Dr William H Koch

Please join me in Florida in March for Seminars 1 and 2 of my 3 part seminar series    Koch Integrated Advanced Chiropractic Techniques.

My next hands-on intensive technique training seminar begins March 23, 2018. I’d like to invite you to join me.

Seminar 1 — March 23, 24, 25                Seminar 2 — March 26, 27

Part One will be offered Friday March 23 through Sunday March 25,         Part Two follows on March 26 and 27.

You are welcome to take either one or both seminars.

See It – Feel It – Do It

We are keeping the seminar small to give every participant the opportunity to maximize the learning experience and get as much out of each session as he or she can.  The goal is for each doctor to “See It, Feel It and Do It.”  You will see me perform my protocols, experience the way it feels to be adjusted this way, and get the opportunity to do the techniques by practicing on each other.

Seminar Part One will cover the basics of the Koch Protocols technique approach including my unique approach to the first visit examination, consultation and treatment.

I do a very complete examination during the first visit to determine weakness and imbalance throughout the structure.  And no matter what issue the patient presents as the main problem, I always begin my treatment by balancing the pelvis. As with the foundation of a house, if it is not level and balanced, nothing in the house will be level, strong or stable.

Therefore, much of this first seminar will be focused on balancing the pelvis.  I will spend a lot of time teaching the examination and treatment protocols I use to achieve this, including my use of the ArthroStim and VibraCussor instruments, SOT blocks, and the methods I use to determine what category of SOT blocking is most appropriate according to examination indicators. I will also teach my procedure for manually releasing the psoas.

Seminar Part Two will focus on the specific evaluation and treatment of the thoracic and cervical spine with the objective of re-establishing the functional inter-relationship between the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine and providing an understanding of the difference between a segmental vs. a regional approach to spinal correction.

I will teach you how I use both instrument and specific manual adjusting techniques for the thoracic and cervical spine, including how I do Gonstead cervical chair adjustments, which I find gets far more specific and effective results than other manual cervical adjusting techniques. 

I will also teach my favorite cervical adjustment: a three dimensional seated occipital technique, which he learned from Dr. Clay Thompson.

I have often said, “If I could only do one cervical move it would be Dr. Thompson’s occipital adjustment.”

I will also teach some low force bio-cranial treatments, internal TMJ corrections and other specific soft tissue orthopedic techniques to give you the tools to deal with your most difficult and challenging cases.

If time allows I will also cover how I do extremity adjusting for fast, effective results that wow my patients. I am often able to correct issues with the extremities that patients have had for years. Quickly, easily and effectively.

Kiana and I look forward to having you join us for new Adventures in Practice.  We know it will be professionally rewarding – and a lot of fun too!

Call Kiana at 352-729-2678 to register.

The cost of the seminars is:

Part One only — $250                                Discounted price for students: $150

Part One and Two together — $400     Discounted price for students: $250

Please join me in Florida in January for Seminar 1 of my 3 part seminar series    Koch Integrated Advanced Chiropractic Techniques.

My next hands-on intensive 3 day seminar is scheduled for January 19-21, 2018. I’d like to invite you to join me.  The focus of Seminar One of the three part series is on the first visit examination and treatment protocols with an emphasis on Balancing the Pelvis. I am really looking forward to it.  The last one was fantastic.  A great learning experience and a lot of fun!

THE KOCH PROTOCOLS

General Course Objectives

To teach you the way I use Advanced Examination and Adjusting Techniques including Instrument Adjusting for Better Results and Happier Patients in a simple model of a Patient Centered Referral Based Cash Practice.

In recent years there have been enormous improvements in the design and technology of hand held chiropractic instruments, as well as in the various technique methods for their use. This has resulted in the opportunity for significantly better, faster results for our patients. It has also resulted in effective treatment options that are much easier on the doctors. In this seminar series I will discuss the benefits of instrument adjusting for patients and doctors and will demonstrate and give one-on-one instruction in the various technique approaches he uses.

I will also teach his own protocols for instrument adjusting using the ArthroStim, VibraCussor and GRT Lite in conjunction with a variety of other techniques including SOT, Gonstead, Creed Neural Integration, Gonzalez Quantum Neurology Rehabilitation, and others to get incredible, quick and lasting results for your patients.

