sign a death warrant.” LW

Addressing Attacks in Canada and Australia

By Kathy Miedema

When chiropractic faces a threat, Life Chiropractic College West takes notice.

Chiropractors who follow a Vitalistic or Salutogenic philosophy, which encourages the creation of health via chiropractic, have become the target of campaigns in both Australia and Canada. While the two countries are an ocean apart, the campaigns have some similarities: Certain groups are taking evidence-based health care and misusing it to take aim at chiropractors, who feel their ability to share chiropractic in a Vitalistic model has been hampered.

In Australia, a number of things have happened, says Patrick Sim, DC. Dr. Sim, who has recently been named president of the soon-to-open Australian Chiropractic College in Adelaide, South Australia, points to the creation of a group in 2011 called the Friends of Science in Medicine. This Australian association’s goal has been to “stamp out quackery and pseudo-science,” Dr. Sim said. The organization’s website focuses on supporting evidence-based care and calls out where it thinks health care techniques are flawed. The result has been a series of attacks on everything from gluten-free beauty products to vitamins to chiropractic care for infants.

Dr. Sim said university courses on topics such as homeopathy and Pilates are being pushed out of the university system

In Australia, university courses such as homeopathy and pilates are being pushed out of the university system ...

because of social pressures orchestrated by this group. Events that used to draw hundreds of chiropractors now no longer exist. And the chiropractic association recently rebranded and is working to leave behind its vitalistic roots.

“It’s had a huge impact on the chiro community,” Dr. Sim said. “Chiropractors are being pushed into a hole somewhat, and are on the whole more isolated.”

In Canada’s British Columbia, a new policy that took effect Nov. 1, 2018, bans chiropractors from talking about the benefits of chiropractic that do not address musculo-skeletal symptoms.

Again, a push for evidence-based care has become a mechanism Dr. Patrick Sim for targeting chiropractic care.

The College of Chiropractors of British Columbia (CCBC), a governing body for chiropractors in the province, created a policy that bans the use of promotional communications such as testimonials on chiropractic websites and in social media, in part because the CCBC says clinical research must show definitively that a particular adjustment will help a particular condition.

Chiropractors in the area say they are not claiming to treat anything, but merely adjusting vertebral subluxations that may result in better health overall, including relief of symptoms from a particular condition. In addition, they say the details of the policy are murky and their questions have gone unanswered by #LIFEWEST

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CAMPUS NEWS

Profile

Student Life To give, do, love and serve with Dani Lorta

Life West’s Lasting Purpose is what first attracted Dani Lorta, the new Student Life Manager, to her new job. She has a passion for helping people achieve both their personal and academic goals.

As Lorta learned more about the Life West community, she learned that these values “underpin all of the work, all of the programs—it is vital to what Student Life does.”

Lorta began her career at Life West under the tutelage of Jackie Biron, Director of Student Life. A fixture at the school for more than 20 years, “Mamma Jackie” guided Lorta through the first few months on the job, priming her for what was to come—Biron’s retirement.

“It’s a big job, a lot of responsibility,” Lorta From left to right: said. “Most of the programs we have in Dani Lorta and Jackie Biron Student Life were created by Jackie. I take those responsibilities seriously. It’s an honor to be behind her desk and allow her vision to herbal healer in Northern Mexico. When grow and blossom into the next generation.” her grandmother immigrated to the U.S. in Biron’s vision is one of the focal points the 1940s, she brought the remedies and for her role at Life West, but Lorta has set approaches to health and wellness passed other goals in her new job. To enrich and down from her own mother, which she expand the school’s imparted to her various programs, Life granddaughter.

Acute pain during her second West is enhancing its Lorta grew up pregnancy brought her to data collection. Lorta and attended chiropractic. will spearhead these school in the efforts to capture vital Bay Area, metrics and increase the reach, intent and studying counseling and psychology at Saint impact of campus programs. Lorta also Mary’s College. As a student without health plans to introduce a variety of opportunities coverage, her interest in her grandmother’s for students to offer their time, talent, and holistic approach to health and wellness treasure to the local community, highlighting peaked, sparking a lifelong commitment the vibrant tradition of community service at to educating herself on natural health Life West. promotion. She made lifestyle changes and implemented natural interventions to optimize Getting personal her own health. Acute pain during her second Lorta is proud to be a third-generation pregnancy brought her to chiropractic. native Californian (her great-grandfather was After earning her Master of Arts degree an original homesteader in Mount Shasta in Counseling, Lorta’s career path gave City). She is equally proud of her roots in her a wide scope of health and educational Mexico—her great-grandmother was an expertise.

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“It’s an honor to be behind her desk and allow her vision to grow and blossom into the next generation.”

– Dani Lorta From a counselor in a community health agency, to a field representative for a member of Congress, to a certified executive function coach, to a practitioner of traditional nutrition, each of her roles propelled her pursuit of wellness in both life and work.

This commitment is extended to others— Lorta has worked closely with high school students over the years, including counseling pregnant and parenting teens. Just before coming to Life West, she was the program manager and summer school principal at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward.

Lorta is a hard-working mom of two—one daughter, one son—who continues to view health holistically. With paleo principles guiding her diet, Lorta teaches a love for cooking and knowledge about healthy choices to her children.

When she’s not actively Mom-ing or involved in her job at Life West, she is catching a quick read or may even be found on stage at the local karaoke bar, singing her heart out. LW

CAMPUS NEWS

LASTING PURPOSE GUIDES PLAN FOR STUDENTS

Students doing good

By Dani Lorta

It is Student Life’s role to help ensure that each of our DCs enters the professional world with a foundation of the values of Lasting Purpose, to fulfill the vision of creating a brighter future for humanity.

It’s been fun collaborating with the Student Life team and other colleagues to figure out what these ideals mean in a very practical, concrete way. How do we infuse the daily activities of Student Life with Lasting Purpose? How do we walk the talk of giving, doing, loving and serving? As I look forward, how will we incorporate the strategic plan initiatives of building a campus culture that embraces diversity and inclusion, and develop a culture of service within and outside the college? These are the strategic initiatives that most incorporate the work of the Office of Student Life.

It’s easy to think about a culture of community service since Life West already has a robust culture of giving. One of Mamma Jackie’s final pieces of advice to the student body before her retirement was “never suppress a generous thought.” Throughout her career at Life West, Jackie created a legacy of generosity. From participation in the annual Creekside Community Church Valentine’s Day Dance for adults with disabilities, to the annual backpack and toy drives, to the yearly fundraising drive for the Oklahaven Have-a-Heart campaign, generosity has been a hallmark of the student experience at Life West.

from abundance means that there is always an opportunity to extend oneself in the service of others, be it our local Hayward and Bay Area communities, the student community, the faculty and staff of Life West, or the chiropractic community.

There will be venues for every student’s generous thought, along with expanded opportunities for recognition of that generosity.

Diversity and inclusion are also strategic initiatives of the college that align with the mission and purpose of Student Life. The Life West community is rich in its diversity.

With students from all over the United States and around the world, a myriad of cultures and traditions comprise our community, yet the generosity Highlight what is of spirit and passion already beautiful for healing that One of Mamma Jackie’s final Like light and each student brings pieces of advice to the student shadow in a to our campus body before her retirement photograph, the next and to their study was “never suppress a steps are highlighting of chiropractic is what is already what connects generous thought.” beautiful, not improving us. Student Life it. Student Life will be will ensure that creating systems to communicate the service all students have equitable access to our opportunities for students as well as using programs, as well as ample opportunity technology to market and celebrate student to celebrate and appreciate the incredibly giving. We will also be defining what service beautiful diversity of our community, both on means on our campus. Give, do, love, serve campus and off. LW #LIFEWEST

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Opportunities for service are a big part of student life at Life West. Here are a couple of recent examples: One Warm Coat: Student Erin McGonigle collected dozens of coats during the winter months.

She says many of the coats were dropped off by members of the community, as bins at the front of Life West, at the entrance to the Health Clinic, were overflowing.

They were dropped off at the Homeless Youth Alliance in San Francisco.

What Did She Say? Students Riley Gerlinger and Alison Gratz collected women’s clothes for teen girls, which were distributed at an event for Bay Area teen girls in a partnership with non-profit organization 1Closet. Gerlinger said the goal was to empower teen girls with a new outfit and advice from bold women, given during a panel at the event.

RESEARCH

FACULTY AT ACC-RAC

LIFE WEST RESPONDS TO ACA X-RAY CAMPAIGN

Life West sent five faculty members to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges Educational Conference and Research Agenda Conference (ACC-RAC) conference in Baltimore, Maryland this spring. This was the 26th educational conference hosted by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges.

Dr. Sergio Fernando gave a platform session in the Education track on chiropractic student attitudes, skills, and knowledge of evidence-based practice: EBASE survey tailored to students in pre-clinical and clinical chiropractic trainings (co-author Dr. Joel Alcantara).

Dr. Ramona Houston presented in the Education and Integration track among the Scientific Contributed Platform Sessions. Her presentation was on peer-to-peer instruction in a clinical sciences lab.

Dr. Krista Ward gave a platform session in the Education track on evaluating a service learning assignment in a doctor of chiropractic program public health course (co-authors Dr. Donna Odierna and Dr. Monica Smith).

Dave Straub presented a poster with Dr. Norman Strutin and Suzanne Ray during a reception and presentation of posters in the Grand Ballroom. The poster looks at experiences and perspectives of graduating alternate admission track students at Life Chiropractic College West.

Dr. Brian Gatterman co-presented a poster that describes and demonstrates Vertebral Distraction Pump (VDP) for intersegmental distraction using DMX fluoroscopic imaging (co-author Dr. Gregg Anderson).

Two recent Life West graduates also presented: Dr. Jee Won Suh (graduated 2016) presented a poster on a case study of a patient with aqueductal stenosis causing hydrocephalus (with co-authors Dr. James Beadle and Dr. Bryan Gatterman).

