UPFRONT | Roundup COLLABORATION CMCC, University of Toronto sign collaboration agreement The Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) has signed an offi-cial Memorandum of Un-derstanding with the Uni-versity of Toronto (U of T), through the Faculty of Medicine, Leslie Dan Fac-ulty of Pharmacy, and the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education to ex-plore education and research collaborations. The memorandum will provide opportunities to foster cooperative relation-ships in areas of research and education. This cooper-ation could be realized in such areas as: research and joint applications for fund-ing; joint educational courses; graduate and un-dergraduate student mobil-ity; exchange of faculty and par tic ipation in, and co-hosting of lectures, meet-ings, seminars, symposia and conferences. “CMCC is deeply com-mitted to developing mean-ingful partnerships with health-care professionals and educators of all disci-plines to study ways and models to improve the care and ultimately the health of our patients. We look for-ward to developing many collaborative activities with our colleagues at the Uni-versity of Toronto,” CMCC president Dr. David Wickes said. U of T’s dean of medi-cine, Catharine Whiteside, said the new partnership demonstrates the schools’ commitment to expanding research and educational opportunities in health care. “We’re delighted to part-ner with an organization PREVENTION Resistance training at work helps prevent MSD Allowing workers to do resistance training on the job can help prevent and manage upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), said a recent systematic review conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH). Resistance training refers to exercises that cause the muscles to contract against an external resistance with the expectation of increases in muscle strength, tone, mass and/or endurance. “The studies on the effectiveness of resistance programs that we included in our review varied in the level of detail provided,” said Emma Irvin, head of IWH’s systematic review program and one of the lead investigators of this project. “In those that supplied specifics, the resistance programs ranged from 20 minutes to one hour per week, spread across one or multiple days per week, with and without the involvement of a physiotherapist.” The 2014 review also found: • strong evidence of a positive effect for workplace-based resistance exercise training programs; • moderate evidence of a positive effect for stretching exercise programs (including yoga), workstation forearm supports and vibration feedback on mouse use with computers; • moderate evidence of no effect for job stress management training, electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback (sensor pads that measure activity level in muscles), and workstation adjustments with minimal worker involvement. The findings led the review team, consulting with stakeholders, to craft practical messages for those involved in MSD prevention at work. www.canadianchiropractor.ca Front row (L-R): Heather Boon, Dr. David Wickes, Catharine Whiteside; (Back row L-R) Dr. Silvano Mior, Lynda Balneaves, director, Centre for Integrative Medicine U of T, Maurine Kwok, project manager, integrative medicine, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy & Faculty of Medicine committed to improving health w ith an evi -dence-based approach,” Whiteside said about the CMCC. The agreement between CMCC and the three U of T faculties is an important step forward in advancing research initiatives, accord-ing to representatives from these institutions. “This agreement formal-izes research collaborations which have been ongoing between the two institutions for many years,” Dean of U of T’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Heather Boon said. The representative of the university’s Faculty of Kine-siology and Physical Educa-tion said he looks forward to further collaboration with the CMCC. “Our scientists are al-ready engaged in some re-search collaborations with CMCC colleagues and many of our students use their undergraduate kinesi-ology deg rees as a foundation for subsequent studies in a variety of health disciplines, including chiro-practic,” Dean of U of T’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education Ira Jacobs said. Instrumental in bringing this agreement to fruition is CMCC research scientist and senior advisor to the president Dr. Silvano Mior. Mior spearheaded this part-nership as well as many other similar initiatives that continue to build models of collaboration between aca-demic institutions and be-tween chiropractors and physicians in the community primary health care setting, the CMCC said. “We have worked collab-oratively with a number of U of T faculty in areas of re-search and education. This agreement is an acknowl-edgement of the quality of that work and provides a wonderful opportunity to expand into new areas of mutual benefit,” Dr. Mior added. 10 Canadian Chiropractor February 2015
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