Why Instrument Adjusting?

• Patients love instrument adjusting. It is gentle and eliminates the joint cracking sounds many find intimidating and offensive. While gentle it can achieve very fast and dramatic results that “wow” the patients.
• Instrument adjusting allows greater precision and versatility in adjusting the spine and extremities.
• Instrument adjusting dramatically reduces the stress on the doctor’s body. Too many chiropractors’ careers are cut short by injuries which occur at a rate comparable to professional football players.  Instrument adjusting extends and even saves careers.
• Instrument adjusting permits adjusting of the full spine or selected areas in a wide range of positions: the usual prone and supine or with patients sitting or standing or even with the patient in motion. In fact, instruments allow for dynamic adjusting of the patient while walking in place, adding a whole new dimension to the corrective process by allowing adjustments to be made in motion and under full weight bearing loads.

Course Outline/Description

1. Introduce the multiple benefits of Instrument Adjusting.
2. Introduce a high level of precision and specificity to the corrective process.
3. Demonstrate and instruct how instruments can be used in a variety of ways and for various specific results.
4. Demonstrate how instruments allow us to address specific, objective examination findings and make appropriate corrections with a degree of effectiveness that allows the doctor to show immediate functional improvements on post adjustment re-examination. This clearly demonstrates to doctor and patient that his protocol has had a positive effect.
5. Integrate Instrument Adjusting with Manual Techniques for a complete protocol.
6. Show you how to get fantastic results quickly
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   and easily using instrument adjusting, SOT categorizing and blocking techniques in conjunction very specific and precise manual adjusting techniques.

7. Discuss how I have built multiple successful referral based cash practices over the past 50 years by  producing exceptional results and happy patients — and how you can too.

Get excited about chiropractic again. Enjoy your practice more than ever before. Simplify, lower your overhead and get better results for happier patients who help you build a thriving referral practice.  Sign up for a Koch Advanced Technique Seminar.

Each Koch Seminar is three days, approximately 20 hours, of personal, hands on instruction in a small group setting that will allow you to go to work Monday morning and start using what you have learned.

Three days, 20 hours, maximum 10 doctors per class — $250!   Call Kiana at 352-729-2678.

In my next post I will discuss in more detail the first seminar: Balancing the Pelvis.

First published in The American Chiropractor Magazine October 2017                                  The Psoas – The Missing Link in Pelvic Correction

The psoas is one of the most frequently neglected yet vitally important muscles in the body.  Its action is that of the major hip flexor.  That seems simple and straight forward enough, but a closer look shows there is more to it than its action as hip flexor would suggest.

A large and powerful pair of muscles, with origins into the transverse processes of T 12 – L5 and the lateral aspects of the discs of L1 – L5, they cross the pubic arches and the sacroiliac joints before inserting into the medial aspect of the lesser trochanters of the femurs.

These powerful hip flexors cross two joints, the sacroiliac and the ileofemural, they are diarticular, and the only muscles joining the axial and appendicular skeleton.

The psoas allows movement mainly in the saggital plane and to a lesser degree in the frontal and horizontal planes.

Another unique feature is that they can become their own antagonist in stabilization between flexion and extension.

Innervation of the psoas is by the L1-L3 nerve roots.

The psoas is a primary fight/flight muscle, reacting to our inner and outer state of consciousness and awareness.  It contracts strongly when we are stressed preparing us to fight or run even when such physical action is not appropriate for the situation.  It is an important part of the sympathetic nervous system’s stress response designed to be engaged for brief periods, meaning for moments, not days, months and years. Prolonged psoas contraction has negative consequences.

Tight psoas can cause lumbar hyperlordosis as well as lumbar body rotation on the same side or spinous rotation on the contra lateral side.  This contributes to the pelvic imbalance that is the root cause of much of the acute and chronic low back pain that chiropractors see in their offices every day.

The question is:  What causes the psoas to become hypertonic, sometimes to the point of spastic contraction, causing difficulty in walking, changing position from sitting to standing or turning over in bed?

Because it is such a large and powerful muscle, it is susceptible to multiple stimuli.  First is the postural stress of sitting.  Sitting has been identified as one of the foremost health liabilities of people living and working in our modern world.  There are multiple liabilities imposed on us by the long periods of sitting that most of us do in the course of our work and leisure activities.