Dr. Noah Volz 18 presented a poster based on his honors research project, on patients with concussions (with co-authors Dr. Scott Lessard, Dr. Chris Woolf and Dr. Monica Smith). LW

In direct opposition to the Choosing Wisely initiative that has been delivered by the American Chiropractic Association, Life Chiropractic College West believes firmly in the use of spinal imaging for patient safety and the detection of Vertebral Subluxation, at the doctor of chiropractic’s discretion.

The ACA states in its Choosing Wisely statement (http:// www.choosingwisely.org/societies/american-chiropracticassociation/) that physicians and patients should question routine use of spinal imaging for patients with acute back pain of less than six weeks, especially in the absence of certain red flags. It is Life West’s position that in addition to performing a patient history and diagnostic workup, it is both the duty and responsibility of the chiropractor to perform any further diagnostic tests, including X-ray if indicated.

Patients may have underlying conditions that are not readily explained by their consultative history and/or examination procedures. Adding X-ray results or other spinal imaging findings to the data available, when appropriate, may give a clearer picture of the patient’s internal health status and provide different potential avenues of care. The judgment of the chiropractor, when determining the appropriate approach to chiropractic care, is better informed by multiple points of data.

The ACA Choosing Wisely campaign also fails to take into consideration the many practices and approaches of chiropractic, which employ manual as well as non-force techniques. Any campaign for chiropractic care must consider the diversity of techniques used, as well as the protocols and specificity involved in the care being delivered.

The decision to X-ray a patient must be based upon the case history, examination findings, best available evidence, professional judgment of the chiropractor and the unique features of the individual patient. This decision should be determined by the doctor of chiropractic, who takes responsibility for the safety of the patient and the appropriateness of care given. This should never be determined by a campaign that fails to consider, among other issues, the differences in individual patients and the differences in chiropractic techniques. LW

NUCCA HEAD AT LW

Jeff Scholten, DC, recently joined the Life West faculty to teach classes on spinal disorders. He is the president of the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, or NUCCA, as well as a published clinical researcher. He is a board member of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) Council on Upper Cervical Care, a board member of the Upper Cervical Research Foundation, and director of the Vital Posture Clinic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he lives. Dr. Scholten introduced himself to students at a Life West Friday seminar recently and spoke about starting the journey in Dr. Jeff Scholten chiropractic and where it could lead. LW L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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Ron Oberstein, DC President, Life Chiropractic College West Scott Donaldson, DC Vice President, Clinical Operations The Life Chiropractic College West Radiology Department Brian Gatterman, DC, DACBR Jamie Motley, DC, DACBR Savannah Shortz, DC, MS, DACBR

RESEARCH

3D ANATOMY AT TOUCH OF A BUTTON Life West’s Student Academic Success Center recently purchased 3D4Medical, state- of-theart software designed to assist students in all medical fields. Procured earlier this year, 3D4 Medical is already being utilized by Life West students.

“The 3D4 Medical application allows our students to experience digital learning of the atlas at the touch of a button on any device and in three-dimensional form, with the ability to enlarge any component to get a close-up look,” said Dr. Pardeep Kullar, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “It’s an excellent tool that enables learners to take charge of their learning experience and really hone into the areas of study they need to master the atlas.”

The thee-dimensional presentation of the tool is obviously really nice for the students, academic adviser Tia Ruggles said. “You can start with the bare bones of a skeleton and build on that. You can add the endocrine system, nerves, organs, muscles, and you can move around and change from female to male.” LW

CASE STUDY: IMPROVING DIAGNOSIS Kim Khauv, DC, a member of the Life West faculty, recently co-authored a research article published in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research: “Cervical Dr. Kim Khauv Spine Subluxation Leading to Discoligamentous Injury Following a Motor Vehicle Accident: A Case Report.” Here’s an overview of the report.

Objective Current literature demonstrates that traumatic cervical spine injuries are difficult to diagnose, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences. Standard radiography, computerized tomography scans (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have limitations. A highly

accurate Computed Radiographic Mensuration Analysis (CRMA) system has been utilized to assess segmental motion. The objective of this case study is to describe the application of CRMA on cervical flexion/extension radiographs for the diagnosis of cervical vertebral subluxation and discoligamentous instability following a motor vehicle accident.

Clinical Features A 27-year-old male presented to a chiropractic office with whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) after a motor vehicle incident four years prior. Two previous MRI studies revealed cervical spine disc bulges and annular fissure but failed to diagnose cervical vertebral subluxation and discoligamentous instability.

Intervention and outcomes: An informed consent was obtained from the patient for examination and radiographic examination. A radiographic #LIFEWEST

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examination consisting of a fiveview cervical spine series, analyzed

by CRMA, revealed cervical spine translation of 4.24 millimeters at the fourth cervical vertebra (C4) over the fifth cervical vertebra (C5) in flexion and extension films.

Conclusion This case report suggests CRMA software may be a useful tool to accurately diagnose cervical vertebral subluxation and discoligamentous instability in MVA patients. We encourage future studies utilizing the CRMA software to improve diagnosis of cervical spine injuries. LW Look for more of the great research

being done by Life West and colleagues in this space. Do you have something to share?

Email us at communications@ lifewest.edu.

The Salutogenic Model

ACHIEVING WELLNESS The Future of Chiropractic

By Jeanne Ohm, DC

Salutogenesis is a revolutionary way to frame the topic of health. It brings us to a positive definition of health as something to be worked with, attuned to, and even enhanced. This tangible relationship to health has been sorely missing in conventional medicine, whose purpose

“

Salutogenesis, which literally means “the birth of health”...

is not to improve health, but to remove disease. Indeed, the definition of health in modern culture largely rests on the notion that health is simply the absence of disease.

This negative definition of health, and the fear of disease which it breeds in people, is what Salutogenesis truly opposes.

It’s important to understand this point about fear; that it is not the focus on disease that constitutes the opposite of Salutogenesis, but the fear of disease that accompanies that focus. It’s not salutogenic to deny oneself, or others, pathogenic

interventions. Rather, salutogenesis is about our improved ability to make choices from a place of trust and confidence, where fear does not dictate our choices to us.

When we adopt a Salutogenic framework in our lives, trust and confidence grows in our innate ability to be well, especially through the processes of disease.

Salutogenesis, which literally means “the birth of health,” allows us to keep our eyes fixed on the core of our healthy expression underlying all processes of the body so we can make choices that serve and support that core essence of health.

Today, many people do not have an understanding of the vast intelligence that’s integrated with their living biology.

To have such an understanding is to have a Sense of Coherence, a term extensively utilized in the Salutogenic model. Sense of Coherence may mean many things to different people, but one thing which it does not mean is the mere “absence of disease.” Sense of Coherence is about the elevation of the conscious mind over the reactionary, fear-based impulses that are often provoked within us whenever out-of-the-ordinary experiences occur.

Sense of Coherence is what allows us L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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to take our confidence and incorporate it into all our life experiences, especially those that might otherwise bring us doubt and concern. Sense of Coherence cannot eliminate all conflicts and disease, but it vastly improves our ability to navigate them, and ultimately, integrate them.

The transformational power of salutogenesis is more than a change of perspective—it’s the functional improvements that occur when the mind and body hone in on what enhances their living potential. In exactly the opposite way of what occurs when we become fragmented in a state of fear and panic, Salutogenesis aligns us to our living intelligence on all levels of our experience and for all occasions, so we can become coherent and powerful conductors of our own health, and exemplars for others as well.

In today’s culture, it is often perceived to be more profitable, “scientific” or “professional” to address people’s fears and offer the salvation of an external cure.

The truth is, however, that this is largely a manufactured perception, concocted by a system that is more interested in extracting the life-force, money and dependency of people than it is in seeing their greatest

Salutogenesis and the Chiropractic Language

DR. RON OBERSTEIN PRESIDENT, LIFE CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE WEST

state of health come to fruition. We know this because we see it in the hierarchy employed in the current model of health care, which pivots disease maintenance above everything else, including individual freedoms. This hierarchy needs to be flipped on its head because it is through individual freedom, courage and the Salutogenic way of life that we will overcome disease in a sustainable, empowering way. More importantly, it is how we will banish the fears which impede and lock us into our dependency on external judgements and interventions.

Our choice to either inspire someone’s innate potential on all levels, or sell them a prescriptive cure based on their fear of disease, determines the kind of hierarchy that operates within our practice and our profession. For the person seeking care, it’s also a litmus test that we will either pass or fail as providers with respect to each person’s deeper search for something more than a “magic pill.” The divide between Salutogenesis and pathogenesis in our profession is held by the day-today choices of each practitioner who’s caring for individuals. Will we treat the specific pathological symptom in theory and in practice? Or will we help align a person to Salutogenesis—the origin of their autonomous health and well-being?

A helpful way for chiropractors to determine where they stand is to ask the following question: Was chiropractic

In this issue of the Life West magazine, we talk about the term Salutogenesis and how it applies to the chiropractic model of health.

In the most recent issue of the magazine, Life West took a stand on the term vertebral subluxation. We wrote about why it was an important phrase in today’s modern chiropractic language, giving us both historical context as well as a way to understand, very specifically, what is happening within the spine and nervous system.

In this issue, we are talking again about the chiropractic language. Our words define us and our way of practicing. A

term like Salutogenesis, which literally means the “creation of health,” provides us with an opportunity to talk about the Vitalistic chiropractic model in a way that offers vivid clarity and guidance.

At Life West, it’s a priority to educate both our students and the public about the ways in which chiropractic care can create a healthier world. By focusing on the ways in which chiropractic can not only offer a creation of health, but also an ongoing journey toward optimal health, we are most certainly designing the roadmap to “Creating A Brighter Future For Humanity.” LW

intuited and brought into this world with the intent of locating the origin of disease, or was it brought into practice to help us locate and understand the fountain of health?

