WFC DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – THERE’S STILL TIME! The World Federation of Chiropractic’s Silver Anniversary Congress in beautiful Durban, South Africa, to be held from April 10-13, 2013, is just around the corner. The event will be hosted by the Chiropractic Association of South Africa (CASA) and currently has over 400 delegates registered. There is still time to register and book your game park trip before or after the Congress! “As for the last Congress in Rio the pre-Congress seminars are proving very popular,” says WFC Secretary General, David Chapman-Smith, “but there are still places available.” There are one- and two-day seminars at the minimal cost of $65 per day from world authorities such as Dr Lindsay Rowe (imaging), Dr Joyce Miller (pediatrics), Dr Tom Hyde (FAKTR), Dr Chris Colloca (instrument adjusting), Dr Kevin Jardine (taping, rehab) and Dr Craig Morris (ProGolf workshop). Beyond the usual outstanding academic and social program for the main Congress there are special events marking the silver anniversary of the WFC. These include a Thursday African Night, a Friday evening beach party sponsored by the City of Durban, and a gala banquet Saturday with the sensational Sterling Electric Quartet. As well, there will be the launch of the 25-year illustrated history of the WFC titled The Global Advance of the Profession (hardback, 240 pages, over 600 photos – see sample Chapters 1 and 2 at www.wfc.org under News). Copies will be available at a conference discount. Come and hear the inspirational Sister Yengo DC, MD, of Sister Yengo’s Children in the Congo speak. All associations will want to be represented at a very special Assembly of Members on April 8-9, and all Dcs are welcome as observers. Pioneering African chiropractors from 10 countries, including impressive young leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Uganda, will tell their stories and have a first meeting to form an African regional organization. On April 9, 125 World Congress of Chiropractic Students leaders join the Assembly for a keynote speech from Dr Louis Sportelli – a forum on when longterm care contracts and open practice are appropriate – and much more. This is your chance of a lifetime to travel to Durban in South Africa to combine a historic chiropractic meeting with some touring of the country’s majestic scenery and game parks. Register at www.wfc.org/-congress2013. See you in Durban. 2013 INNOVATIONS IN LASER THERAPY SYMPOSIUM Meditech presents this annual event, featuring the foremost researchers and clinicians involved in laser therapy technology, June 8, 2013. Whether you are experienced in the administration of laser therapy or interested in learning how it can benefit your patients, this conference will provide you with the most advanced information available and educate you in order to facilitate the application of therapy. The keynote speaker for the symposium will be Dr. Norman Doidge. Other symposium highlights include presentations on: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia; Application of Laser Therapy for Dermatological Conditions; Laser Therapy for Sports Injuries – The Answer for the Weekend Warrior. For symposium schedule, CE information, or to register please e-mail info@internationallaser.Org. REMEMBERING DR. SID WILLIAMS Dr. Sidney Earl Williams, the founder of Life University, died at his home in Powder Springs, Georgia, on Dec. 27. He was 84. Dr. Sid E. Williams wanted to convert the world to chiropractic care. To that end, he, along with his wife, Dr. Nell Williams, created a place that could educate and train anyone who believed in his vision. Life University – the world’s largest chiropractic college – and later, Life University West, have trained thousands of Dcs who have benefited due to Dr. Williams’ educational leadership. He was deeply committed to the founding principles of chiropractic, and his advocacy, by way of example, is a legacy to the profession’s leaders who have followed. Dr. Sid, as he was known to his patients, was trained at the Palmer School of Chiropractic, in Davenport, Iowa, for four years before returning to Georgia. He didn’t set out to build the largest chiropractic school, he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2009, but he had big dreams! Throughout his extensive and expansive career, he also founded the Dynamic Essentials seminar series and served as the seventh president of International Chiropractic Association (ICA) from 1982-1985, as ICA Chairman of the Board and as chair of ICA’s Legislative Committee. In 1985 he was recognized as ICA’s Chiropractor of the Year and was also elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the ICA (FICA). Dr. Sid will be missed by his many students/colleagues and patients. HARVARD REPORT ENDORSES CHIROPRACTIC FOR ACUTE LBP A 2012 report issued by Harvard Medical School endorses chiropractic care for patients with short- and medium-term low back pain (LBP). Low back pain can be highly uncomfortable, debilitating and disruptive for those who suffer from it and has been implicated as a major factor in lost work time and health-care spending in North America. The Harvard Medical School Special Health Report, titled Low Back Pain – Healing Your Aching Back (published by Harvard Health Publications) outlines, for both health professionals and lay-readers, factors leading or contributing to LBP and suggests therapeutic options for patients who live with it. Amongst these, chiropractic is listed as a viable therapeutic option for patients suffering from acute LBP, noting that chiropractic relieves pain and reduces the necessity of medication for some of these patients. Page 26 of the report quotes “a 2010 review of 12 different studies involving 2,887 people with low back pain,” which concluded that “…chiropractic care improved short- and medium-term pain more than other treatments, including exercise, physical therapy, and medication….people who saw chiropractors also reported being less disabled over the short term (one month) compared with people who received other treatments such as standard medical therapy.”* The report also states, “The best candidates for chiropractic manipulation are people who have no sign of nerve impairment.For them, chiropractic care tends to be satisfying and effective for acute low back pain” and notes that chiropractic can also be effective in a team-based approach – including medical doctors and allied health professionals – for relief of LBP.” To receive this report – and other health reports – in full, and/or to obtain permission to distribute it to patients and/or colleagues, please visit www.health.harvard.edu/. * Excerpts reproduced with permission. ERRATUM Re: Article titled, “The Evolution of Kinesiology Tape – More than pretty colours?”, December 2012 issue, pages 28-29. In this article, the term “kinesiotape” was used interchangeably with “kinesiology taping” and “elastic therapeutic tape.” We apologize for any inconvenience resulting from this oversight on our part. In fact, although this term is becoming ubiquitous throughout the literature that deals with this subject matter – and is commonly used, conversationally, amongst professionals who work with elastic therapeutic tape – it is important to note that Kinesio Tape, and, by extension Kinesiotaping, is actually a registered trademark. As such, these labels cannot be used as umbrella terms for this tool or any technique with which it is applied, other than for the specific product and methods offered by the Kinesio company Dcs CAN SIGN OFF ON ‘RETURN TO PLAY Hockey Canada, in consultation with the Hockey Canada Chief Medical Officer and the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario (HDCO) Hockey Trainers Certification Program committee, has approved amendments adding chiropractors to the list of practitioners who can sign off on return to play for muscular and skeletal injuries. The ruling states, “With respect to players returning to play, muscular and skeletal injuries (excluding fractures) can be signed off by physicians, chiropractors, physiotherapists, or nurse practitioners.” This information, disseminated at the end of December 2012 in a memorandum to HDCO member associations, was declared effective immediately and has already been incorporated into the Hockey Trainers Certification Program e-Learning course module. For more information, please visit www.hdco.on.ca/web_pages/ trainers_intro.html.