The act of sitting places the long axis of the femur at a 90 degree angle to the lower lumbar spine.  Sitting causes the psoas to shorten in much the same way as the biceps shorten when the forearm is flexed against the upper arm.  Prolonged sitting more than 15 minutes causes a progressive and persistent tightening of the muscle belly and shortening of the tendons. The many hours that most people spend sitting each day cause the psoas to become more or less permanently short and tight unless steps are taken in the course of the day to stand, walk and hopefully do some stretching exercises to elongate it.  The goal is to prevent the fibrous degeneration that a muscle will undergo if chronically shortened when not put through its full range of extension and contraction on a regular basis.

The static compressive loading of the spine caused by sitting significantly increases the hydrostatic pressure in the nucleus of the disc.  Asymmetric psoas contraction place lateral pull on the disc exerted at its tendon attachments into the lateral portion of the L1-L5 discs. This has the effect of distorting the disc, reducing its ability to resist compression by altering the geometry of the radial fibers of the annulus fibrosis. The ability of the disc to resist the compressive effects of gravity on the upright spine is based on the structural strength of the fibro cartilage of the disc, which is arranged in the form of 30-60-90 degree triangles.  When the disc distorts or bulges laterally, the vertical or 90 degree angle of the triangle increases.  Each degree beyond 90 reduces the ability of the disc to resist compression and causes it to narrow or loose vertical height.

The psoas is known to be reactive to not only physical and emotional stress, but to deficiency of the B vitamins as well as mineral deficiencies, especially magnesium, calcium and manganese, which should always be considered in cases of chronic psoas contraction.

Most cases of pelvic imbalance will be found to have some degree of unequal psoas contraction.   This is especially true of those involving sacroiliac slippage and separation, which in Sacro Occipital Technique is designated as Category II.

In the majority of these cases, the strongest psoas contraction is on the short leg side designated as Category II PSS right or left.   Category II can cause severely acute one-sided pelvic pain, sometimes accompanied by lateral antalgic spinal incline.  Occasionally there is a combination of lateral and anterior antalgic posture, as a compensatory and protective mechanism designed to transfer weight bearing from the injured to the other side.

Gonstead Technique provides another insight into this condition.  In that system of spinal analysis and correction, the doctor is advised to adjust the PI ileum on the side of lumbar body rotation. The PI ileum in Gonstead analysis is usually found on the short leg side and corresponds to the Category II PSS side in Sacro Occipital Technique analysis.

Quantum Neurology and Gonzalez Rehabilitation Technique provides yet another set of analytical and corrective tools which allow us to make more comprehensive pelvic corrections.

Most techniques ignore the hips or ileo femoral joints because they are either in place or completely dislocated.  Conventional wisdom would indicate that there is nothing of value to be done with them, but Dr. George Gonzalez, the founder of Quantum Neurology® and Gonzalez Rehabilitation Technique, has developed a series of protocols that allow us to identify and correct previously little known mechanisms of dysfunction that commonly occur in the hips.

The hip joints are surrounded by layers of multi-directional bands of ligaments that form the inner and outer joint capsules.   Within these capsules are a network of mechanoceptors and neural relays which carry afferent and efferent proprioceptive information regarding the lower extremity, pelvis and lumbar spine.

In his Lumbar and Hip Fix instructional DVD, Dr Gonzalez demonstrates how easy it is to identify the usually overlooked anterior and posterior femur head dysfunction using specific muscle testing. Once identified, fast, easy and effective correction is done by resetting the mechanoceptors using the ArthroStim electronic adjusting instrument manufactured by Impac Inc.  These Quantum Neurology protocols are important because they free the flexion, extension, abduction and adduction of the hip joints.

When the hip joints are fixated they disrupt the synchronous action of the other five pelvic joints.  Because of their important role in weight bearing and not only mobility but agility, failure of the hips to move freely causes rapid onset of inflammation of the joint capsules.  Because of the network of mechanoceptors and neural network contained in them, many people experience extreme hip and leg pain which is often mistakenly diagnosed as discogenic disease and sciatic neuropathy.

Dr. Gonzalez has also developed the best analysis and correction I have seen for the symphysis pubis.  Pubic joint correction is key to the overall correction of the pelvis.

