I am excited for the opportunity to discuss chiropractic research with Drs. Peterson and Humphreys in the near future. Cynthia Peterson, RN, DC, DACBR, M.Med.Ed. has worked as a chiropractic radiologist, researcher and educator in 4 countries. She retired from her positions as Professor and researcher, Radiology Department, Orthopaedic University hospital Balgrist and Professor, Chiropractic Medicine Programme, University of Zürich in 2017. She is currently a Visiting Professor for the Chiropractic Department in the Faculty of Health at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and is the Quality Assurance Consultant for the European Council on Chiropractic Education. Barry Kim Humphreys, BSc, DC, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich. He retired in July 2017, after 9 years as the first Professor for Chiropractic Medicine in Switzerland. During this time, Professor Humphreys was responsible for the development and accreditations of the chiropractic education program, research portfolio and teaching clinic within the university, medical faculty and teaching hospital. He has been active in research including chiropractic clinical outcome studies for back and neck pain, functional MRI studies of chronic pain patients and back pain in various gravitational environments (parabolic flight). Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.
A clinical practice guideline on the management of neck pain–associated disorders (NADs) and whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) was recently developed and replaces existing chiropractic guidelines on these topics (
We’re not ‘just treating’ back and neck pain! We are reducing the leading global burden of disease! Low back pain 
New scientific evidence on the effectiveness of manual therapies, passive physical modalities, and acupuncture was assessed in a recent systematic review. This update of the Neck Pain Task Force suggests that mobilization, manipulation, and clinical massage are effective interventions for neck pain. Conversely, they found that electroacupuncture, strain-counterstrain, relaxation massage, and other modalities such as heat, cold, diathermy, hydrotherapy, ultrasound are not effective.
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).
Listen as Dr. Pierre Côté and I discuss his involvement in hugely impactful research on stroke, lumbar disc herniations and neck pain. He provides chiropractors with key information that helps de-mystify these topics. Pierre Côté DC, PhD is an epidemiologist. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation from the Canadian Government. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, director of the UOIT-CMCC Centre for the Study of Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation and an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Côté graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1989. In 1996, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Surgery from the University of Saskatchewan. He completed his PhD in epidemiology at the University of Toronto in 2002. In 2003, he received a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
