2502 NYCC TRANS FINAL2 - New York Chiropractic College

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ROUNDUP
Chiropractic’s Research Agenda
by Ronald Bulbulian, Ph.D., Director of Research
The official Chiropractic Research Agenda (CRA)
lion’s share has bypassed chiropractic institutions.
began in 1995, involving assorted research administrators
who met at Washington, D.C.’s first Research
way to allopathic medicine, allied health and college
Traditional support for research has long found its
Agenda Conference (RAC), sponsored by the department
of Health Research and Services Administration
HRSA and RAC conferences are lessening the dis-
science departments. Change is afoot, however. The
(HRSA). The administrators, driven by a public desiring
alternative medicine and a government increasingly
frastructure that will one day effectively compete
parity. Chiropractic is busy erecting a research in-
interested in funding chiropractic research, worked to
for limited research dollars. The profession is acutely
develop a chiropractic research agenda. Senator Harken
aware that it pays to collaborate with established investigators
outside chiropractic, and fully appreci-
(R- Iowa) procured NIH funding for a Consortial Center
for Chiropractic Research (CCCR), administered by
ates the critical role played by peer review. It is generally
left to seasoned health and medical research-
the Center for Chiropractic Research at Palmer. Initial
meetings led to consensus about research priorities and
ers to assess the quality of the various research study
resulted in publication of an agenda white paper in
proposals submitted to the NIH. As chiropractors
JMPT. Surveys revealed the amount of support the
increasingly publish in peer reviewed journals and
Ronald Bulbulian, Ph.D.,
various chiropractic colleges gave their research programs.
It was measured in terms of faculty, staffing,
National Center for Complementary and Alterna-
participate in the NIH peer review process at the
laboratory/research space, and budgetary commitment. Colleges reported tive Medicine (NCCAM), they gradually infiltrate the influential peer system.
Admittedly, more must be done that elevates funding levels, devel-
a mean commitment level at 2-3% of the total operating budgets for
research. They thereafter resolved to achieve 5%.
ops stronger chiropractic college research infrastructures, and boosts NIH
CRA’s annual meetings now take the form of conferences that highlight
current research activity among the various colleges and provide NYCC conducts an exemplary research effort, committing nearly
research grants.
valuable exposure and training to attending faculty. Seminar topics include
statistical methods, grant writing, and publication skills. NYCC’s credentials and publications are commendable. These efforts translate
4% of the College’s operating budget. As a result, the research faculty’s
faculty find the conferences instructive and feel that that their attendance
is crucial to the development of an optimal research environment. help shape the profession’s research agenda. Ultimately, field practitio-
into successful research grant proposals and professional accolades that
Over the past two years NIH funding for alternative and complementary
therapies has increased dramatically. Thus far, however, the
ners and their patients will benefit greatly from chiropractic’s research
investigations.
NYCC Faculty Present Research Papers to
Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society
trpaezius muscle, using a novel
technique known as clinical
microdialysis. Her work reveals
startling information about the
pathogenesis of trigger points. Her
investigation reveals that blood
flow increases near trigger points.
The journal Pain recently published
aspects of the work done by Dr.
Sciotti-Dishman and her co-investigators.
NYCC’s Drs. Paul Dougherty
and John Ventura also attended the
meeting. They participated in discussions
about chiropractic integration:
a Transcranial Magnetic
Stimulation Study,” discussed how
spinal manipulation leads to central
motor excitability facilitation,
producing an inhibition of a peripherally
induced reflex. This is
the first known study to reveal the
basic mechanism behind of spinal
manipulation.
Dr. Sciotti-Dishman’s paper,
“Investigating the Energy Crisis
Theory of Myofascial Trigger
Points: a Microdialysis Study,” involves
the biochemical analysis of
the myofascial trigger points in the
Drs. J. Donald Dishman and
Veronica Sciotti-Dishman recently
presented research to the
North American Spine Society
(NASS), North America’s prestigious
spine care organization.
Seattle hosted NASS’s 16 th annual
meeting, drawing orthopedic surgeons,
neurological surgeons and
physiatrists. The group also studies
non-operative management of
spine disorders.
Dr. Dishman’s paper, “Motor
Facilitation and Sensory Inhibition
Following Spinal Manipula-
Drs. Veronica Sciotti-Dishman
and J. Donald Dishman
tion into multidisciplinary spine
care practices. NYCC’s faculty
participation at the meeting was
the only instance of chiropractic
college involvement.
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