Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD and I discuss his research regarding chiropractic and horses. In particular we discuss four themes in this interview: 1) How chiropractic techniques can be applied to horses; 2) How do you know you are making a difference (objective outcome measures)?; 3) Effects of mobilization versus manipulation in horses; 4)Controlled clinical trials in horses with acute versus chronic back pain.
Dr. Haussler graduated from The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988 and completed a small animal internship in Sacramento, CA. To further his training in the conservative management of spinal-related disorders, he pursued human training at Palmer College of Chiropractic-West and completed a veterinary chiropractic certification program in 1993. He attended the University of California-Davis to attain a PhD focusing on spinal pathology and pelvic biomechanics in Thoroughbred racehorses. Post-doctorate training involved evaluation of in-vivo spinal kinematics in horses at Cornell University. While at Cornell, he directed the newly formed Integrative Medicine Service which provided chiropractic, acupuncture and physical therapy services to both small and large animals. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University and is involved in teaching, clinical duties, and research into the objective assessment of musculoskeletal pain, spinal dysfunction and the application of physical therapy and rehabilitation. Dr. Haussler is a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and is currently a course instructor for the Equine Rehabilitation Certification course co-branded by the University of Tennessee and Colorado State University.
View Dr. Haussler’s research at researchgate.net
Below are the articles we discuss in this interview.
1. Haussler KK. Review of Manual Therapy Techniques in Equine Practice. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2009;29(12):849-69.
2. Haussler KK, Erb HN. Pressure algometry for the detection of induced back pain in horses: a preliminary study. Equine Vet J. 2006;38(1):76-81.
3. Haussler KK, Hill AE, Puttlitz CM, McIlwraith CW. Effects of vertebral mobilization and manipulation on kinematics of the thoracolumbar region. Am J Vet Res. 2007;68(5):508-16.
4. Haussler KK, Manchon PT, Donnell JR, Frisbie DD. Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy and Chiropractic Care on Back Pain in Quarter Horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2020;86:102891.
5. Sullivan KA, Hill AE, Haussler KK. The effects of chiropractic, massage and phenylbutazone on spinal mechanical nociceptive thresholds in horses without clinical signs. Equine Vet J. 2008;40(1):14-20.
To see other chiropractic research on mobilization and manipulation here.
Listen as Dr. Cassidy and I discuss his career in chiropractic, research, and hear his thoughts on a variety of important issues including the powerful role of psychosocial factors on health. Dr. Cassidy is a Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is also an Adjunct Globalization Professor at the Faculty of Health at the University of Southern Denmark. He began his career as a chiropractor (CMCC 1975) and later obtained graduate degrees in Surgery (MSc University of Saskatchewan), Pathology (PhD University of Saskatchewan) and Injury Epidemiology (DrMedSc Karolinska Institute, Sweden). His past appointments include Assistant Professor of Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan (1994-1999), Associate Professor of Public Health and Medicine at the University of Alberta (2000-2003), Senior Scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Research Institute (2003-2017) and Professor of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark (2011-2016).
Dr. de Luca and I discuss her research on spinal pain in the elderly and chiropractic. Katie de Luca is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Chiropractic at Macquarie University. She is a chiropractor in clinical practice, however her research focuses on the epidemiology and management of musculoskeletal conditions, with expertise in the elderly. In 2016 she was awarded her PhD from the University of Newcastle, School of Medicine and Public Health. Her thesis explored the experience of pain in women with arthritis, and resulted in substantial contributions to the fields of rheumatology, pain and ageing research. She has 25 peer-reviewed journal publications and more than 50 conference presentations, which includes several invited keynote presentations on back pain in the elderly. These have been at regional, national and international conferences in gerontology, pain, public health and chiropractic forums. She is on the editorial boards of Chiropractic and Manual Therapies and JMPT, and peer-reviews for another 13 journals. She has received several large competitive grants, most recently being awarded in excess of $400,00 in an industry led grant from the Australia Chiropractors Association to perform a longitudinal study on back pain in older Australians who present to a chiropractor for treatment of their low back pain. She has won many research prizes, including 1st prize at the World Federation of Chiropractic Biennial Conference in Washington DC (March, 2017). She is actively on the board for the Chiropractic Australia Research Foundation, and is the Research Chair for Sports Chiropractic Australia. She is one of only 13 CARL Fellows, a group which she is privileged to be a part of. She hopes to be a leading chiropractic researcher on spinal pain in the elderly.
In this episode, Dr. Anthony Lisi and I discuss the state of chiropractic practice and research in the US Veterans Health Administration. Dr. Anthony Lisi is the Chiropractic Program Director for the US Veterans Health Administration, overseeing all national programmatic issues related to the integration of chiropractic clinical services, education and research. He is also an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale University School of Medicine.
