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Dr. Link’s Training

I think it would be good to talk about the level of training I, as a chiropractic doctor, havereceived in order to practice the chiropractic art. It seems to me that many people arelaboring under the assumption that a chiropractor is not a real doctor. I would like toreplace the myth with the truth, using myself as an example.I graduated from high school in 1969 and pursued a bachelor’s degree, which I receivedin four years. At that time, I had a desire to go into Christian education and receive themaster’s degree in educational administration in 1975. I then entered the United StatesArmy for a stint of four years. However, when I was discharged from the army in 1978, Iimmediately pursued a degree in chiropractic. The program that I embarked upon was afive-year program, given at National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois, whichat that time, seemed to be the leader in the chiropractic profession. At that time, and evennow in the present, the National College of Chiropractic (which is now the NationalUniversity of Health Sciences) had a philosophy of using the medical model in order toproperly diagnose and assess conditions, and then using the chiropractic principle inorder to correct problems that were diagnosed.My foundational course of study involved a 5-year program which capitalized on thebasic sciences for the first 2 years, and the applied sciences and medical sciences for thelast 3 years, so my training involved gross anatomy and physiology. We dissectedcadavers, and had courses on cells and fluids, histology and micro-biology. There werecourses in pathology, courses in diagnoses, courses in x-ray and x-ray physics. We evenhad a course in the use of pharmaceuticals. And of course, I also took courses innutrition.In every measure, with only two exceptions, the program of study I took was patternedafter the medical course of study. Those two exceptions being that, as chiropractors, weweren’t taught surgical procedures and we really weren’t taught, other than that onecourse that we received, anything on the use of drugs in the treatment of disease.From a medical perspective, this is what health care is all about: drugs and surgery. Froma chiropractic standpoint, health is about all the other things that need to be done to avoidthe use of drugs and surgery. So the emphasis of chiropractic care, or any other naturalhealth care discipline, is to focus on correcting the things that are causing the weakeningof the body. I found that to focus on just correcting spinal subluxations, which aremisalignments or malpositions of vertebral segments that cause nerve pinching anddysfunctional neurological functioning to occur, is not enough. This is where my verystrong interest in natural dietary and other measures that are essential to health came in.All these years I have been developing a balance between my chiropractic training andthe nutritional standpoint, which has now become a major focus of my work.But now I am getting ahead of myself…

Upon graduating with the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic in 1983 from then NationalCollege of Chiropractic, I pursued specialization in sports medicine and chiropracticorthopedics. From there I went into nutrition as a further study. In that area, I have spentover a thousand hours of the last 27 years, studying nutrition from different perspectivesand programs. I found myself frustrated with most of this training, as it addressed themechanistic theory of cause and effect, resulting in just another medical model approach.Nutritional treatment from this perspective, really revolved around the use of certainaccepted protocols, which meant that sometimes you found the solution, but most of thetime, you didn’t. Because of this improper application, nutrition work developed astigma. Supplementation was considered ineffective for the most part. I, myself, foundthis to be the case for a long time.Then I was introduced to Nutrition Response Testing which really looks at the body fromthe standpoint of a quantum level. In a nutshell, quantum theory states that anything cancause anything, and when we deal with living organisms, any particular stressor maycause any particular malfunction in the body, without regard to seeming causalrelationships. Simply put, the body can and will do whatever it must to survive thestressors it is enduring.The principle of Nutrition of Response Testing takes this into account throughout itsentire procedure. It looks at the body as a comprehensive whole and finds and addressesall the stressors a particular body is under.It does not pride itself in doing diagnostic work, but what it does is to affirm the principlethat the body, through its innate intelligence, will tell us what needs to be done at whatparticular time.Chiropractic is a distinct entity. It is not based on mechanism, but is in and of itself, basedupon the idea that the flow of nervous energy from the brain, through the spinal cord, intothe body is responsible for all health. While I believe that there is some truth to thisthinking, it is not the whole truth. Over the years I have observed that the use of theChiropractic principle was much more effective 50 or 60 years ago than it is today. Whyis that? The answer also addresses why Chiropractic cannot address all health concernson its own. I know and believe that the deterioration of the quality of America’s foodsupply, the toxic influences on our environment, the lack of proper exercise, and theincrease in emotional stressors, are serving to tear down our bodies faster than they caneffectively repair themselves. Because of this, a chiropractic adjustment is not nearly aseffective in treating these worn down bodies as it once was.I have found Nutrition Response Testing to be the perfect adjunct to my chiropracticwork. I have on file many success stories resulting from both practices separately. But Iam finding that when I use the two practices together my patients are greatly benefitted,also.I have the training and the personal experience and know-how to greatly affect anypatients who entrust me with their care. I will not ‘chase’ symptoms, which can result in

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Dr. Link's Training

I think it would be good to talk about the level of training I, as a chiropractic doctor, have received in order to practice the chiropractic art. It seems to me that many peopl... (More)

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Category:	Research > Health & Medicine
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Upload Date:	12/09/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	Science Health Medicine doctor anatomy nutrition physiology chiropractic Science Health Medicine doctor anatomy nutrition physiology chiropractic (fewer)