FEATURE WELLNESS BEYOND TECHNIQUE Unlocking the key elements to a wellness-focused practice BY JACK KOHANE B “The knowledge and ability to edu-cate and empower patients regarding healthy lifestyle change is the skill set that is most needed, and will be most sought after by individuals, govern-ments, insurance companies and cor-porations in the 21st century,” Chest-nut says. Today’s chiropractic practice should deliver more than technique, according to Dr. Adrian Raphael. “Wellness really means giving people the tools they need to live a long, healthy, happy life outside the office. It doesn’t necessarily mean having multiple treatment or auxiliary services like massage, physio, JACK KOHANE is a Toronto-based freelance journalist writing for several national health-care acupuncture and naturopathic. While magazines and the National Post. these can help patients, really the goal 28 Canadian Chiropractor February 2015 www.canadianchiropractor.ca uilding an action plan of wellness and lifestyle for patients in today’s chiro-practic practice starts from the day they walk in the door. For Dr. James Chestnut, a wellness-fo-cused practice means one that is fo-cused on not just restoring function but also on maintaining function and preventing future health degeneration. “The tools for a wellness practice are chiropractic care and lifestyle educa-tion and intervention,” the Victoria, B.C. chiropractor says. “I believe well-ness and lifestyle are fields of expertise and that a chiropractor or any other practitioner who delivers lifestyle ad-vice should have specific education and training in this field and should deliver evidence-based lifestyle education and intervention. I also believe there is an onus to record the health benefits that are derived so that both doctor and patient can be sure that the interven-tion is having a positive effect on health outcomes,” he says. An internationally known pioneer in the area of lifestyle, renowned speaker and author of The 14 Foundational Premises for the Scientific and Philosoph-ical Validation of the Chiropractic Wellness Paradigm , Chestnut is the developer of the Innate Lifestyle Program, a com-prehensive lifestyle program being delivered by licensed centres around the world. He believes that chiroprac-tors, because of their paradigm to Dr. James Chestnut believes chiropractors are best suited for providing wellness and prevention expertise to patients Dr. Katrina Kulhay runs one of Canada’s first and largest wellness-focused chiropractic clinics address the cause rather than treat ef-fects or symptoms, are the best quali-fied for wellness and prevention. “Prevention cannot occur after a diagnosis and treating effects does not correct causes so I have always felt that chiropractors should be the practition-ers in charge of lifestyle for wellness and prevention – if they have sufficient knowledge in the human species life-style requirements,” Chestnut says. He believes chronic illness is the single greatest threat to health, to qual-ity and quantity of life, to the Canadian economy and to the standard of living.
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