Granted, no one I know is exclusively salutogenic in their perceptions. In fact, the subluxation is a great example of how the chiropractic profession has walked the narrow path between Salutogenesis and pathogenesis from its origins all the way to the present day. There’s no fault in exploring the cause of disease. However, my observations have shown me that laying claims to the cause of disease appears to be a dangerous game, not only because it is a coveted claim by other vested Dr. Jeanne Ohm interests who hold power and influence, but more importantly, because it tends to corrupt the profession which holds it as the germ of its existence. Even here, I’m fascinated by the liberating potential of a Salutogenic application, for Salutogenesis counterbalances this haughty corruption in any profession.

Salutogenesis

allows us to sit back and observe the living intelligence of life and health with utmost appreciation, so as to keep health above its own shadow of pathogenesis. It allows the principle of health to stand tall, a principle that otherwise dances quite low to the ground innervating, as it must, between this world and the invisible foundation from which it springs. Through our connection to salutogenesis, we keep ourselves aimed and coherent, even should the task of helping define disease be laid at our feet. As long as we hold to the positive definition of health, we will never lose ourselves.

We will serve our profession through new horizons. We will continue to serve the individual. And we will be aligned to the greater potential belonging to our human species. LW

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Salutogenesis allows us to sit back and observe the living intelligence of life and health.

C O V E R F E AT U R E

Salutogenesis, Chiropractic Philosophy and Clinical Service

By Peter J Kevorkian, DC

Antonovsky points out that there is a continuum in care from salutogenic (health-ease) to pathogenic (disease-ease).

Salutogenesis—meaning “giving birth to health”—is a term coined by Aaron Antonovsky nearly 40 years ago.

Antonovsky recognized that just because a person was successfully treated for medical conditions, it didn’t necessarily mean that they were “healthier or well.”

Since the founding of our profession, chiropractors have understood that wellbeing is a natural and normal phenomenon, and they have promoted the fact that while a healthy body is one that is functioning properly, it is not necessarily one that is free of diagnosed conditions. In this article, I will explore the concept of Salutogenesis and how it interfaces with chiropractic practice and chiropractic philosophy.

The philosophy of chiropractic is based on deductive reasoning, starting with an assertion (premise) that there are order and organization in the universe. From that “Big Idea,” we have created a profession that strives to improve the quality of life by reducing interferences to the human nervous system. The conservative faction of the chiropractic profession continuously asserts that we do not “treat” conditions; rather, we contribute to the well-being of people by adjusting spinal subluxations.

This “non-therapeutic” core has always lacked a word that could describe that focus ... until now. Salutogenesis may be that missing term.

SALUTOGENESIS VS. PATHOGENESIS The present health care system is primarily based on a therapeutic—pathogenic— focus. Pathogenesis is the creation of disease, and case management is built upon diagnosis and treatment. However, salutogenesis opposes the theory of pathogenesis. As a new term and new concept, the application of the Salutogenic approach is being defined and refined in our culture. I believe that chiropractic will be a major contributor to this health care ideology.

Antonovsky points out that there is a continuum in care from Salutogenic (health-ease) to pathogenic (diseaseease). Within the pathogenic approach, the caregiver diagnoses, treats and strives to cure. In this direction, a determinant is made of what is broken or dysfunctional, and the practitioner seeks to remove or fix it. The case is managed based upon this dysfunction, and the patient is released from care once the condition is effectively treated and resolved.

Within the salutogenic approach, though, a caregiver assesses how they can intervene to improve the system. Most often, the determinants

“

for intervention are based on well-being or vitality. In this model, nothing is managed.

Instead, continuous positive input is invested into the system—input that can continue for a lifetime, such as eating wholesome foods or exercising regularly. In a Salutogenic model, the goal is to optimize the system and doesn’t necessarily have a predetermined endpoint.

T H E S U B LU X AT I O N PERCEPTION

Chiropractic philosophy is underscored with a recognition that the body is a selfhealing, self-regulating organism. The goal of chiropractic intervention is not to control, manipulate or manage the body; it is to honor the life process and provide positive input (spinal adjustment) to the body to allow for ideal adaptability and functionality.

The interesting challenge on a philosophical and practice perspective is the issue of vertebral subluxation.

Many chiropractors view subluxation

... it is to honor the life process and provide positive input (spinal adjustment) to the body to allow for ideal adaptability and functionality.

as a diagnosis upon which we develop a treatment. On the flip side, some chiropractors see subluxation as a phenomenon that is held in the body as a result of the body being subjected to non-adaptable forces. The goal of the adjustment is not to treat or restore; rather, to free and integrate.

There are three practice approaches that the chiropractor who exclusively analyzes and adjusts subluxations can employ. ●● The first is to adjust vertebral subluxations to treat diagnosed conditions.

Identified as a causal factor of a disorder or disease, the subluxation is viewed as an entity that needs to be removed. This doctrine clearly fits within the pathogenic model of clinical intervention and is considered therapeutic in nature. ●● The second is to adjust vertebral subluxations to restore spinal integrity, either biomechanically or neurophysiologically (or both), and is performed for the maximum adaptability of the physiology. The subluxation is perceived as a condition of the body that necessitates reversal. While the care of the person is Salutogenic, the attention on the subluxation is pathogenic. ●● The objective of the third approach is to impart positive input into the nervous system. The subluxation is viewed as a phenomenon. The adjustment does not “undo” the subluxation; instead, it allows the body to adapt to that force and create a greater level of ease. This type of approach is Salutogenic in both how the chiropractor addresses the subluxation and how the impact of the input on the physiology is viewed.

While the perception of the subluxation differs, in all three approaches the chiropractor embraces the adjustment as the central point of care.

THE SOC THEORY

Antonovky’s theory was based upon a person’s use of coping mechanisms under times of stress—an ability to cope that he termed as a “sense of coherence.” Sense of coherence (SOC) is his theoretical formulation that explains stress in human functioning. The higher a person’s sense of coherence, the better they can adapt to stressors. SOC has three components: Comprehensibility: A person’s ability to understand what is happening in their life and predict what will happen in the future. ●● Manageability: A person having the skills, the support or the resources to take care of things—they are in control of their life. ●● Meaningfulness: A person’s

feeling or sense of worthiness and fulfillment—they care about what happens in their life.

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between Antonovsky’s theories and ideas and chiropractic philosophy and logic, there are Dr. Peter Kevorkian many elements that dovetail with each another.

I believe that both the health care culture and the health care consumer are awakening to a new paradigm. People are recognizing that treating a condition is only a very small piece of the well-being puzzle.

Currently, more health care dollars are being spent than ever before on whole foods, organic foods, personal growth experiences, health clubs and the like. This

The higher a person’s sense of coherence, the better they can adapt to stressors.

From a philosophical standpoint, one would expect that a spine free of spinal subluxations would allow a person to have a greater sense of coherence.

Research is beginning to suggest that this is true. Quality of life assessments (e.g., PROMIS-25), as well as other physiological tools (e.g., Heart Rate Variability) allow an objective measurement of SOC aspects.

As one receives regular chiropractic care, there is an improved SOC. Although there is not a clear equivalence

growing trend is indicative that today’s patients understand that by providing more positive input, their bodies will function better. As such, people are ready to engage professionals to support their well-being and not just treat problems.

As chiropractors, we have an opportunity to define this support with our ideals and unique service. LW

See Dr. Kevorkian and Dr. Ohm speak about Salutogenesis

Aug. 16-18, 2019 | Oakland CA

Photos by Anamotage

Making Adjustments to Life West’s Anatomy Labs Join us in creating one of the most advanced chiropractic basic sciences learning environments in the western U.S., right here at Life Chiropractic College West.

Your participation in the Gross Anatomy Lab Capital Campaign will leverage grants from generous foundations and corporations and ensure the next generation of chiropractors has the instructional tools they need today. When completed, this project will demonstrate Life West is a leading institution in providing top-tier education in the basic sciences.

D IG ITAL T E ACH I N G TO O L As every chiropractor knows, the study of anatomy is fundamental to the understanding of the structure, biomechanics and neurology of the human body. First-year students at Life West must master this knowledge to not only succeed in subsequent classroom instruction but to succeed as competent, knowledgeable and empathetic chiropractors.

Life West’s Anatomy Department uses cadavers, cadaver bones and other organic specimens in a hands-on approach that offers a tactile and comprehensive educational experience. Long considered

the gold standard in anatomy instruction, there have been only incremental improvements in this instruction for several centuries. With your help, the way Life West teaches anatomy is about to change.

The digital age has ushered in a dramatic and comprehensive new teaching tool, the Anatomage Table. Use of this technology will enable faculty to augment instruction by offering anatomically correct 3D imaging with a vast number of interactive instructional permutations. Carefully researched and designed, this educational tool is a technical marvel that provides clinical care review options, is clean and safe, and results in significant cost savings.

The table is equipped with extensive content presets and also provides faculty and students with the ability to develop their own libraries for documentation and future use.

Course work and testing content can be communicated to remote locations, so students who are not able to perform in the laboratory due to chemical smell sensitivity, pregnancy or allergenic conditions still will be able to receive the benefit of full anatomy instruction with the Anatomage Tables.

To make the transition to digital instruction and learning, the anatomy labs also will be outfitted with state-of-the-

What’s in an Anatomage Table?

• Ultra-high-quality rendering • Life-size full body display • Chiropractic-college-level curriculum • Compatibility with PACS, or a picture archiving and communication system • Uploaded and rendered medical scans • Interactive dissection and annotations

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• • • •

•

Gross anatomy content Regional anatomy content A quiz mode Touch-screen features offering an interactive learning experience Multiple interactive, clinical, technical and educational functions

I N S T I T U T I O N A L A D VA N C E M E N T : C A P I TA L C A M PA I G N

art, high-definition cameras to record and project both real-time dissections and digitized representations of the dissection procedures and processes.

This material will be transferred to high-resolution monitors mounted in the laboratories.

