Why should you be part of the 2019 Rubicon Conference in Paris?
Because there has never been a better time in the history of technology to identify vertebral subluxation and measure its effect. To learn more, click on the video below…or scroll on down and read the transcript…in which Drs. Gerry Clum and Jason Deitch share more about Rubicon in Paris. You’ll learn why, no matter where you are on the subluxation spectrum, “evidence based” and “subluxation” are mutually inclusive.
Then, be sure and register here.
Deitch: Hi, and welcome to another episode of 33 Minutes. I’m Dr. Jason Deitch and of course I’m here with Dr. Gerry Clum. Gerry, good afternoon. Thank you, my friend. We have, we have a fascinating topic to talk about in this episode of 33 Minutes. As you know, this is part of Today’s Chiropractic Leadership, TCL, our voice of the chiropractic profession. Really bringing our entire profession an opportunity to understand what today’s leaders are talking about, thinking about and doing. We have a great topic today because we’ve been talking a lot about the controversy, of the different camps, [with] some thinking that the vertebral subluxation is a historical artifact. And, others in fact, seeing that there is a growing trend of scientists and researchers that are in fact validating exactly that: the vertebral subluxation, its impact on our brain and our neurology, and therefore our function.
I know there’s an upcoming event in Paris. The Rubicon group is coming together with a collection of some of the top scientists and researchers in the profession, and PhDs that may not necessarily be chiropractors ,talking about this exact topic. Let’s…talk down the controversy. What’s the issue and why is it so important for us to really learn more about today’s latest science, technology and research if you’re a practicing chiropractor?
Clum: Well, thank you, Jason. I appreciate the opportunity because, you know, this has been a very frustrating period of time because just as you said, we’ve got this perspective in the profession, that says anything to do with the subluxation is a historical artifact. It should be…put in the dustbin of history, if you will, and so on. And the reality is that the current information, the current science, the current evidence that’s coming forward from circles outside the chiropractic profession, that can be brought to bear for the best interest and understanding of the profession is staggering at the moment.
And it’s coming from all directions. It’s coming from all disciplines and it’s coming…in a fashion that, if you and I were to write the script, we wouldn’t write it as positive as this is right now. And the Rubicon Group, as you know, and we’ve talked about before, one of its components is that, that it’s concerned about a neurologically oriented approach to the practice of chiropractic and to the concept of subluxation. It’s at the heart of what we do, and it’s at the heart of why we do it. And this year, as we have done for the past several years now, the Rubicon Group has brought together a number of researchers from the profession, a number of researchers outside of the profession that are beginning to take note of what’s happening within the chiropractic community, wanting to contribute, wanting to be part of it, wanting to add their expertise, their talent, their skill, their insight to that momentum, and to really create something that can be a game changer across the board.
My first and foremost goal for the conference in November is to put dignity back into the hearts and the minds of the chiropractors who have been told subluxation doesn’t exist. Well, that’s a load of crap… Forgive my bluntness in saying it. And the evidence that’s there, the technologies that are there, the information that’s being developed and the clinical realities that are unfolding in front of us are great. And…we’ve got this segment of the profession that wants to run around…and say, it’s all in your imagination. It never was. It never will be. And it’s just asinine. So we’re headed to Paris November 15th and 16th, and we’re bringing together researchers, we’re bringing together clinician scientists, we’re bringing together chiropractic faculty, we’re bringing together the chiropractic leaders, and we’re bringing patients into the discussion as well.
: We’ll talk about that in just a little bit, but across the spectrum of this program, the…focus will be in part on the science, in part on the philosophy, and in part on the practice of chiropractic. So the chiropractor attending this program will go away with more information, greater insight into the implications of subluxation, greater insights into the implications of the adjustment, and how healing processes take effect as a result of that adjustment. They’ll go home with improved skills and they’ll go home with a deeper understanding of what chiropractic means to the patient, [and what] it means to the world in a broader context. I’m very excited about the program. It’s multifaceted. It’s fast moving. We have speakers from all over the world. We have speakers from, from London, from Belgium, from France, from New Zealand, from the United States, from Pakistan, you name it. We brought together a tremendous collection of faculty that I think really put some great information on the table for everybody.
Deitch: What I like so much about what you’re saying is, I think you hit on this earlier, that there is an emotional toll that chiropractors live under, many of them I know, and certainly plenty that I don’t, that consciously or unconsciously get this lack of confidence, lack of certainty that the constant, just repetition, not necessarily accurate, but the repetition of this fallacy, that the subluxation is not real or not scientific. Lies repeated over time become, not the [actual] truth, but truth to people. I think it has clearly affected many practicing chiropractors’ ability to speak with certainty, which impacts their ability to attract people to their practice, speak with certainty that affects their ability to confidently connect with whoever’s in front of them and their ability to reassure them that there is science and research validating what they do. And, the ability to articulate it both in a scientific level and a simple, I don’t want to say English, because it’s international, but speak plain language at the consumer level that regular people can understand.
Clum: Yes, and that’s another important feature of this program. There’s a significant portion of the program that is for the chiropractor. There’s a portion that’s for the patient. And there’s a part that’s for the world beyond. We need to talk to all of those audiences. You made references have referenced to some of the technologies that are involved. I’d encourage our colleagues to just take a moment and Google High Density EMG and to Google near infrared spectroscopy technologies that quite frankly, I’d be willing to bet 99% of the people listening to this discussion have never heard of. Right?
