One of the beautiful things about the work that we are now doing is that we are collaborating with mainstream researchers at leading universities around the world. They are collecting data for us and finding the same results that we are getting in our labs. So it’s not just chiropractors who will be saying how important these findings are, it will be leading neurophysiologists and clinical researchers who are discussing these amazing findings on the world stage. For example we recently received funding from Spinal Research and the Hamblin Trust for a project that aims to give us greater clarity regarding which structures in the brain are talking to each other prior to, and after, chiropractic adjustments. In other words we want to map the brain and see how communication networks and different brain areas change following chiropractic care. This project is bringing together some of the world’s leading neurophysiology researchers in Denmark, Canada, Germany and Australia to work with us in our labs in New Zealand.

Dr Haavik was able to spend three months this year at the University of Aalborg in Denmark with Dr Imran Khan Niazi, our amazing new bioengineer, and we were able to work with Dr Dina Lelic and Professor Asbjørn Drewes to collect pilot data for this study. The results of the preliminary work are quite frankly the most thrilling findings we’ve encountered to date in our research efforts! We are now going to complete data collection for this study in New Zealand, thanks to the funding raised by Spinal Research and Hamblin Trust. If we confirm the results we have already it may explain many of the amazing changes we see in everyday chiropractic practice as well as a great deal of the findings we have encountered in our previous research.

The lower limb strength study we want to conduct will build on three other separate studies that we have recently completed that suggest that a single session of chiropractic care not only increases muscle strength but also prevents fatigue in lower limb muscles. We believe that these changes are likely attributable to increased descending drive and/or modulation of motor neurons in the spinal cord. This has clinical implications for a variety of patient populations. Imagine the impact this line of work could have on the athletic community.

Do you think Olympic athletes will be more interested in the benefits of chiropractic care if research shows it can improve muscle strength by 10% or more and prevent muscle fatigue? I think the potential impact is huge! However, before we can go ahead and make such claims more work needs to be done.

Upper Limb Study

The upper limb study we are dying to get going on (as soon as we have the funding we need to do so) will not only look at maximum voluntary upper limb strength (along with a host of other proprioceptive and exciting neural control measures) but will also assess for isometric maximum voluntary strength. For anyone who muscle tests as part of their patient assessment, this study will be particularly interesting. As part of my own patient assessments I do muscle test prior to and after adjusting the spine, and it has astonished me for years how ‘strong’ or ‘switched on’ muscles feel after I have adjusted someone’s spine. This phenomenon I am now finally able to measure objectively! We have already ironed out a number of bugs in the system and are now ready to go with the full study.

A big milestone for us this year was celebrating Dr Kelly Holt being awarded his PhD by the University of Auckland. Kelly conducted a randomised controlled trial that investigated the effects of chiropractic care on sensorimotor function associated with falls risk in older adults.

In this trial Kelly found that after 12 weeks of chiropractic care older people had improved proprioception, reaction times, the ability to combine and process multisensory information, and they physically felt better compared to a control group. We’re looking forward to publishing these exciting results and following up with more research in this field.

Current Projects

The projects we are currently engaged in are looking at the effects of chiropractic care on muscle strength, pelvic floor muscle function, reading ability, children with learning and behavioural disorders, balance and falls in older people, stroke rehabilitation, brain computer interfaces, injury prevention, and a whole host of other aspects of nervous system function. These studies are potentially relevant to everyone from babies to older people and everyone in between. The results we are seeing continue to excite us and exceed our expectations.