Providing instruction using the Anatomage Tables integrates well with Life West’s Continuing Education program. The tables will be used to develop curriculum for chiropractors and others in affiliated fields who need to earn CE credits. Future use could include patient education in the clinic and sharing this resource with visiting students who are pursuing STEM occupations.

Invest in the Next Generation of Chiropractors You can help bring chiropractic to the world by supporting the student experience. When you enroll in the President’s Circle, your donations enable Life West to: ●● provide a rigorous curriculum ●● enhance clinical expertise ●● promote philosophical inquiry ●● engage qualified faculty and speakers ●● maintain and upgrade campus facilities ●● conduct research

STILL H AN DS-ON Recognizing that chiropractic will always be primarily a hands-on interaction between chiropractors and patients, it is crucial for students to develop a connection with and deep respect for the human body. To supplement the vast digital representations available through Anatomage Tables, the Anatomy Department will create a videobased project demonstrating the actual dissection of a human cadaver. This project will have three additional but separate and interrelated components. These include recording a complete dissection of a cadaver, creation of a dissection training manual, and creation of computer-based exams.

To update and renew the cadaver instructional experience, the project will also include the acquisition of two additional cadavers as well as five complete sets of cadaver bones. Both additions will provide students with exposure to the variations occurring in organic matter that cannot be duplicated through even the most advanced digitization, which will lead to greater understanding and empathy.

Make a one-time donation or a threeyear monthly pledge to help provide the next generation of chiropractors with the most advanced educational tools available.

For more information visit give.lifewest.edu/anatomy LW

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One-time donations or monthly pledges are accepted: ●● Regent Level – $5,000 annually ●● Chancellor Level – $2,500 annually ●● Chairman Level (Couple) $1,800 ●● annually ●● Chairman Level (Individual) $1,200 ●● annually Donate online at lifewest.edu/alumni/ institutional-advancement To reflect Life West’s gratitude, President’s Circle members receive invitations to exclusive social events, a special newsletter from the president, acknowledgment in the Life West Chiropractic Magazine and a VIP experience at The WAVE 2019, the Life West annual conference. LIFEWESTWAVE.COM

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Alumni + Friends Raleigh Duncan, DC, a Life West alumnus from the Class of 2000 and one of the newest members to Life West’s President’s Circle, has generously donated three Clearlight Jacuzzi Infrared Saunas to Life West. He is the founder and CEO of Clearlight Infrared in Berkeley, California, and promotes the growing body of evidence of the benefits of saunas in clinical settings.

Two of the infrared saunas were installed in the Life West gymnasium for students and staff to enjoy. They are a very popular addition to the healthconscious environment that permeates the campus.

Dr. Duncan is posing with the third sauna in this photo, which was the grand prize at the 19th Hole Dinner at the 35th Annual Life West Alumni + Friends Golf Classic on May 9. Golfers at the event purchased hundreds of tickets with the hope of winning this wonderful home or office sauna.

It was won by student Kris Nguyen. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Alumni Association Scholarship Program.

Dr. Duncan’s motivation for donating the saunas was to provide Life West students with an enjoyable and healthful environment. It is his way of giving back to his beloved alma mater. You can learn more about Clearlight by visiting his website at infraredsauna.com.

Thank you, Dr. Duncan! LW

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A LU M N I S P OT L I G H T

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

DR. STEVEN ADAMS Inspired by Life West’s leader

By Kathy Miedema

ABOUT: Practices at SC Sports Therapy in San Francisco Took over practice in 2007 Graduated from Life West in 1999 President’s Circle Member since 2017 scsportstherapy.com Dr. Steven Adams says his time as a student at Life Chiropractic College West 20 years ago wasn’t the typical student experience.

“I wasn’t very involved with a lot of campus activities while in school because I was working full time,” he said. “When I started school, I was an area PT director for a group of health clubs in San Francisco, and I did that up until I entered clinic. After that, I just focused on personal training and teaching group exercise classes which gave me a more flexible schedule for my clinic patients.

Most of my classmates never saw me in anything other than my gym uniform until graduation day.”

Since then, a lot has changed at Life West. With President Ron Oberstein taking over leadership of the college, Dr. Adams has found a new reason to become more engaged with Life West. He’s even joined the President’s Circle, a community of dedicated donors who support Dr. Oberstein’s vision for the college.

The Right Guy for the Job At a Life West event in 2017, Dr. Adams was re-introduced to Dr. Oberstein. “I knew him to be an exceptional chiropractor from a chiropractic family, and hearing that someone like him was coming back to the school to take over the reins was pretty exciting,” he said. “I felt he was the right guy for the job.

Who better to run the school than someone whose whole family was dedicated to chiropractic?”

Since then, several members of Dr. Adams’ team have graduated from or are currently attending Life West. This past winter, his massage therapist, Chris, began as a new student, and another intern, Eric,

Learning that I could combine my passion for exercise with chiropractic allowed me see a new path for my life started last fall. Dominic, another student, is currently finishing his chiropractic degree, and Dr. Adams said he hopes that he will join his practice after graduation.

Dr. Adams came to chiropractic after suffering from a motor vehicle accident. “I knew I had been injured due to the head and neck pain, so I called Dr. Troy, and he said, ‘Come into the office and let me take care of you.’ ” Dr. Troy Chamberlin was Dr. Adams’ friend from the gym and a chiropractor practicing in San Francisco.

Dr. Adams wasn’t always pro-chiropractic, he said, but when Dr. Troy was able to care for his injuries after the accident, his interest in chiropractic blossomed. “Watching what he did, experiencing how it helped, and seeing how it could integrate with what I was already doing motivated me to attend a career night at Life West,” says Dr. Adams.

“Learning that I could combine my passion for exercise with chiropractic allowed me to see a new path for my life.”

Now, Dr. Adams runs his practice from inside a Crunch Fitness club in San Francisco. “I stuck close to my roots so that I can share 35 years of fitness knowledge with my patients as part of their care.” #LIFEWEST

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Coming Back Stronger than Before By combining chiropractic and exercise, Dr. Adams can care for current injuries and prevent future problems simultaneously. In this style of practice, many of his patients will seek care on a wellness basis, enabling Dr. Adams to help them progress their health and fitness. “It’s very rewarding when a patient comes in for back pain, telling me they hate to exercise, and a year later, I have them in good enough shape to run a Tough Mudder race.”

Dr. Adams credits Life West with giving him a strong chiropractic foundation. “I really enjoyed some great teachers while I was in school and left school confident in my education. In addition, I was mentored by some great doctors with gifted hands, allowing me to hit the ground running when building my practice.”

He encourages other chiropractors to reengage with Life West. “What Dr. Oberstein and Dr. (Mark) Zeigler are doing is great for the school and the profession,” he said, referring to leadership at Life West. “We should make sure Dr. Oberstein has the support needed for the advancement of the profession.” LW

F E AT U R E

Strategic plan builds on past, looks to future A new strategic plan for Life Chiropractic College West was approved by the college’s Board of Regents recently.

Life West has made great progress in fulfilling the previous plan, written for 2013-18.

Enrollment has more than doubled, financial sustainability is solid, and ongoing program accreditation has been achieved for both the institution’s Doctor of Chiropractic program

The college’s values of Lasting Purpose–to give, do, love and serve from one’s own abundance

and a new Master of Science in Digital Imaging program. Campus conditions have improved for students, faculty and staff, an academic success center has been launched, and the campus has been enhanced to promote learning effectiveness.

“We have used the process for setting out the new strategic plan to identify foundational initiatives that support and define the future for Life West,” President Ron Oberstein said.

“Within the college planning process, we have also set out clear objectives, resources and assessments to map and measure the progress of these initiatives.”

This next phase of growth will focus on new strategic initiatives while building on the existing foundation and legacy. The L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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college’s values of Lasting Purpose – to give, do, love and serve from one’s own abundance – will underpin all the new strategic initiatives. “Our vision is not changing,” says Dr. Oberstein. “Creating a Brighter Future for Humanity remains our lodestar.”

Many of the initiatives may sound familiar. Dr. Oberstein has referred to them increasingly in his speaking engagements during the past year, and some examples – such as the increasing frequency of service trips for students and faculty or staff and the development of data-driven decision-making – are direct results of this strategic plan’s initiatives.

F E AT U R E

THE INITIATIVES

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Deliver a Doctor of Chiropractic Program That Is Clinically and Philosophically Inspired A recent post in Life Styles online (lifewest. edu/lifestyles) highlights changes in the academic and clinical curriculum that brings students into the clinic sooner in their experience, and also seeks to pair classwork with clinic work more directly.

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Build a Campus Culture That Embraces Diversity and Inclusion Diversity and inclusion are increasingly a part of the Life West conversation, and the college has been working with a team for the past year to identify ways to address issues around the topic.

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Develop a Culture of Service Within and Outside of the College Life West has long supported a culture of service, from the Service Trip America clinics (formerly MTA) in San Francisco to volunteer opportunities within and outside of the college.

Dr. Oberstein has recently amped up this initiative with multiple service trips to India, Tonga, and the opening of a new clinic for veterans and active-duty military in Hayward, the home of the Life West campus.

In addition, during a trip to India in January, Life West executives took part in a ribboncutting that launched a new Life West Health Center chiropractic clinic in Delhi.

Dr. Oberstein’s vision is that students will travel to the clinic in their final quarter to offer service, while taking their classes online.

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Engage Alumni and Stakeholders as Active Members of the College Community Dr. Oberstein has said that we have more power together than alone, and the vision to create a brighter future for humanity depends on the engagement of the chiropractic community. To that end, he and other Life West executives set aside time for travel in an effort to connect efficiently and effectively with members of the chiropractic community around the world.

Life West also offers a thriving Continuing

Education program and participates frequently in conferences spanning the globe.

Life West hosts its own annual conference, The WAVE, which offers alumni and friends of the college a chance to connect, network and earn CE credits to fulfill state requirements.

