The Canadian Memorial
Chiropractic College (CMCC) has received a landmark grant to investigate mechanotransduction – the manner in which physical treatment is communicated between tissues to achieve its effect.
The award, announced
earlier this year, from the US based National Center
for Complementary and Alternative Medicine/National Institutes of Health
(NCCAM/NIH), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), marks the
first grant awarded by NCCAM/NIH and CIHR through a collaborative research
program on the science of manual therapies.
"We are researching the exact mechanism by which treatment affects
different tissue strata," says Dr. John Triano, Dean, Graduate Education
and
Research Programs, CMCC. "The practical value of this is to identify the
effective component of treatment so we can optimize and improve care, as well
as understand how chiropractic care benefits the patient."
"This grant is the first co-funded award granted on behalf of NCCAM/NIH
and CIHR," says Dr. Partap Khalsa, Program Officer, Division of Extramural
Research and Training, NCCAM, NIH, DHHS. "'Extending Ultrasound
Elastography
to Manual Treatment Methods' was a highly meritorious research proposal that
successfully passed the criteria for both NCCAM/NIH and CIHR. NCCAM alone
funds only 13 per cent of all applications."
"Both Canadian and American agencies recognize the importance of high
quality research in chiropractic approaches to alleviating pain and improving
mobility in our populations," says Dr. Jane E. Aubin, Scientific Director
of
the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (CIHR-IMHA).
"This
co-funded award also highlights the important role of international
partnerships as we work to solve health challenges." CIHR-IMHA and the
CIHR
Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction are partnering with
NCCAM/NIH on this research program.
Dr. Jean Moss, President, CMCC, views the award as highly significant.
"It supports us in our collaboration with researchers from other institutions,
such as the University of Vermont and Columbia University,"
says Moss, "and
aids us in providing research that can influence everyday practice and improve
patient outcomes."
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