June 8, 2007 For Immediate Release

Contact for more information: Linda Sicoli, Manager, Communications & Meetings, WFC Tel: 416-484-9978 x24; E-mail: [email protected] WFC and ECU Celebrate in Portugal

A Celebration of the Past, Present and Future of Chiropractic was the title and theme of the World Federation of Chiropractic’s 9th Biennial Congress and the European Chiropractic Union’s 75th Anniversary Convention held in Vilamoura, Portugal, May 15-19, 2007 – and it was the profession’s brightest celebration ever held in Europe. Almost 800 chiropractors and 1,000 total registrants experienced an outstanding academic, research and social program in the meeting hosted by the Portuguese Chiropractors’ Association and incorporating the WFC and FCER’s International Conference on Chiropractic Research, the Association for the ’s Annual Convention, and a major Forum sponsored by Parker College of Chiropractic. WFC Assembly. Delegates representing member national associations in 47 countries reported on chiropractic giving news of major and exciting advances (e.g. new university-based chiropractic schools in Spain and Switzerland, new legislation to extend chiropractic recognition and funding in Norway and Thailand) and new challenges (e.g. from PTs in Brazil seeking recognition of chiropractic as a PT specialty, new threats of prosecution for chiropractors in Taiwan). Highlights included the inaugural John A. Sweaney Lecture, given by Dr. Sweaney of Australia, and honouring his major contributions to the profession in Australia, Japan and internationally, and a powerful address by Sister Brigette Yengo, DC MD of the Congo. Sister Yengo, who founded and runs an orphanage in the Congo and maintains a chiropractic practice, moved the audience to laughter and tears as she spoke of her experiences and her respect for the profession and its founders. Her attendance and fundraising raffle prizes were sponsored by Activator Methods, and over $12,000 was raised for her orphanage during the meeting. Generous sponsorship from Back Talk Systems and Dynamic Chiropractic meant that other chiropractic pioneers could attend – Dr. Raul Cadagan from Argentina, Dr. Mohsen Khamessipour from Iran and Dr. Charles Sebwana from Uganda. Items of business included: • The Secretary-General’s Report, which may be found at the members’ side of the website, summarized current activities of the WFC, a report of the member association survey, to which 44 member associations replied answering questions about their legal status and their assessment of the importance of various WFC projects and activities, was distributed. This may also be found on the member’s side of the website. • Audited financial statements for 2006 and a 2008 budget were approved – there will be no dues increase in 2008. Future meeting dates were established for the 2008 Council meeting (Seoul, Korea, June 3-6, 2008) and the WFC’s 10th Biennial Congress, Montreal, Canada April 26-May 2, 2009).

1 • Special reports included one from Drs. Ron Kirk, Scott Haldeman and Deborah Kopansky- Giles on the Bone and Joint Decade – and the British Chiropractic Association introduced delegates to Straighten Up UK – see the BJD Report below for more details. Main Convention. Features of the outstanding academic program were lectures from Dr. Scott Haldeman, Dr. David Cassidy and other members of the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain, whose long awaited report on the safety and effectiveness of all treatments for neck pain and associated disorders is to be published in Spine and the European Spine Journal in November; workshops from many prominent technique lecturers; and the keynote Saturday morning presentation from Dr. Bruce Lipton, cell biologist and author of The Biology of Belief. In the opening session Francis Obikwelu, European 2006 Male Athlete-of-the-Year and 100 meters record holder was given an award by FICS President Dr. Roland Noirat and spoke of the importance of his chiropractic care in terms of performance enhancement and prevention of injury. There were then keynote lectures on the past, present and likely future of research (Dr. Scott Haldeman), philosophy (Dr. Gerard Clum), education (Dr. David Byfield) and practice trends (Dr. Louis Sportelli) with respect to the chiropractic profession. The featured speaker of the Saturday night Gala Dinner and Dance was Professor Joao Lobo Antunes from the University of Lisbon, Portugal’s leading neurosurgeon, who spoke on the future of health care in Europe and his positive clinical experiences with the growing chiropractic profession in Portugal which was recognized by legislation in 2003. Awards. The WFC’s Honour Award for an outstanding lifetime contribution to the international growth of the chiropractic profession went to Dr. Louis Sportelli, a Past Chairman of the Board of the American Chiropractic Association, a Past WFC President, and currently serving as President of the NCMIC Group. The WFC Past-President’s Award was presented to Dr. Anthony Metcalfe of London, England by current WFC President Dr. Gerard Clum, who described Dr. Metcalfe’s very significant past and continuing leadership in the UK, Europe and internationally. The prestigious Scott Haldeman Award (US$7,000), First Prize in the original research competition, went to a Dutch research team led by Sidney Rubenstein, DC MSc for a paper titled Predictors of Adverse Reactions following Chiropractic Care for Patients with Neck Pain. Other winners in the competition, awards for which are generously sponsored by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, were: Second Prize: Economic and Resource Status of the Chiropractic Profession in Ontario, Canada: A Threat or an Opportunity: Silvano Mior, Audrey Laporte – Canada. Third Prize: Altered Sensorimotor Integration with Cervical Spine Manipulation: Heidi Haarik Taylor and Bernadette Murphy – New Zealand. Private Practice Award: The Effect of Sports Chiropractic on the Prevention of Athletic Injuries in Elite Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trail: Wayne Hoskins, Henry Pollard Rod Bonello – Australia. ECU’s 75th Anniversary Celebrations. These included the launch of Chiropractic in Europe: An Illustrated History, edited by Francis Wilson, commissioned by the ECU for this event and published in memory of Dr. Kyrre Myhrvold, a highly respected Norwegian leader in the profession who also championed the importance of history. The book contains summary chiropractic history chapters from 19 European countries. Other ECU celebrations were a Past- Presidents’ Dinner and the presentation and cutting of a massive ECU birthday cake by ECU President, Dr. Philippe Druart of Belgium at the Saturday Gala Dinner and Dance.

2 AHC Conference. This, the first ever annual conference of the US-based Association for the History of Chiropractic to be held in Europe, featured European chiropractic history and all those attending the WFC/ECU/AHC meetings received the Summer 2007 issue of the AHC’s journal Chiropractic History with history papers from Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Wales and the UK. The AHC’s annual prize for an outstanding contribution to chiropractic history, the Lee-Homewood Award, went to Ann-Liss Taarup of Denmark. Sports Chiropractic Forum. Over 50 sports chiropractic leaders from 22 countries attended a forum organized by the WFC and the Fédération Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport (FICS) and sponsored by Parker College – thought to be the most representative international gathering of sports chiropractic leaders ever. This featured a morning of clinical and research presentations followed by an afternoon of planning to re-energize and better coordinate the specialty of sports chiropractic internationally. This specialty is of great importance to the profession because of the influence of elite sports figures in the contemporary world. There was a strong consensus for various administrative reforms which will now take place over the next six months.

Dr Louis Sportelli (right) with Dr. Scott Haldeman upon receipt Sister Yengo addresses the meeting of a gift to commemorate his WFC Honor Award

Dr John Sweaney delivers the John A Sweaney Lecture

Dr Anthony Metcalfe (right) receives Francis Obikwelu (left) receives the WFC Past President’s Award his award from Dr Roland Noirat from Dr Clum

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