In Remembrance: A Moment of Silence for Robin McKenzie (1931-2013)
Robin McKenzie, founder of the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnostics and Therapy, passed away on May 13, 2013, at his New Zealand home following a battle with cancer.
Birthed in the 1950s and developed over the course of five decades, the McKenzie Method is now practiced worldwide, including by many doctors of chiropractic. It is taught within chiropractic colleges and at the postgraduate level.
Commenting on his passing, David Chapman-Smith, secretary-general of the World Federation of Chiropractic, noted: "Originally a critic of chiropractic, [McKenzie] grew to be generous and fair. When Dr. Murray Katz of Canada tried to work with PTs to establish a new profession of 'orthopractors' to replace chiropractors in the late 1980s, McKenzie wrote a powerful open letter exposing this as a witch hunt against chiropractic – which was responsible for this movement losing momentum and failing."
When it came to the spine, McKenzie was indeed aligned with chiropractic in his belief in the magnitude of spinal problems and the body's innate ability to heal itself. Consider this quote, taken again from the tribute on the McKenzie website:
"The disabling and recurrent disorders that affect the spine can produce disability and mental anguish in all who experience the problem ... We must realise that after injury, the body will repair itself. Physicians and therapists do not have 'magic fingers,' we do not accelerate healing, but we can create the best climate for successful repair and, following repair, we can assist greatly in the recovery of function. Undisturbed healing must be followed by the recovery of function and fitness. These principles are basic and surely offer the most likely solution to the problems caused by the recurring low back disorder."
To learn more about Robin McKenzie and the McKenzie Method, visit www.mckenziemdt.org.
DC Re-Elected to Co-Chair AMA Code Review Board
Dr. Anthony Hamm was recently re-elected co-chair of the American Medical Association's Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee Review Board (HCPAC) for a two-year term beginning in October 2013. Dr. Hamm was the first DC elected to co-chair the board in 2011. The RUC makes annual recommendations on relative values for CPT codes and performs five-year reviews of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale, the scale that helps determine annual Medicare provider payments.
In a Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) press release congratulating him on his re-election to the AMA board, Dr. Hamm commented: "I am pleased to be given the opportunity to serve a second term as co-chair of the AMA HCPAC review board. The RUC committee allows for fair and accurate valuation of all physician services, and serves as a voice in shaping Medicare relative values. I am proud to represent the chiropractic profession and make thoughtful contributions on its behalf."
A graduate of National College of Chiropractic, Dr. Hamm currently directs a private chiropractic practice in Goldsboro, N.C. In addition to his continuing role on the AMA review board, he chairs the American Chiropractic Association's Coding and Reimbursement Committee.
The World Federation of Chiropractic's 12th Biennial Congress was held April 8-13, 2013 at the International Convention Center in Durban, South Africa. More than 750 WFC delegates representing 42 countries attended the event, which celebrated the silver anniversary of the federation, formed in 1988. Special celebrations and events marking the silver anniversary included:
- A video from researchers worldwide honoring Dr. Scott Haldeman, who retires as chair of the WFC Research Council after 25 years of leadership.
- Renaming of the original research awards as the NCMIC Louis Sportelli Research Awards to honor Dr. Sportelli for his career of leadership in building research capacity for the profession, and the NCMIC Group Inc., for its long-term funding of the main awards. First and second prizes of $12,000 and $7,500, respectively, were awarded for research papers from teams affiliated with Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College.
- Launch of an illustrated history, The Global Advance of Chiropractic: The World Federation of Chiropractic 1988-2013, authored by Dr. Reed Phillips.
- Honor Awards for outstanding service toward the international growth of the chiropractic profession to Kent Greenawalt, CEO, Foot Levelers; Dr. Jean Moss, president, CMCC; and Dr. Anthony Metcalfe, past president of the British Chiropractic Association, the European Chiropractors' Union and the WFC.
The congress also featured the creation of a regional organization to represent the profession in Africa, the only world region without a regional voice. The African Chiropractic Federation was formed by delegates from 13 African nations and will hold its first seminar meeting in 2014.
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