And we will have discipline leaders with those technologies and from those communities that will be talking about how those technologies in their labs are being used to better understand what happens over our adjusting tables and in the patients that we see on those tables. Now, we’re not talking about technologies that the chiropractor’s going to bring back to his or her office. We’re talking about technologies that are significant expense points, significant complexity points, but can reveal things to us that we never dreamed possible. So, I’m very excited about it. Just as you said, there’s a certain part of this that we want to use the to give the chiropractor a better technical base to their skills, and to their capacities. And we also want to use that information to give them a better emotional lift in their life, to understand and to really be able to sit back and say, “By God, we were right!”
Deitch: It’s one of those really, I think, exciting, timely things, thinking just in terms of the spectrum/, You’ve got those that have always known that the vertebral subluxation is the basis of the chiropractic profession and our clinical focus, for those people to be able to watch technology validate what they’ve known for so long is extremely exciting, in my opinion, to sort of, you know something, but then see the technology, learn about the technology that’s validating what you know, is awesome. The other end of the spectrum, and please confirm I’m saying this right, but if you think of yourself as an evidence based professional, then the evidence says that the vertebral subluxation is a valid neurological, measurable entity and the adjustment has impact and influence on our brain and neurology. And that is measurable and documented with this type of technology.
So if you consider yourself evidence-based, if you think of yourself as someone who follows the science and the research, the perhaps surprising discovery, truth or validation is technology is basically leading us to this story, to understand the impact of the adjustment on our neurology. Am I saying this right?
Clum: You are, you are. You know, I might say it a little bit different here in different. You’ve got the theme exactly right. And, and the point is for the guy and the gal over adjusting table, they don’t have the time to dig through the literature. They don’t have the time to read the studies that are coming out and to have people that are doing the studies, people that are using the technology, people that understand the implications of what it means to our world, discuss with us the capacities that are right at our doorstep. That’s really some powerful juice. And that’s the stuff that’s the heart and soul of this conference.
I made reference to one of the other ideas that we’ve implemented in the program and it’s what we call the voice of the patient… Everybody talks about patient-centered care and everybody talks about the way care ought to be delivered, and so on. But, when’s the last time you heard a patient at a chiropractic meeting discuss what chiropractic met in their life and in their circumstances? It just doesn’t happen. If we want to understand how this happens to the patient, why don’t we ask the patient? And that’s exactly what we’ve done… We have asked persons to come forward and to bring to our attention patients who have the capacity, the willingness and the desire to communicate to chiropractors from all over the world, what chiropractic care has meant to them and how it has changed their life, and get down to the ultimate level of evidence, of where the rubber meets the road in terms of: Is Sally better; is Charlie better? And how are they better? And how has this changed their life?
I’m very excited about it. It’s some great stuff and I encourage anybody listening, if you have any thought of being in, near or around Paris in November, the 15th and 16th, come join us. As an American, if you’re watching this, be a hero. Take your spouse over to Paris just before the holidays, get your Christmas shopping out of the way, be a good guy and make it tax deductible. Come join us. TheRubiconGroup.org. You can sign up, find all the information you need.
Deitch: I know you’re going to be there. I will be there. I sort of think of this, as I said, just kind of thinking of the spectrum. This is a celebration for those that have always embraced the vertebral subluxation and our appreciation for what it is and our ability to influence it. This is a celebration to see today’s modern technology validate what we’ve known. And it’s a discovery, an exciting discovery for those people that follow the research that don’t have an agenda beyond, I want to see the evidence, I want to see the data, I want to see the facts. And if you are true to that principle, then you follow those facts where they lead you and this will be an important observation, awareness, [and] discovery. What’s interesting, and I guess where trouble happens is those that claim to be evidence-based, claim to focus on the science, but then cherry pick which data, which data sets, whose science they’re going to…focus on, to in fact, just come to their own irrational or non…scientifically based conclusions. That that seems to be where the controversy has come from. Would you agree?
Clum: Yeah, it has. It’s the same across all disciplines. You know, we’re not unique as chiropractors in this regard. People want to use science as long as science reinforces what they want to see accomplished. And, and when the science departs from that, it’s like, “Oh my goodness,” you know, that that camp, the science has gotta be wrong.” Well, maybe you’re wrong. Maybe you didn’t get it right and maybe you’ve made some premature cognitive commitments to things that just ain’t so. I’m looking forward to this. I’m looking forward also to creating an environment where chiropractors who have like mind, like experience, [and] like intent can come together, share a great setting and share a great experience of content and experience time with one another and learn and grow and support each other in the process.
So, thanks for being with us in November yourself. I’m looking forward to it and I hope lots of our listeners are as well.
Deitch: We hope to see you there. Listen, if you’re going to be there, go ahead and leave a comment down below. As I said, I will be there, Dr. Clum will be there, a long list of amazing scientists. You can go to TheRubiconGroup.org, get more information, see the schedule, see who’s going to be there. And in fact, register. I do know that there is a hotel room block. You want to make sure you’re get in early. Make sure you book your room, book your flights. I’ve been watching flights; now is a great time to get a great rate. And as you said, Dr Clum, be a hero; bring your loved one – wife, husband, whoever that may be, to come on out, enjoy Paris in November, and really celebrate technology, celebrate the subluxation and celebrate that we are chiropractors that really have a specialty that is unique, different, extremely valuable, and is really building momentum as it relates to the appreciation of people who will share with you and the impact that it’s had on their lives. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you go to the website. We look forward to seeing you there. On behalf of Dr. Gerry Clum, I’m Dr. Jason Deitch. Thank you for joining us for another episode of 33 Minutes.