About the Columnist

For more than 30 years, Dr. Marc Heller has studied and treated the spine with a manual practitioner's perspective. He has a special interest in back pain. In his writing and teaching, he focuses on the interplay between joint hypermobility and joint restriction. He emphasizes and uses low-force mobilization methods including muscle energy, counterstrain, and other lower force techniques.

Dr. Heller also uses many soft-tissue approaches including Graston Technique and Stecco's Fascial Manipulation, as well as various myofascial release methods. He has studied and incorporated international rehabilitation principles including the work of Dr. Vladimir Janda and Dr. Craig Liebenson, as well as physical therapists Mark Comerford and Mark Bookhout, into his practice.

His passion is synthesis, bringing a broad understanding of what is the essential message within different manual and rehab techniques. He is dedicated to continuous learning, from classes, from reading, from paying attention to difficult cases in practice. He teaches seminars throughout the U.S. regarding back pain, how to assess it and how to treat the common patterns that cause pain. He also has written on a variety of topics emphasizing low-force manipulation, rehabilitation, and soft-tissue methods.

Dr. Heller is a 1979 cum laude graduate of National College of Chiropractic, (NUHS). He has a private practice in Ashland, Ore.

For more information, contact Dr. Heller at or visit his seminar Web site www.learnlowforce.com or his informational site www.marchellerdc.com.