The symphysis pubis functions in much the same way as the keystone of an architectural arch does in construction. Removal of the keystone of an arch causes it to collapse.  Fixation or even slight malposition of the pubic joint destabilizes pelvic motion and weight bearing balance.  Quantum Neurology gives us an easy way to identify this joint dysfunction.  The ArthroStim instrument gives us the perfect tool to correct this sensitive and important component of the pelvic joint complex.

Good chiropractic techniques complement each other and often serve to cross reference the findings and conclusions of one another.

The observation of lumbar body rotation on the same side as a PI ileum is consistent with unilateral psoas contraction.  Given the attachments into the lateral aspect of the lumbar vertebrae, it is natural for strong psoas contractions to rotate the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae to that same side.

Contraction of the psoas can cause excessive lumbar extension and rotation disturbing the normal lumbo-pelvic balance.  When this happens, the lumbar discs, facet joints, sacroiliac joints, symphysis pubis and hip joints are all potentially affected.

That makes release of psoas contraction a key element and should be considered a prerequisite procedure to be performed before other lumbar or pelvic corrective protocols are employed.

I do not remember where I first learned of the technique I use to release the psoas, I only know that I have made it a standard part of my lumbar and pelvic corrections for more than thirty years.

It is safe to assume that almost everyone who walks into your office will have some degree of psoas tightness.  The very act of sitting in a car to get to your office followed by a few minutes of sitting in your reception room almost guarantees the psoas will be tight.

You will find that when you do a psoas release before proceeding with lower back corrections, you will have reduced the resistance to your correction, making it much easier on you and your patient.

The effort or work necessary to correct the spine can be reduced to the simple physics work formula:  W= D x R (the degree of displacement or misalignment times the resistance holding it).

Integrated Advanced Chiropractic Techniques is the methodology I use that has evolved over the course of my fifty years of practice, study and experience.  I now offer a series of seminars in which I share my methodology and protocols with other chiropractors.  I offer it to the young chiropractors, knowing that it will shorten their learning curve and path to success.  I also offer it to the senior members of the profession who are feeling the toll that many years of “full contact” practice has taken on their bodies. My technique can add many enjoyable and productive years to your career as it has for me.

Originally Published in The American Chiropractor June 2017

The Pelvic Imperative

All chiropractic techniques must comply with the laws of physics and principles of biomechanical engineering in order to make successful spinal corrections.

Just as a strong and level foundation is an absolute requirement for the structural and functional integrity of any building, a strong and balanced pelvis is necessary to provide a stable foundation for biped man walking upright against the force of gravity. This is where the similarity begins and ends, however.

Where the foundation of a building is solid and static, the human pelvis has three sets of paired articulations and one singular midline articulation for a total of seven joints, each with unique freedom of movement. While these seven joints function interactively, they must be evaluated and treated individually.

The most fundamental challenge facing any chiropractic technique is to provide analytical and corrective methodologies that allow the chiropractor to quickly and efficiently begin every correction with a strong and balanced pelvis capable of fulfilling its unique weight bearing and neurophysiologic functions.

It is this foundational joint system that allows a person the strength and stability to lift heavy weights. It also provides us with the flexibility and proprioceptive ability to navigate any terrain ranging from a smooth floor to the most impossibly convoluted and rugged mountain trails.

I have made a lifetime study of the major techniques used in the practice of chiropractic, but have found no single technique that adequately addresses the correction of all seven pelvic joints. Fortunately I have found the necessary individual components among the protocols of several well known and popular techniques.

Through the integration of specific components of several techniques and the use of the ArthroStim® and VibraCussor® hand held electronic adjusting instruments, I have found a high level of accuracy in the individual analysis and correction of the seven joints of the pelvis.

My analysis uses muscle testing and physical indicators to provide objective evidence of the functional state and relative strength of the paired joints.  Just as importantly these same evaluative techniques are then used for post corrective testing.

This constitutes good evidence based chiropractic with the added benefit of clearly demonstrating improved function that the doctor and patient can see and feel through immediate comparison of pre and post correction findings.

These protocols provide a qualitative and quantitative functional analysis of the pelvic joints when performed by a doctor who is trained to evaluate the subtle differences which can be observed in the right and left sides of the paired joints.

