acupuncture had been saying for over 2,000 years. The needle itself played the largest role in analgesia – more than the actual local anesthetic or injectable anti-inflammatory. This study also set the frame-work for contemporary forms of medical acupunc-ture, which many chiropractors incorporate in their daily practice today. I recently interviewed Dr. Steven Passmore, assis-tant professor and holder of a Canadian Chiroprac-tic Research Foundation Professorship in Spine Biomechanics and Human Neurophysiology in the School of Medical Rehabilitation at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Passmore is one of the chiroprac-tic profession’s most respected researchers today. He demonstrates how practising chiropractors and chiropractic students can learn to better appreciate, interpret and apply research concepts to enhance their body of clinical knowledge. Following are some of the highlights of my con-versation with Dr. Passmore (SP). Back to the future What is your educational background? SP: I graduated with an honours degree in kinesi-ology from McMaster University and then I com-pleted my master of science degree at University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Then it was off to New York Chiropractic College where I earned my doctorate Of chiropractic, and then I completed my PhD in kinesiology at McMaster University. “Research findings provide something tangible that chiropractors can turn to when they discuss their role in health care with patients, other clinicians and government stakeholders.” Dry needling is highly effective for the treatment of chronic myofascial pain. Researcher Karel Lewit referred to it as the “needle effect” in an article that demonstrated that needling painful regions pro-vided immediate pain modulation. Why did you become interested in research? SP: When I was an undergraduate student at Mc-Master, I would see posters advertising for research participants. After I volunteered for a study, I saw for the first time the process of collecting research data. I became fascinated and signed up for as many [studies] as I could – both to help contribute to the science, and to ask questions of the research-ers about what they do and why. What would be the ideal relationship between research and clinical practice? What did this mean? www.canadianchiropractor.ca This was the first piece of work in western medicine that validated what traditional Chinese SP: It would be very close to what I have created with my team in my current laboratory setup in the School of Medical Rehabilitation at the University of Manitoba. I host weekly clinics in a treatment room in my laboratory, which is housed within a full-scale urban rehabilitation hospital. When pa-tients are suitable as research participants, they are asked if they would like to participate. If they agree, they proceed to the informed consent process and merely step into the research laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment in the next room. It is a vir-tually seamless way to collect data from clinically September 2013 Canadian Chiropractor 27
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2013: Page 27