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Improve Institutional Effectiveness through Constant Innovation and Assessment Life West added a new Vice President of Academic Affairs in the fall as part of this initiative to support “excellence in pedagogy and an ethos of student centric care … grounded in constant improvement and innovation.”

That team is growing and is behind the clinically inspired academic curriculum mentioned earlier.

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Offer New Graduate Programs that Strengthen the College Identity and Flow from Our Values, Vision and Mission A new Master of Science in Digital Imaging program will kick off this summer or fall, adding an additional degree program to the college’s curriculum. #LIFEWEST

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Ensure Financial Security through Revenue Diversity and Growth This initiative builds on a past initiative to create a financially sustainable future, and looks to include new academic and online programs to diversify sources of revenue and sustain growth.

“The strategic plan is designed to take our campus and student experience to the next level,” Dr. Oberstein said. “Our plan looks into the future while staying firmly grounded on the core values of the college’s history and legacy.”

This is the college’s fourth strategic plan. It was written under the tenure of Dr. Oberstein, the third president of the college, who has held the position for nearly two years. Life West was founded in 1976 and moved onto the Hayward campus about 20 years ago. LW

C O N T I N U I N G E D U C AT I O N

CE Courses a Win Life Chiropractic College West’s Continuing Education (CE) program is announcing that Life West is now working with Titleist Performance Institute (golf), OnBaseU and RacquetFit to deliver sponsored seminars that, for the first time, allow chiropractors to earn their CE hours through these seminars.

Laurie Isenberg, Director of the Life West CE program, says the partnership is a fantastic addition to the offerings Life West has for chiropractors.

Certification has been available to other health care professionals, but it’s new for chiropractors.

“Chiropractors should be getting this certification too,” she said. “This allows chiropractors to become specialists in these areas.”

Chiropractors, Isenberg said, can become specialists in caring for golfers if they understand intimately what’s going on inside of the body when a player swings a club, what makes a player prone to injury or what is blocking a better performance, and how to help create a better athlete with the appropriate adjustment.

The in-person seminars through Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), RacquetFit and OnBaseU are offered all over the world. They cover the physiology of particular movements in golf, racquet sports such as tennis, and softball and baseball.

Sean Drake, DC, is a Performance Director at TPI and Vice President of RacquetFit. He’s also a former Director of the Sports Performance Institute (SPI) at Life West, and his history with Life West helped spark the collaborative relationship between Titleist Golf and Life West CE. “It’s exciting that now the chiropractor can get CE for a program that looks at sports performance instead of just focusing on injuries, while growing their practice with a passion around sports,” Dr. Drake said.

“The TPI, RacquetFit and OnBaseU seminars give the chiropractor an edge for performance and care for the golf, tennis, and baseball/softball athlete,” he said. “In the two-day seminars, they will learn a sport-specific screen to find physical limitations that might be affecting the athlete, understand the most up-to-date technology around the sport, and learn to speak the language with the coaches and professionals in that sport.”

Dr. Drake added, “The best of the best athletes around the world have a team around them including a coach, fitness, and health care professional; we call this the team approach.

These certifications will provide the information for chiropractors to become experts in their community and fill that health care role for the team approach around the athlete in that sport.”

Isenberg said the seminars look at the physiology of a particular movement. The Titleist Golf Level 1 certification, for example, teaches attendees about the physical dynamics of the golf swing. Coaches might be looking at how to improve a player’s swing, while trainers and health care professionals might look at the muscles involved in learning how to best maximize performance, and care for an injury.

“Every one of these courses has a chiropractor as an instructor,” Isenberg said. “So, the seminars are taught from a chiropractic mindset.”

“With the ability to hang Titleist, RacquetFit and OnBaseU certifications in their office, this now gives the chiropractor credibility and opens doors to the community and coaches who know and trust the brand and organizations,” Dr. Drake said.

For a look at the courses Life West is sponsoring and to register, head to ce.lifewest.edu. LW

EARN UP TO 20 CE HOURS AT THE WAVE

Have you thought about how you want to earn this year’s Continuing Education hours?

The WAVE, Life West’s annual conference in August, is the perfect way to earn up to 20 credits in one shot, while networking and reconnecting with your colleagues. This is the conference to attend to discuss chiropractic philosophy, chiropractic science and adjustive technique.

The theme of The WAVE 2019 is The Science, Philosophy and Art of Chiropractic: The Salutogenic Model. You’ll hear from speakers like Peter Kevorkian, DC, and Jeanne Ohm, DC on how this vitalistic model helps define a brand of chiropractic that offers care during pregnancy and birth to ongoing

care that spans a lifetime. We’ll be digging into chiropractic philosophy and examining it closely during these CE hours.

Dan Murphy, DC, will kick off the study of chiropractic science and technique for The WAVE. Expect to hear some of the latest research as you earn your CE credits when you listen to this well-traveled speaker who was named Chiropractor of the Year in 2009-2010.

Attendees will be able to earn as many as 12 hours of CE in philosophy, chiropractic science and adjustive technique on Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, Life West will offer an additional 5 hours of CE on X-ray. And for those who are hoping to earn as many as 20 hours of CE over the three-day conference, an additional 3 hours of CE will be offered online at ce.lifewest. edu, including 2 hours in ethics. The CE hours offered through this year’s The WAVE will cover all California mandatory topics.

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Register on The WAVE website and take those mandatory CE hours off your list of things to do.

Learn about the Salutogenic Model, chiropractic science, adjustive technique and more – and get ready to be inspired while reconnecting with chiropractic peers. LW

Dr. Jeanne Ohm

Dr. Dan Murphy

Dr. Peter Kevorkian

W AV E 2 0 1 9

HEAR COMPELLING SPEAKERS AT THE WAVE Make sure you attend presentations from our top speakers at The WAVE 2019 in Oakland, California! Hear them speak on the science behind chiropractic and the strategy that’s bringing chiropractic to the world. For more about The WAVE, visit lifewestwave.com.

Also appearing at The WAVE:

Heidi Haavik, DC Dr. Haavik is the Director of Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic. She has a doctorate degree in human neurophysiology from the University of Auckland and is the author of the best-selling book, “The Reality Check: A Quest to Understand Chiropractic from the Inside Out.” Dr. Haavik also runs a company that supports the mission of enlightening the world about the science of chiropractic (therealitycheck. com). She has received numerous research awards and has published several papers in chiropractic and neurophysiology journals.

Topic: How Adjustments Can Affect Your Health

Dan Murphy, DC Dr. Murphy has taught more than 1,400 post-graduate continuing education seminars and is a contributing author to the books “Motor Vehicle Collision Injuries” and “Pediatric Chiropractic.” He graduated from Western States Chiropractic College in 1978 and has more than 34 years of practice experience.

He has a Diplomat in Chiropractic Orthopedics, and for 30 years he has served as part-time faculty at Life Chiropractic College West. He served as Vice President of the International Chiropractic Association from 2003-2009 and was chosen as “Chiropractor of the Year” 2009 -2010.

Topic: The Chiropractic Adjustment and the Innate Basis of the Subluxation

Del Bigtree Del Bigtree, an Emmy Award-winning producer on the daytime talk show The Doctors, is also a filmmaker and an investigative medical journalist. He is best known for creating stories with impactful imagery, emotional interviews and investigative research that push the envelope. He has been investigating the story of the CDC Whistleblower and the destruction of Andrew Wakefield’s career, as well as Big Pharma and the UK Department of Health. His findings have inspired him to focus all of his attention on what he believes to be the most crucial documentary of the year–working with Wakefield on a documentary that will lead the charge in the formation of an independent scientific research body.

Ron Oberstein, DC Dr. Oberstein is the president of Life Chiropractic College West, and he was a member of the Life West Board of Regents from 1991 to 2016, including two years as the Chairman of the Board. He has served in instructional and leadership roles in numerous organizations.

He has taught chiropractic technique, philosophy and principles in multiple chiropractic colleges throughout the world.

Dr. Oberstein strongly conveys chiropractic vitalism with a deep understanding of the salutogenic health model and its value for patient care.

Topic: Salutogenesis, Chiropractic and Optimal Health

Topic: Chiropractic: Global Health Improvement and Local Health Outcomes

For more visit: LIFEWESTWAVE.COM

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F E AT U R E

LIFE WEST SERVICE TRIPS Thousands have come for health care at clinics in Tonga.

Uniting the world through chiropractic

and education about chiropractic to the community while bringing free services to people who need them. And Service Trip: America At Life West, “creating a brighter future for celebrated a milestone anniversary in March, humanity” is a vision that goes far beyond providing chiropractic services for 10 years the campus perimeter. Life West seeks to now at the San Francisco site, which offers one inspire students to become active in their of many programs provided by Dolores Street communities—and in the world—by promoting Community Services. a chiropractic philosophy that advances the Once a month, the team conducts a free profession and improves health globally. chiropractic clinic for the San Francisco Day Life West’s goals to broaden chiropractic Labor Program and Women’s Collective, which are a key part of the service trips that are has been uniting, empowering and organizing increasing in frequency, allowing both faculty immigrant workers for dignified work and fair and students to serve and care for people wages in San Francisco since 1991. From the around the world. Students get the added initial launch to today, chiropractic services benefit of learning on the job. Each of these at the site have been met with phenomenal service trips began as individual efforts, enthusiasm. Teams typically care for 15 to 25 but all were developed patients during each 4 1/2-hour to serve one overall event— three quarters of the ... has been uniting, purpose: providing patients seen are returning empowering and students and faculty with for follow-up care while new organizing immigrant the opportunity to help patients continue to sign up workers for dignified people in need who might regularly, including a handful not or have never had of walk-ins during each pop-up work and fair wages access to the benefits of clinic. in San Francisco chiropractic.