It is through the doctor’s careful attention to and observation of the pre and post correction findings that a chiropractor can obtain the highest level of balance and integration of the components of the pelvic joint system.

The detailed evaluation of the seven pelvic joints would be of only academic value if not used in conjunction with corrective procedures that are equally detailed, specific and effective.

The corrective procedures I am advocating constitute a departure from traditional low back side-posture, drop table adjusting and mechanized spinal decompression protocols which constitute the mainstay of the low back and pelvic techniques used by most chiropractors.

While I would never deny the importance of these techniques and procedures in a chiropractor’s arsenal, what I am proposing are technique refinements employing the ArthroStim and VibraCussor handheld electronic adjusting instruments with aspects of Gonstead, SOT, Pettibon Biomechanical Engineering, Thompson, Quantum Neurology®, Gonzalez Rehabilitation Techniques®, Applied Kinesiology and Neuro Kinetic Reintegration Techniques.

While this approach is very technique intensive, once learned it quite easy and quick to implement. And since this approach is totally evidence based and very specific, it provides good medical/ legal justification for each procedure used.

Also, by utilizing the hand held instruments, this technique has the added benefit of being physically easy and comfortable for both the doctor and patient. The gentle and non threatening nature of instrument adjusting without the cracking and crunching sounds associated with most techniques allows for a greater degree of patient relaxation eliminating a primary source of resistance to seeking chiropractic care.

The ultimate correction of the pelvis requires that the seven individual joints function synchronously with normal range of motion and balanced right and left weight bearing.

This can only be accomplished via a technique approach that addresses the individual characteristics and function of joints of different classifications. The major pelvic joints and their classifications are:

• The 5L- S1 facets are synovial plane diarthrodial joints with opposing cartilage surfaces.
• The hip joints are multi axial diarthroses.
• The pubic joint is an ampiarthrosis.
• The sacroiliacs are weight transferal synovial plane diarthroidal syndesmosies.

The assumption that traditional diversified adjusting techniques will create a domino effect capable of making all of the corrections necessary to balance the seven joints of the pelvis is naïve at best.

Unless the pelvis is balanced, the cervical and lumbar spine will always resubluxate to compensate through the self righting reflex in order to provide the level horizon necessary to satisfy needs of the cranial nerves that provide vision, especially depth perception and   equilibrium.

A balanced pelvis greatly facilitates correction of the full spine while reducing the time and number of visits required to do it.   Let us never forget that results obtained better, faster and more economically is what put chiropractic on the map.

In a future issue of TAC I will fully describe the seven joint examination, analysis and correction of the pelvis.

© copyright Dr. William H. Koch all rights reserved

Ninety eight percent of chiropractors are scratching at the crowded bottom of the ladder for the crumbs thrown out to our profession by insurance companies and Medicare. They either don’t know a broader market exists or they don’t have the confidence to go after it.

There is, however, a marketplace full of people out there who are frustrated with mediocrity, are looking for the exceptional and are willing to pay for it. There is always room at the top of the ladder for those who want to serve by providing exceptional care.

If you have a desire to achieve the extraordinary, if “good enough” is not good enough for you, then you are a “two-percenter.” Come join with me and I will help you to be the best you can be.

Many years ago I asked one of my mentors why all chiropractors were not anxious to learn the advanced techniques he was teaching.  I was excited about it and couldn’t understand why others weren’t.

He told me that in any group there is a small percentage of people who have the desire and drive to be the best they can be.  He called them “The Two Percenters.”  These are the people who are willing to spend the time to do the hard work and perfect their skills in order to provide their patients with the best care possible.

This is the mark of the consummate professional.  Being a professional is not just about being paid for a service that requires specialized training and skills. It is a mindset and unwavering commitment to excellence.

Every doctor enjoys the prestige that goes along with their title.  There is no question that the title “doctor” in front of your name assures some level of deferential treatment in most social venues. The public looks up to doctors as accomplished professionals. Let us do everything we can to live up to the image and performance that professionalism implies.

Professionalism is the pursuit of excellence.  It is a lifelong quest, not a destination. The greatest rewards are not monetary, but come from knowing that you have made a difference in the lives of others. Your sense of accomplishment will be sweetened when you are able to achieve results in cases where other physicians, surgeons and therapists have not been successful.

