President's Report

Peter Werth

One of the messages that I have heard from time to time regarding COCA seminars and conferences is along the lines of the material covered is great and very informative, but how does it help me to treat my patients more effectively. At times this may be a fair comment with some topics that have been presented over the years, but often the information presented is either new or not well covered at the undergraduate level. In some cases it is more a reflection on how long some of us have been out in the field and not able to access the information as readily.

Hence if we wanted to provide a program that was state-of-the-art, reflecting the latest trends in patient management, it was offered by a chiropractor or osteopath and was highly relevant and practical to how you would approach your patients on Monday morning who would you get? We have also over the years provided many local speakers who fit the bill, but none more so in my opinion than our guest presenter from the USA, Dr Craig Liebenson who is in Melbourne on 12th August 2006.

Dr Liebenson has been a pioneer in advancing the rehabilitation and active management approach to the chiropractic profession especially, and his book Rehabilitation of the Spine – A Practitioner’s Manual has just seen the release of the second edition (see review elsewhere). The work that Dr Liebenson has been involved in developing over twenty years has amalgamated aspects of mainstream chiropractic, the Czech manual medicine approach, biopsychosocial approach, stabilisation training and cognitive behavioural strategies to name just some aspects of the active management paradigm that is patient-centred and largely rehabilitation-based. For many this approach will seem foreign where the management of patients has focused on diagnosing and treating a specific lesion (eg facet syndrome) or subluxation/osteopathic lesion. The role of the patient in this situation has been essentially passive and under the direction of the practitioner. The active management approach offers significant benefits to practitioners who are able to expand their skill-set in areas other than “hands-on” treatment to develop skills that enable the patient to become an active participant in their own recovery. This approach is supported by the latest evidence and is the focus of virtually all of the guidelines for managing spinal pain.

This is an exciting time to be in practice - it is an era that will in all probability re-shape the chiropractic and osteopathic professions, our role in patient care and our scope of practice. I would urge you to attend Dr Liebenson’s program, and see first hand from one of the world leaders how the active management paradigm can be applied in your practice.

We are extremely fortunate to have Dr Liebenson come to Australia as his commitments are numerous, being in such high demand in both North America and Europe. Mark the date in your diary now and look out for the registration form in COCA News or in the mail.