Reaching the 10th year has since 1991. particular significance for Pino, Service Trip America who said, “One of the ultimate celebrates 10 years goals I had was to be able to bring it to 10 Launched in 2009 by two Life West chiropractic years.” students, now Dr. Joseph Ibe and Dr. Brian Morris; Life West Academic Counselor Lori New clinic opens in India Pino; and Life West faculty Dr. Coleman and Dr. Ron Oberstein, President of Life Chiropractic Dr. Thompson, Service Trip: America (formerly Life West, wants to spread the chiropractic called Mission Trip: America) is a humanitarian message to all corners of the globe. outreach program that provides complimentary In Fall 2018, Dr. Oberstein and other chiropractic care to the San Francisco Day members of Life West’s faculty and student Labor Program and Women’s Collective in body traveled to New Delhi, India. Dr. Jimmy San Francisco’s Mission District. Through Nanda, a Life West alumni and the college’s service, the team expands public awareness Board Chairman, had a lifetime involvement L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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with the Sant Nirankari Mission in India. The mission hosts a three-day spiritual retreat that also offers health care twice a year, drawing more than 1.5 million people. About 60,000 volunteers are needed to staff each event.

Dr. Oberstein and Dr. Nanda guided a Life West team of faculty and 20 interns in New Delhi. Working with the Indian Association of Chiropractic Doctors as well as doctors from around the world, this group provided chiropractic care to more than 11,000 patients during the three-day 71st Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam.

Dr. Oberstein said the people of India were very receptive to the vitalistic message of chiropractic. The November trip was such a success as a culturally immersive and hands-on training experience that the school sponsored another trip, this time to Mumbai, India, in January 2019. About 10,300 patients were seen over three days, allowing students and faculty alike to witness what chiropractic can bring to people’s lives. Dr. Oberstein reports that, post-adjustment, they saw nonhearing patients who could hear, mute patients who could talk and paralyzed patients who could feel.

The college’s ties and its commitment to creating a healthier India were strengthened when Life West service trip attendees also witnessed a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening a new Life West Health Center in New Delhi. Dr. Oberstein said this unique venture will bring regular chiropractic care to the country’s inhabitants and will be staffed by a mix of doctors and last-quarter students, providing both clinical and cultural experience.

Trips to Tonga every quarter Life West sponsored another service trip in December 2018 to Tonga, which was chosen

F E AT U R E

Serving with Gratitude

in India

By Dahren Doss

for two reasons: Life West’s athletic director, Adriaan Ferris, a native New Zealander, coached rugby in Tonga and Fiji, and brought to the Board’s attention that no chiropractic system existed in either country. And during a July 2018 visit to the United States, Dr. Saia Piukala, the Tongan Minister of Health, connected with Dr. Oberstein at Life West’s Hayward campus, establishing a relationship of mutual trust and goals to set a plan in motion.

During three six-hour days, that first small group saw more than 1,650 people. Dr. Oberstein said the experience transformed both patient lives and the lives of the students and doctors providing care. For example, a 1-year-old boy slept through the night for the first time after just one adjustment, and held his head up after the second adjustment.

Life West went back to Tonga in March 2019 with a bigger group and served 2,200 people over three days. The goal is to build up to three trips per year and take about 20 students each trip. Life West also plans to open a free chiropractic clinic in Tonga, where 4-8 interning students can practice while taking classes online during their last quarter before graduation.

Hayward Veterans Clinic In January 2019, chiropractic services became available to veterans and active duty military at the historic Veterans Memorial Building in Hayward. The college’s Monte H. Greenawalt Health Center works with the veterans center to provide affordable, convenient chiropractic care, delivering services that

benefit a particular segment of the Bay Area community—active and non-active U.S. soldiers.

“This clinic is all about community outreach—we want to reach out to both active service and veterans in appreciation for their service to our country,” said Dr. Scott Donaldson, Vice President of Clinical Operations. Students and faculty who have served in the military will be able to give back to others who have served or are serving the country. “We’re connecting our student population and veterans with the local veterans center, so there will be veterans serving veterans.”

Expanding around the world Dr. Oberstein said Life West plans to include service trips to China, Africa and Central and South America, and open health centers in these areas to provide continuity of care.

“These clinics and service trips provide students with unparalleled field training experience in caring for a vast array of maladies in extremely differing cultures— experiences that will not only better prepare them for the post-graduation real world, but experiences traditional study could never deliver,” he said.

“There’s a favorite quote of mine, taken from B.J. Palmer, the developer of chiropractic, that aligns with Life West’s campaign to spread the chiropractic message,” Dr, Oberstein said.

“You never know how far-reaching something we may think, say or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow!” LW #LIFEWEST

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From the moment I stepped off the plane in Mumbai, I had a sense I was there for a reason, and even though my first few days in the country were spent sightseeing and enjoying local cuisine, I was acutely aware that something inside of me was preparing for something big.

The highlight of my trip was delivering my first pediatric toggle adjustment on a young deaf boy who immediately regained some acoustic sensation post-adjustment! The smile on his face after he got off the table is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

The humility and gratitude for life from each and every person I met brought my heart to a place of peace and love like I had never felt before. It was an honor to both experience the feeling building in me and to have it reflected back into each and every person I laid my hands on.

I still bring my heart space back into that tent before every patient I see, in order to put the same love, honor and gratitude for life into every adjustment I give. I will never be the same.

AT H L E T I C S

RUGBY PROGRAM UNVEILS NEW KITS The Life West Rugby program unveiled new kits during the 2019 season launch party at the historic Rotunda Building in downtown Oakland, California this spring.

The dinner started off with kind words from Life Chiropractic College West’s Executive Vice President Anatole Bogatski and Athletic Director Adriaan Ferris. Both expressed their gratitude to sponsors and supporters and talked about the early beginnings of the rugby program, the growing pains and recent successes.

Phillip H. Tagami, CEO of the California Commercial and Investment Group (CCIG) and a supporter of the program, hosted the festivities. Many Life West players, families and other supporters were at the event. Players on both the women’s and men’s sides modeled the newly designed rugby kit and apparel for the crowd.

CCIG is the main sponsor of the kit. Other sponsors are Standard Process, Oakland Bulk Overhead Terminal (OBOT), Oakland Global Rail Enterprise (OGRE), Erchonia, Rocktape and Life West Sports Performance Institute. Samurai Sportswear is the official kit supplier. LW Nicole Strasko, right

NEW COACH, TEAM USA NEWS Life West has announced the hiring of Devereaux Ferris as the school’s new women’s rugby head coach. The hire comes in the midst of a golden age for the Gladiatrix, which are coming off of back-toback USA Rugby Division I national titles.

“I am looking forward to starting up as the new head coach for the Life West Women’s WPL side,” Ferris said. “I hope to represent the college and rugby club as best I can. As a club, we will grow the high standards that previous coaches Jarrod Faul and Nese Malifa have set before us.”

Born in New Zealand, the 24-year-old

Ferris brings with him a set of world-class credentials. In addition to his current duties as a key part of Life West’s men’s team (which won the 2019 Pacific Rugby Premiership title in a 36-27 thriller over Belmont Shore), Ferris’ career included an appearance for the USA Eagles in 2018.

The Gladiatrix also sent five Life West student-athletes to an exclusive Team USA women’s rugby camp in Colorado this spring. The quintet of Gladiatrix was among just 51 players from around the country invited to the camp.

“It’s been a grueling physical and mental

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marathon so far,” Life West’s Nicole Strasko said during the camp. “We’ve pretty much had two field sessions, a weight room session and meetings almost every day.”

In addition to Strasko, fellow studentathletes Katie Benson, Bitsy Cairns, Amy Naber and Kelsi Stockert made the trip.

Strasko, Benson and Naber were chosen to play in Team USA’s first-ever game against the Barbarians, a select group from the United Kingdom founded in 1890 and one of the most talented squads in the world. LW

AT H L E T I C S

Bay Area Classic Split Victories

The Dragons had one shot to redeem four years of coming up short at the Bay Area Classic Life West recently hosted, for the first time, a two-sport Bay Area Classic in volleyball and basketball. The cross-town rival, Palmer West Dragons from San Jose, traveled to Life West in hopes of avenging last year’s loss in basketball, and they tried their hand in defeating Life West in volleyball.

The Dragons came to an early lead in the first set of a volleyball clash between the Gladiators and Dragons and sustained the lead, with the aid of unforced errors from the Gladiators. Errors plagued the Gladiators, and they relinquished the first set, 22-25.

The Gladiators overcame their problems in the second set, winning 25-22 and

Life West volleyball

forcing a pivotal winner-take-all third set.

The back-and-forth battle between the two teams continued, and midway through the third set, the Gladiators held an 8-5 lead before switching sides. The crowd was rocking in the Life West gymnasium, and that hindered the Dragons’ ability to serve in crunch-time. The Gladiators ultimately held off the Dragons to win 15-9 and were crowned Bay Area Classic Volleyball champs.

The main event pitted the Gladiators basketball team, winners of the last four Bay Area Classics, against an eager Dragons team looking to break the streak.

More than 300 people were packed into the gymnasium to root for their teams.

Palmer West basketball

#LIFEWEST

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The Dragons trailed by three at the end of first half, 39-42. The intensity increased at the start of the third quarter as Palmer went on an 8-0 run to take the lead at 54-52, their first lead since early in the first quarter. They added to the score and led by 9 points at one time.

The Gladiators fought back with an 8-0 run of their own, sinking back-toback three-pointers and converting two successful free throws. The third quarter ended all tied up at 61 apiece.

The contest reached its peak in the closing minute of the fourth quarter. The Gladiators held the ball with less than 10 seconds left on the game clock and shot an unsuccessful three-pointer that would have broken the 77-77 standstill.

With four seconds left in the contest, the Dragons had one shot to redeem four years of coming up short at the Bay Area Classic. And that they did, as Dragon forward Justin Lin drilled a fadeaway jumper in the right elbow to win at the buzzer.

Both sides went home with a victory at the Bay Area Classic, an annual event that pits the two closest chiropractic colleges against each other for some friendly competition LW

SPORT PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE

The Life West crew in action this spring.