When you establish a reputation for outstanding results in challenging cases, you will eventually find that referrals will come to you not because you are a chiropractor, but because you are the doctor who gets results when others do not.

If you want to be a Two-Percenter, please join me for a Koch Seminar.  Koch Advanced, Integrated Chiropractic Techniques is offering a three part seminar series – Seminar 1 —  May 19, 20, and 21 in Mount Dora, Florida.  Email me at [email protected] or call 352-729-2678.  For more information http://www.kochseminars.com

Spend your time, energy and money on perfecting your skill sets instead of on buying unnecessary equipment.

Class Size Limited to 8 so each attendee can grasp and master the material and techniques. This is a hands-on course and all equipment will be supplied. The fee for each 3 day seminar is $250.

Call

today! 352-729-2678   Ask to speak with Kiana.

So, I am finally doing a seminar.  And I think it is going to be very special. It certainly is not going to be like anything you have

done before.  I am planning to do a three part series.  Each seminar in the series will last 3 days.  I am limiting attendance to 8 participants to maximize the amount of time and attention I can spend with each doctor.  This will be a real “hands on” experience, with each doctor getting to experience the way I work, with plenty of opportunity to practice the Koch protocols as a doctor and also to experience my integrated technique approach as the “patient.” In other words, this is not just a lecture and demonstration seminar.

I am working to create the kind of seminar I myself would have loved to have attended years ago.  And I am very excited about it.

While the seminar series will be focused mainly on doctors relatively new to practice, recent graduates and those about to graduate, anyone interested in attending is welcome.

So, if you are graduating soon and are concerned about what direction your career will take,  or if you are new to practice, and are not getting the results you’d like with your patients, and especially if having low overhead and more time to spend with your patients is important to you, then this is your seminar series!

You Don’t Have To Have:

• Large Capital for Starting
• High Overhead
• Large Staff
• Lots of Equipment
• Insurance Woes
• Lots of Stress
• Work So Hard You Injure Yourself

You Can Have:

• A Physician’s Salary
• A Referral Practice
• Low Overhead
• Low Stress
• The Satisfaction of Providing 5 Star Care
• The Life You Dreamed About

The Koch 3 Part Success Seminar Series is an advanced technique and practice management course that will cover:

• How to shorten your learning curve to get consistently great results.
• How to provide the kind of care you would want if you were sick and in pain.
• How to create a cash based practice.
• How to do more with less.
• How to set yourself up for success.
• How to use local networking to build your business.

Again, if having a low overhead, lucrative practice that allows you to spend more time with patients and provide superior care with consistently great results is important to you, then this is your seminar series!

Please join us at Seminar 1  on May 19, 20, 21 in Mount Dora, Florida.

Spend your time, energy and money on perfecting your skill sets instead of on buying unnecessary equipment.

The cost of each three day part of this series is only $250!

For more information check out www.KochSeminars.com

Class Size Limited to 8 so each attendee can grasp and master the material and techniques. This is a hands-on course and all equipment will be supplied.

Call today! 352-729-2678   Ask to speak with Kiana.

Next date Januaray 19, 20, 21, 2018

Dr. Bill Koch Interviews Dr. Jeff Rockwell

Originally published in The American Chiropractor December 2015

I have known Dr. Jeff Rockwell for several years and have written about him in this magazine and in my book, Conversations with Chiropractic Technique Masters. I have studied his work and use many of his technique protocols in my own practice. A pioneer in the use of instrumentation in neuromuscular therapy, Dr. Rockwell is a passionate advocate for blending neuroscience, contemporary adjusting strategies and vitalistic chiropractic philosophy. He has developed his own unique treatment protocols, authored several books, instruction manuals and DVDs and has taught over 400 seminars. He currently practices in Los Gatos, California and is director of The Institute of Manual Neuroscience.

Dr. Jeff Rockwell

In this interview Dr. Jeff Rockwell and I discuss recent developments and current thinking in the field of neuroscience.

