Italy Taming the wild west tion. The experience made me feel that I wanted to return, one day, and do something important here. When I began training to be a chiropractor, I knew that was the gift that I was supposed to bring to this country. After a long delay in the bureaucratic shuffl e – an element that one needs to get used to over here – I finally was granted access to work in Italy. This access began, for me, like it does for almost every other foreign chiropractor: via a large multidisci- plinary clinic called a “static clinic.” (There are around 22 of them in the country.) These clinics prepare the paperwork, etc., necessary for a chi- ropractor to begin working in the country, and, thereby, “get into” Italy. W Marco Caravaggio, DC STATIC CLINICS These high-volume clinics are subsidized through the national health system. (All chiro- practors who are in private practice in Italy have cash-only practices, with no insurance hassles, etc.) However, receiving payment for our services, through the static clinics, is actually a rather elaborate process. First, the patient is examined by the clinic’s ortho- pedist or physiatrist, who then sends a requisition to the patient’s family doctor for a “cycle” of “manipolazione.” (Typically, a patient is granted eight to 12 visit cycles, up to three times a year.) The MD, then, writes a prescription for care and the patient returns to us. Patients are often given a “Gonstead” X-ray series. The fi lms are read by personnel, in the clinic, who are trained for this and who also provide us with listings and measure- ments. (Occasionally, we would get to do this ourselves.) It is typical to see anywhere from 80 to 120 people in a day at the static clinic. (This is somewhat different from the student clinic experience!) So, one quickly becomes effi cient with adjustment skills and time management. DA SOLO – MY PRACTICE However, when we feel we know how things work in Italy, it’s never too long before the “voglia di farlo da solo” – that is, to have your own thing – makes us depart from this clinic. My journey brought me to the Abruzzo region, not far from the Adriatic coast on the east side of the country. My dream was to build a family wellness practice and, so, that is what I created. I practise Network Spinal Analysis, almost exclusively, and use a number of outcome measures in my initial and follow-up examinations. These include Surface EMG and thermography, as well as certain neurological tests such as “blind-spot” mapping to as- sess the patient’s progress. Immediately upon opening my practice, I started what I call the “Tuesday night talk.” It is a combination of a chiropractic orientation, and an explanation of the exercises that go with Network care and Somato-Respiratory Integration (SRI). 22 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | JULY/ AUGUST 2008 Continued on Page 26 www.canadianchiropractor.ca hen I was in high school, a family trip brought me to Italy for summer vaca-
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