Examining a shoulder.

DELIVERING HANDS-ON CARE FOR ATHLETES Life West’s Sports Performance Institute (SPI) offers a unique learning experience for student interns to assist and participate in athletic chiropractic care at on-site venues for an array of sporting events. This type of experiential opportunity sets Life West apart.

In addition to providing care for Life West’s rugby club teams, the student-faculty teams have also provided care at Life West-CCIG Invitational Rugby events, and could be seen recently on the sidelines offering care at AVPFirst, run by the U.S. pro beach volleyball league, and winter and summer Dew Tour athletes. SPI Director Scott Lessard, DC, said he often receives invitations to attend as a chiropractor at other unique events. However, unless the students are part of the deal, he’s not in. Dr. Lessard says, “It’s not about me—it’s always about the students, and what an educational experience can do for them.”

Three years ago, SPI faculty and students received an invitation from Dominic Scott, DC, a member of AVPFirst’s Board of Directors, to attend a beach volleyball tournament and

provide athletes with on-site performance care. AVPFirst is a youth volleyball program that offers young athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level and work their way into collegiate beach volleyball programs.

It also serves as a national pipeline for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. Dr. Dom envisions an approach to reducing injury by increasing body awareness and applying measures focused on proper body mechanics and nutrition.

That first year, SPI served as the onsite chiropractic team for one event, and the next year, three events. This year, SPI is providing care at eight 2019 AVPFirst events, from southern California to Phoenix and Seattle.

At events like these, interns are learning chiropractic performance care in a way that cannot be replicated in an office setting, which typically caters to post-injury care.

They witness firsthand what it’s like to be at a major event with true sideline experience.

But unlike a single game that may last 4-5 hours, a student’s day at an AVPFirst event is exceedingly rigorous. They work 12- to 14hour shifts each day.

This year, SPI is providing care at eight 2019 AVPFirst events ...

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At the matches, interns conduct exams, provide an adjustment if necessary, and offer prevention education and post-event followup. Typically, a player is seen prior to a match and in between matches if deemed necessary.

These tournaments usually consist of 40 to 60 two-person teams playing 3-4 matches per day, and depending on how far the team goes, maybe 8-10 matches in a weekend.

Chiropractic care is available to any playing athlete, and the Life West team may see players multiple times during the course of a two- or three-day weekend tournament.

Using a variety of chiropractic equipment at the matches, students are qualified to work on outpatients and perform both extremity and spinal adjusting, including proprioceptive taping when necessary. The Life West group also acts as the on-the-spot medical team, providing basic first aid and emergency care while remaining mindful of player health to prevent dehydration, heat exposure, heatstroke and more.

AVPFirst is not only a learning experience for Life West students, it’s also a learning experience for the players. While subjecting themselves to demanding physical performances for long periods, these U16 and U18 players are competing with their sights

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Your Path to Success Life West Business Institute and Career Services Support Students and Alumni

Huddling up in Phoenix.

Life Chiropractic College West is not only invested in your education, we’re also invested in you and your future goals. Among the many benefits that set this campus apart from other chiropractic colleges is the new Business Institute. Headed up by Alumni Relations Director Dr. Palmer Peet, a chiropractic professional with more than 36 years of experience, the Business Institute was developed to prepare Life West students to be “practice ready” upon graduation. An added benefit: It also provides alumni and friends of the college with assistance as their chiropractic business grows.

Using a dual-pronged approach, the Business Institute program offers a robust curriculum of business-related classes. Then, through the Life West Career Services program, students are provided with one-on-one counseling in areas such as:

Team picture on the court.

set on earning a spot on a collegiate or pro team. Through performance and health education, the Life West team introduces these young players to the concept of taking care of their bodies, and players leave events with a better understanding of chiropractic and knowing how to seek care before help is needed. These players often take chiropractic along with them through their sporting careers, continuing care as they go on to higher levels of competition.

Dr. Lessard said he is grateful for the partnership with AVPFirst’s Executive Director Tony Giarla, Director of Programs Marty Suan, and, of course, to Dr. Dom for extending the invitation to participate.

Lessard’s goals for SPI are to continue providing opportunities for Life West students that help them to look beyond the office.

“There are so many sports and youth programs that chiropractic is currently not involved in but could be, and chiropractic doctors can follow their interest and become involved in their community at any level,” Lessard said. “DCs can offer performance care and injury prevention all through proper evaluation and adjustments. The opportunities are boundless—only limited by how much you want to be involved.” LW

Goal-setting Mentor meet-ups Job postings Job fairs Resume writing Interviewing skills Associateship Practice purchasing Independent contractors Contract review

Opening an office Office location services Licensing Branding Office website Malpractice insurance Equipment lease vs. purchase Billing software EHR software And more!

Life West’s Business Institute and Career Services also host several free brown-bag lunch gatherings during each quarter, featuring recorded, live-streamed lectures by top-of-theirfield DCs discussing educational and pertinent topics, with online or on-campus access to recordings available.

All of the services provided by Life West’s Business Institute and Career Services are intended to ensure each student has a better understanding of how to run a successful chiropractic practice from a business aspect. As mentioned, these services don’t end with graduation—the programs are structured to follow Life West alumni through their career and assist as needed.

To learn more about the Business Institute and Career Services programs, contact Dr. Peet at ppeet@lifewest.edu. He can provide a full list of business-instructive classes and helpful services that can set students and alumni on the path to success. LW #LIFEWEST

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CHAMPIONS

MENTOR DOCTOR

DR. RAY DANIELS Mentorship is an Art Form

By Mary Lucus-Flannery, DC

Dr. Ray Daniels has always been an avid learner who loves to see the world through the lens of his coaches and mentors. When he was younger, he had coaches who served as mentors and provided him with life lessons intertwined among the learning and playing of sports. Later, he had a couple of teachers who instilled a timeless wisdom that he’ll never forget–that the body was made to heal itself, from the inside out.

Dr. Rick Swecker was Ray’s first chiropractor, and he also became Ray’s mentor both in chiropractic and in life. Dr. Swecker instilled in Ray a connection to chiropractic philosophy and a passion for his personal “why.” Dr. Swecker taught Ray what a true gift it was to have a career adjusting people back to a full life expression. All along his journey to become a chiropractor, Dr. Swecker has consistently been there for Ray–to teach, inspire, guide, facilitate, and sometimes not to say anything at all, so Ray can figure it out.

Ray views mentorship as an art form. He feels fortunate to have met people who were willing to be catalysts for his evolution in life.

They asked powerful and thought-provoking questions, and then showed him what is possible. Ray describes his mentors as mirrors for him to see the greatness within himself.

Ray believes that mentorship is not something we should expect, but rather something we earn and attract to our lives once we are ready.

Becoming a Mentor Ray decided to become a chiropractor because of his mentors. He observed the behavior and impact of his teachers, and he knew that he wanted to be able to give the same gift to others. Watching his chiropractor take care of a range of patients, from babies to kids and athletes to the elderly, showed him what was possible in a career. He saw that it was possible to love what you do.

Ray chose Life West because Dr. Swecker went to school at Life West and absolutely loved his experience. Ray figured if someone he respects and admires tells him Life West is the best, he doesn’t need to look anywhere

Listen to Dr. Ray Daniels in “The Artful Chiropractor Podcast” theartfulchiropractor.com

else. Success leaves clues.

When Ray visited Life West, he experienced the Life West feeling for himself. “The family vibes were a real thing,” Ray explains. “For many people, the environment inside the walls of Life West feel like home, and a real sense of belonging exists here. I know I am getting a little ‘woo woo’ but that stuff is real!”

Ray graduated from Life West in June 2018 and now practices at Family First Chiropractic in Reno, where he was a patient. He works with Dr. Swecker and Dr. Cliff Fisher, who have both played huge roles in his life.

Ray has already become a mentor to many by creating and hosting “The Artful Chiropractor Podcast.” Ray began making the podcast while he was still in school and has published close to 100 episodes. The Artful Chiropractor Podcast was designed to inspire and empower chiropractors to serve their communities at the highest level.

When Ray looks forward, he sees endless opportunity. “I hope to be living a life that is true to my wants and desires and not just serving the needs of others. I hope to be evolving in my relationships, family, business, play, personal life, adventure, etc. I hope to find the balance of making an impact Ray views and savoring all the experiences that life mentorship has to offer. I hope to as an art look back on my life form in 10 years and be proud of who I see in the mirror and the lives that I have been lucky enough to touch.”

Success leaves clues–and when we serve as mentors, we give and receive success in equal measure. Ray followed those clues left by his mentors to find a career he loves and a community he is deeply connected to. LW L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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LIFE WEST MENTOR DOCTORS Thank you for your referral!

Mentor doctors who referred students for the Winter 2019 or Spring 2019 class: Steven Adams, DC ‘99 Mimi Chatwood, DC ‘03 Kenneth Cooper, DC Melissa Crago, DC ‘13 Jeff Devine, DC Sohan Fonseka, DC ‘17 Steven Funk, DC ‘97 Tyler Meier, DC ‘17 Kate Murray, DC ‘16 Bradley Peterson, DC Jeff Scholten, DC Mentor doctors who referred a prospective student that attended Champions Weekend in Winter 2019 or Spring 2019: Adam Del Torto, DC Douglas DiSiena, DC Brian Flannery, DC Brad Glowaki, DC Katie Gross, DC ‘09 Kristine Hicks, DC ‘96 Mary Oberstein, DC Vikas Puri, DC Katie Schlein, DC ‘16 Keith Schulz, DC ‘88 Ryan Schulz, DC ‘14 Tim Smith, DC ‘10 Oscar Terrazas Jr., DC ‘14 Lance von Stade, DC ‘15

CHAMPIONS

STUDENT CHAMPION

REBECCA “BECCA” HARRIS Champion for Life

By Crisselle Garrido What was your first experience with chiropractic?