What we know of the basic anatomy and physiology of the nervous system is well established. Neuroscience now seeks to understand the functional changes and adaptation that has become necessary to deal with the differences between a primitive survival environment and our complex social environment. Employing our hard wired sympathetic autonomic response of fight/flight is seldom appropriate in most of the stressful situations we encounter in modern life. This has necessitated the development of a functional social branch of the autonomic nervous system that has modified and moderated our stress reactions to a level more appropriate to modern social situations.

KOCH: Jeff, the last time I interviewed you for TAC you talked about your interest in the neuroscience behind chiropractic. With all the new research in the field, I thought it was time to talk to you again and get an update on your current thinking. Has anything new captured your interest?

ROCKWELL: As a matter of fact, Bill, something “old” has grabbed my attention. I am still as passionate as ever about the neuroscience behind the subluxation and its correction, but I am concerned that my patients and students also keenly appreciate the role of philosophy in their lives. I am especially excited about what science has to say these days about our unique philosophy.

KOCH: Have you found that the 33 chiropractic principles have stood the test of time?

ROCKWELL: What a lot of people don’t appreciate is that philosophy, by definition, evolves. It’s like the difference between a “dead” language like Latin or Greek and an ongoing conversation with wisdom itself. Philosophy means the “love of wisdom.” If we love something, we wish for it to evolve to higher levels of expression. No one knew this better than BJ Palmer. Towards the end of his life, he expanded our core principles to a total of 75. He wrote his last 12 books in the last decade of his life. Not only was BJ a revolutionary, but he was also an “evolutionary.”But, yes, to get back to your question, I do feel that the 33 core principles are standing the test of time quite nicely

KOCH: BJ and DD were true visionaries. It took almost a century for science to catch up with them validating two of the most basic concepts that they wrote about in their early books. That healing occurs from above down and inside out is proven to be correct because of the polarity of the spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

The safety pin cycle depicting a direct neuronal connection between individual brain cells and tissue cells was confirmed by the discovery of individual micro nerve filaments making the brain cell/tissue cell connection that BJ described.

ROCKWELL: So much of what has emerged in the sciences, from quantum physics to new biology, was predicted by chiropractic philosophy. We anticipated the mind-body connection decades before anyone else, and were among the first to describe the body’s self-healing properties. Philosophy-based chiropractic preceded the “new” biopsychosocial model of health. Much of what is hot today in science was born out of a series of principles that first appeared on the scene in the early 1900s.

DD Palmer was a very hip and progressive guy. Sometimes he is disdainfully referred to as having been a magnetic healer, when, in fact, magnetic healing was the rage among the elite members of society of his time. He was
street-smart, yet better read than most medical professors of his day.
Many people today, as you know, view chiropractic as a treatment for neck and back pain. There may be a place for that, but our greatness lies, in my opinion, in our interconnected set of core principles that provide us with a way of knowing ourselves and our world in a very deep way.

KOCH: The chiropractic philosophy is vitalistic in every sense of the word. It is a living breathing and dynamic study of the expression of life and health individually and in community. Health is the normal expression of life.
ROCKWELL: Absolutely, Bill. Human beings function in a dynamic state of
holism. What we should be focusing on is not what is wrong with a patient, but on finding and returning them to a state of “normal”.

KOCH: How would one go about finding normal?

ROCKWELL: A couple of ways come to mind. First, “normal” is an expression of health, so we look for and orient to signs of health. The objective of chiropractic care, as I see it at least, is not just to identify and
adjust subluxations, but also to find what is healthy and utilize the biologic fields of health to actively engage a therapeutic process. I believe Network Spinal Analysis has done an excellent job in this area.

Of course, a spine free from subluxation–that is, the perception of separation or lack of connection–is another excellent starting point. The spine is the modulator of perception and consciousness in a human being and we can orient to “normal” by observing the flexibility of one’s control mechanism or autonomic nervous system.

KOCH: Okay, now that’s a mouthful. What exactly do you mean by “flexibility of the autonomic nervous system?”

ROCKWELL: To explain that, I have to briefly discuss the “Polyvagal Theory” which proposes a new way of understanding of the autonomic nervous system.

KOCH: Yes, the work of Dr. Stephen Porges.

ROCKWELL: Right. It uses some recent scientific advances to significantly change the previous accepted view of the ANS. Traditionally the ANS has been described as having two branches, parasympathetic (rest/rebuild) and sympathetic (fight/flight). The Polyvagal Theory, named for the anatomical

basis of Porges’ discoveries, changes the picture. Now, the ANS has three branches, not two.

