Through Movement and Functional In- tegration lessons. Midway through their training, they can begin to offer Aware- ness Through Movement lessons to the public. After they complete their training program, they can provide Functional Integration lessons to individual pa- tients. Practitioners must complete regu- lar continuing education requirements to maintain their certification. SUBSCRIBE TODAY ! $2400 8 ISSUES only (GST $25.20; QST/HST $27.12) \UE Name: ___________________________ Clinic Name: ______________________ Address: _________________________ City: ____________________________ Prov: ____________________________ P.Code:___________________________ Tel: _____________________________ Fax: _____________________________ e-mail: ___________________________ PLEASE CHECK ONE: Doctor of Chiropractic Other Practitioner Graduate Student Chiropractic Assistants Other ______________________ Please Specify TYPE OF PRACTICE Solo Group Chiropractic Integrated Disciplines Other ______________________ Please Specify Not in Practice - Student ARE YOU? (SELECT ONE) Owner ❏ Associate ❏ Assistant ❏ Employee ❏ Other ______________________ ❏ Please Specify PAYMENT: Cheque - Payable to Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Amex Visa MC Account #: ____________________________ Expiry: ___________________________ Signature: ____________________________ Date: ________________________________ TO SUBSCRIBE: Tel: 866-790-6070 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: Canadian Chiropractor c/o Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. P.O. Box 530 Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 4N5 e-mail: [email protected] www.canadianchiropractor.ca GST#867172652RT0001 34 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | JUNE 2010 0610CC ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ WHAT RESEARCH IS SHOWING Given the relative newness of the Felden- krais Method, there is a limited body of research documenting its effectiveness and safety. Still, thousands of patients in the United States and Canada seek the services of Feldenkrais practitioners each year. They might try Feldenkrais lessons as a complement or alternative to medi- cal care for a variety of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions that may be congenital, chronic or acute (Lundblad et al., 1999; Nair et al., 2005; Schon- Ohlsson et al., 2005). Others may want to enhance performance in sports or the performing arts, or stave off the decline in balance that typically accompanies aging (Ullmann et al., 2010). DCs may choose to become certified and integrate this method into their practices, or network with Feldenkrais practitioners Information about the characteristics and practice profiles of Feldenkrais prac- titioners is publicly available to guide pa- tients and health-care providers in their decision making regarding use of and referral to the method, but, at this time, this information is somewhat limited. Currently, there are about 1,300 certified practitioners in the United States. Re- spondents to a recent preliminary survey of U.S. practitioners (Buchanan, 2010) indicated that most had part-time prac- tices and lived in the west and northeast regions of the country. While the major- ity did not hold additional credentials as health-care providers or other comple- mentary and alternative medicine provid- ers, those who did most frequently had credentials in physical therapy and mas- sage therapy. Members of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America (FGNA) can be found by searching the online directory of practitioners (http://www.feldenkrais. com/). A recent review of the FGNA di- rectory indicated that there are about 100 Feldenkrais practitioners in Canada with- in seven provinces and one territory. The vast majority of Canadian teachers lived in British Columbia and Ontario. Of the few doctors of chiropractic who are Feldenkrais practitioners, none re- sponded to this preliminary survey. How- ever, given their skills and knowledge, more DCs may choose to become certi- fied and integrate this method into their practices. Alternatively, they may decide to network with Feldenkrais practitio- ners in their area in order to provide this option to their patients. While many students and practitioners are confident in the ability of the Felden- krais Method to safely and effectively as- sist people to self-organize more efficient actions, and thereby improve function, others want to see more research-based evidence and examine the underlying mechanisms and processes (Buchanan & Ulrich, 2001). As a step to facilitate growth in these areas, a new website di- rected to persons interested in research is now available at Feldenkrais Science Network (www.feldscinet.org) under the auspices of the Esther Thelen, PhD, GCFP Research and Education Fund of the Feldenkrais® Educational Foundation of North America. Readers can view the references to this article to find sources for more informa- tion related to the Feldenkrais Method. The list includes Dr. Feldenkrais’s book, Awareness Through Movement, in which he described his approach to learning along with 12 classic lessons. Recorded lessons and other publications, a research bibliography, and much more information are available through the FGNA website. Above all, people need to experience the Feldenkrais Method to better un- derstand it and its potential and, in the words of Moshe Feldenkrais, “. . . to ex- pand the boundaries of the possible: to turn the impossible into the possible, the difficult into the easy, and the easy into the pleasant.” • For article with references, please visit www.canadianchiropractor.ca. www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor June 2010: Page 34