When I was a practice player for the Oregon State volleyball team, there was a chiropractor contracted to adjust our players and staff, which was pretty sweet. I got adjusted a couple of times but I didn’t notice a ton of difference because being sore is something that your life is about when you’re an athlete.

I didn’t really get into chiropractic until I met Aaron Sanchez, a Life West recruiter, at a grad fair. He randomly pulled me from a crowd of students and said, “Have you ever thought about being a chiropractor? You could be a good chiropractor.”

And I was like, “What?”

Aaron did such a good job explaining how chiropractic heals the body from the inside-out.

He basically gave me everything I was looking for when it came to what I wanted in a career.

What inspired you to become a chiropractor?

My undergraduate degree is in kinesiology, and during your senior year, you’re required to do an internship. At the time, I was really interested in cardiac rehabilitation because I liked working with people and I wanted to teach people that by living healthfully, they could restore their bodies.

I interned at a cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation center but absolutely hated it.

When you see people in cardiac rehab, as terrible as it sounds, they are on their way out the door. It was sad to be working hard to teach people what they could do to be healthy while they were on the verge of death. At the time, teaching health to these patients was more about “take your medication” or “do this one type of exercise, but not too hard.”

It was hard to see people dying, literally, in front of me. It was a very outside-in perspective, and I felt almost useless in my job. I wasn’t passionate about it like I thought I was going to be.

Then I learned about chiropractic and the power it has to really teach people to be healthy from the inside out. It was such a cool shift to go from barely keeping people alive to really showing people what life is. When I found

chiropractic, I realized it was probably the best change that I could have asked for.

How do you like to be a mentor for your peers?

One thing I’ve learned, especially coming from the cardiac rehab background, is that you can tell somebody all you want how to do something or what to do or when to do it, but the most powerful way you can teach someone is by being the example.

People ask, “How’d you get so good at that?”

I’m happy to tell them that I put in the work. I’m in open labs and I’m adjusting. I’m at seminars on the weekends. I’m on campus at 6 am, training every day of the week. I’m not a 6-foottall, 250-pound man, and I don’t have these giant muscles. But if you put in the work, you can do whatever you want! I choose to do a lot of my mentoring from the stance of, “Just watch what I do, if you want.”

What do you look for in a chiropractic mentor?

I look for a mentor who is willing to give me those nitty-gritty details. I want to know exactly what I did wrong. I want to know exactly how I could have made it better, even if it’s by a millimeter. I want somebody who’s going to tell me those things and not just say, “Great job!” all the time.

I also look for somebody who doesn’t think they know everything. I have a lot of respect for my mentor, Dr. Brett Jones. He’s had to evolve so much just being in practice. He thought he knew a lot when he began KTC (Kairos Training Culture) and first got into practice.

Over time, he realized, “I need to morph myself more.” I think that’s really respectable because there’s not one clear way to do absolutely anything. Having a chiropractic mentor who understands that we’re always dynamic, we’re always learning, and we’re always growing is something that I look for.

Why did you apply to become a Student Champion?

I wouldn’t have known about chiropractic or fully understood its benefits if it weren’t for Champions Weekend. I wanted to give back,

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HOMETOWN: Portland, Oregon

and I wanted to give prospective students what the Student Champions gave me—a sense of community and an honest perspective.

When I came to Champions Weekend and everyone was telling me about how great it was, it was authentic. You could feel that people really love to be here. They love the community.

They love giving back to the school. And they love chiropractic!

What is your favorite thing about Champions Weekend?

My favorite thing is how excited people get when it clicks for them, you know?

I wouldn’t say chiropractic is an abstract concept, but in our current society, it is. It’s a different health model, and that’s really hard for people to understand. It takes a mental shift to really get it.

When I see that shift happen, the excitement that they get, it really fills my cup. It’s easy to forget why I love chiropractic when I’m sitting in biochem for four hours, but as soon as you see it click for a prospective student and they’re, like, “Oh my god! Chiropractic is amazing!” then it’s easy to mirror that within myself and once again realize, “Oh my god! That’s right! Chiropractic IS amazing!”

Use one word to describe your chiropractic (school) experience so far.

Impactful, to myself and to humanity. LW

Champions Weekend Champions Weekend is the perfect opportunity for future chiropractors to explore chiropractic and Life West. Send prospective students for two days of camaraderie and mentorship. Champions Weekend is held four times a year (January, April, July and October) on the Life West campus in Hayward, California.

Register online at lifewestchampions.com.

B O O K R E V I E W b y D a n M u r p h y, D C

THE HACKING OF THE AMERICAN MIND The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains AUTHOR Robert Lustig, MD (Avery, 2017)

A little background (not in the book) ●● Increased, sustained sympathetic tone increases the release of norepinephrine. ●● Increased, sustained sympathetic tone that increases the release of norepinephrine has many deleterious health effects, including immunosuppression, increased pain, vascular constriction, artery disease, visceral pathology, and shortened telomere length.

●● Chiropractic spinal adjusting works in part because it improves mechanical integrity that in turn inhibits sympathetic tone and inhibits the release of norepinephrine. ●● Norepinephrine is a chemical member of the group catecholamines. Other catecholamines, particularly dopamine, can readily be converted into norepinephrine. ●● Lifestyles that increase the levels of the catecholamine dopamine also increase the levels of the catecholamine norepinephrine, making it more difficult for the chiropractic adjustment to effectively improve health by inhibiting sympathetic tone and inhibiting the release of norepinephrine. Such lifestyles effectively render the chiropractic adjustment as an exercise in “swimming upstream.” Such lifestyles did not exist in the heydays of DD and BJ Palmer, but they are the rule today. Such lifestyles are against innate intelligence. ●● Potentially the best book ever written to help understand such lifestyles and how it has negatively influenced neurochemistry and health is The Hacking of the American Mind, by Robert Lustig, MD.

Stories from 2019 (also not in the book) In my travels this year, two chiropractors shared nearly identical experiences. The chiropractors do not know each other.

One is from Northwestern and the other is from Palmer Davenport. Both claimed to experience life-changing events while participating in chiropractic missions to Third World countries (one in Asia and the other in a Caribbean country). Both claimed

to observe more chiropractic miracles in a single week than either had experienced in decades of clinical practice in the US. These Third World patients do not have lifestyles that increase levels of the catecholamine dopamine. Despite poverty, they live the innate lifestyle.

And now, the Book Review Robert Lustig, MD, is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco. His goal is to have the reader understand that pleasure and happiness are similar, as they both feel good, but they are not the same. Pleasure and happiness are separate phenomena, and often function as opposites. They are controlled by different neurochemicals: ●● Dopamine is the neurochemical for pleasure. ●● Serotonin is the neurochemical for happiness.

In our instant gratification culture, we buy a pleasure to increase happiness. But this changes our brain and saps our happiness, making us unhappy. Our minds have been “hacked.” Ironically, the more affluent the society (as contrasted with the Third World), the greater the hacking, the more the population is addicted to pleasure seeking, and the greater the societal unhappiness.

Governments and business have been able to harness the confusion between pleasure and happiness for their own purposes by taking advantage of our neurobiology.

People should understand the neuroscience of pleasure and happiness, each one’s relationship to the other, and how they are manipulated by our current food, technology and media environments.

Industries willfully confuse the concepts of pleasure and happiness with the sole motive being profit. They prey and capitalize on L I F E W E S T. E D U / M A G A Z I N E

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our addictions, or pleasures, in the name of selling happiness.

Pleasure and happiness rely on the presence of each other, but they are decidedly different phenomena. Both pleasure and happiness have been slowly and mysteriously vanishing from our global ethos as the prevalence of addiction and depression continue to climb.

In the last half-century, America and most of the Western world have become more unhappy as well as sicker.

Most confuse pleasure with happiness.

Corporations have profited from increased consumption of virtually everything by promising happiness, but they are really selling pleasure, and we have lost bigtime. People have abdicated happiness for pleasure. We have been suckered into believing that no pleasure means no happiness. Chronic excessive pleasure eventually leads to addiction and depression, the two most unhappy states of the human condition.

The Chiropractic connection Modern lifestyles are against innate intelligence. They purposefully exploit pleasure (dopamine) at the expense of happiness (serotonin). Dr. Lustig eloquently attributes this to a profit motive. The chiropractic connection is that such elevated levels of dopamine also result in elevated levels of norepinephrine, reducing the historic effectiveness of the chiropractic adjustment.

Yet, apparently, chiropractic miracles remain commonplace in less affluent societies whose inhabitants have experienced less “hacking” of their brain neurochemistry.

This book is one of the most important books ever written for anyone who truly wants to understand the modern world and its ills. It also shows a pathway for solutions, and that is a return to the innate lifestyle. LW

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REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR PRACTICE

The

LIFE WEST’S PREMIER CHIROPRACTIC CONFERENCE

AUGUST 16-18, 2019 | OAKLAND | CA

LE A RN FRO M CH I RO PR AC TI C A LL-STA RS

Heidi Haavik, DC

Dan Murphy, DC

Jeanne Ohm, DC

Peter Kevorkian, DC

Ted Carrick, DC

Jimmy Nanda, DC

Marc Hudson, DC

Jeff Scholten, DC

Ankur Tayal, DC

Monika Buerger, DC

Ron Oberstein, DC

Martin Rosen, DC

Scott Rosa, DC

Ryan Lazarus, DC

Jamie Motley, DC

Lona Cook, DC

Annette Schippel, DC

Brad Glowaki, DC

Bryan Gatterman, DC

The WAVE 2019 kicks off a conversation with thoughtleaders on salutogenesis and the science, philosophy,

REGISTER TODAY!

and art of chiropractic. This year’s theme is at the heart of everything chiropractors do. Join us to learn how to transform your practice and communicate the benefits the salutogenic model brings to the profession as you serve your community and grow your business.

Up to 20 CE Hours!

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W I TH D I S C O U NT C O D E LW 19

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