Throughout evolutionary history, survival has been the primary criteria: characteristics that enhance survival are perpetuated in subsequent form and function. In the ANS, the parasympathetic system is the oldest, reflecting the survival needs of a primitive passive feeder.

The sympathetic nervous system is a later development, adding mobilization and a wider range of possible survival responses.

Porges has shown clear evidence of a third, more modern branch of the ANS, with a survival value specific to more sophisticated animals, especially primates. “Social Nervous System” is the proposed term for this third branch of the ANS.

As brain complexity increases, it takes much longer for newborns to become self-sufficient. In humans, many years are necessary before their enhanced survival capabilities are fully operational. Therefore structures evolved to secure safe and nurturing care for this extended time. Certain emotional affects, specifically the love feelings of mother/baby, are part of this survival mechanism.

The “Social Nervous System” exists as a controller over the sympathetic to enable modulation of the more crude “fight or flight” responses. The anatomy of the Social Nervous System consists of tools that bond a newborn to the mother. These include voice, hearing, visual contact and facial expression. Healthy babies feel safe or connected with their caregivers. Betrayal by or alienation from the caregiver feels immediately life-threatening, and justifiably so.

Porges also shows that under stress, the human system tries its newest “equipment” first. If that doesn’t work, older strategies are attempted, and if they don’t work, the oldest resources are employed. Therefore under stress, the human first uses its social/relational tactics, then fight/flight, then immobility to survive.

KOCH: This is very important information because stress is such a dominant factor in the lives of so many of our patients. Understanding the progression of our own and our patients response to stress is of great value to all practicing doctors.

I have had cases in which the patient’s stress was so acute and severe that they went into the immobility reaction to it. It appeared that they were having a seizure or stroke. Had I not recognized it, and quickly figured out how to effectively defuse the situation, the patient would have been hospitalized and subjected to a barrage of expensive and unnecessary medical diagnostics that would have never addressed the underlying stress causing the problem. Helping our colleagues to better understand and deal with the stress they see in their patients would be of great value.

ROCKWELL: Porges describes the use of “portals,” or anatomical components of the ANS which can be physically stimulated. For example, the portal for the parasympathetic, based on anatomy, is the vagus nerve and the upper and lower portions of the spine. For the sympathetic, the muscles of the limbs, and the sympathetic chain along the spine are highlighted. For the Social System, Cranial nerves V, VII, IX, X and XI can be used. My students working with these portals in the past couple of years have found this very promising.

KOCH: I appreciate this introduction to your work in this fascinating new area of neurology. I am sure, based on my own experience working with the cranial nerves and their rehabilitation, that what you are saying is correct.

I believe that the recognition of a social branch of the autonomic nervous system constitutes an important breakthrough in understanding our neuro-physiological responses. It certainly explains the responses that I have seen many times in my patients who were under exceptional stress.

Jeff, do you have any parting thoughts you would like to share with our readers?

ROCKWELL: Yes, I do. First, I want to thank all of the great chiropractors
out there serving their communities with their hands and hearts.

And I would like to finish by asking each of us, if we are not already doing so, to adopt a personal, self-reflective practice and draw upon this level of attention as we provide excellent chiropractic care.
Chiropractic is “consciousness medicine” and our consciousness and intention influences our perceptual abilities and the overall quality of our adjusting. I believe B.J. called it the adjustment with “something extra.”

KOCH: I agree and would add that this is the essence of what is often referred to as the “healing consciousness”. It is the state we are operating in when our intentions and our efforts are focused on the highest good for our patients.

Many traditional chiropractors will resist or be angered by the word medicine being associated with chiropractic, because they equate it with organized AMA/ Big Pharma Medicine that has been the avowed enemy of our profession for more than a century.

I think we should point out that the generic or traditional meaning of the word medicine, as you are using it, is as might be used by native healers whose art is directed at facilitating the body’s innate healing response through natural means.

Thanks, Jeff, for another inspiring and thought provoking interview.

ROCKWELL: Thank you, Bill, for all you do for our profession–not only serving your own patients so well, but getting ideas like these out to our community!

© copyright 2015 Dr. William H. Koch