The following blog is an extension of a story from Volume 2, 2024 Tower Magazine.
Martin Camara, DC, ICSC has wasted no time taking the knowledge he is gaining in Logan University’s online Master of Science in Chiropractic Pediatric (MSCP) program and implementing it in his practice.
“I went to chiropractic school in the early 1990s and although I stay current with literature, continuing education seminars and international chiropractic communities like the World Federal of Chiropractic (WFC) and International Federation of Sports Chiropractic, so much has changed,” Dr. Camara said. “The MSCP program has given me a structured learning path to update my knowledge and skills that will make me a better clinician.”
Living and working in the Philippines, Dr. Camara was introduced to Elise Hewitt, DC, DICCP, FICC, Founding Program Director for the MSCP program, during the WFC Biennial Congress in October 2023. By January 2024, Dr. Camara was enrolled in the MSCP program.
Now a little over halfway through the two-year program, Dr. Camara has taken courses focused on pediatric development, case management, diagnostic imaging, neurology, and technique, among others. As part of the technique course, Dr. Camara attended the in-person PedTRA I session on Logan’s campus in Chesterfield, MO. The PedTRA I session focuses on spinal and cranial manual therapy techniques. Students gathered on campus to apply their knowledge with hands-on practice, receiving individualized instruction from program instructors.
“Learning about neuroplasticity and the shifts of the brain in the pediatric neurology course has dramatically altered the way I manage my adolescent patients and my understanding of the window of improving sensorimotor integration at a central level,” Dr. Camara said. “I’ve witnessed life-changing results thanks to this knowledge.”
Dr. Camara runs a clinic in Manila, Intercare Chiropractic Centers, offering adjustments and soft tissue therapy. Two of his patients heard he was enrolled in Logan’s MSCP program, and after researching the program, decided to bring their daughter, Briana, to see him.
Dr. Camara explained that Briana had development issues and while she was four years old chronologically, developmentally she was closer to two years old. She walked with an unstable tip-toeing gait and was hypersensitive to touch and sound. She was uncomfortable with physical contact and during her examination, Dr. Camara noted her shoulders were contracted and hypertonic to the point of being unable to see her neck. Her voice was also inaudible.
“Delivering the adjustments was a challenge because of her hypersensitivity. The biggest restrictions I found were in her sacrum and atlas, which I adjusted using the skills learned in my MSCP technique course” Dr. Camara said. “I also did an anterior thoracic adjustment.”
One week later, Briana returned to the clinic a new child.
“Both her mom and dad came to this second appointment because her dad wanted to see the treatment that had changed his daughter so dramatically,” Dr. Camara said. “Briana had been seeing an orthopedist and physical therapist for years and the progress had been slow. Her parents were amazed at how quickly pediatric chiropractic had helped.”
Briana’s gait was more stable, her shoulders had come down enough to see her neck and her voice was audible. Her mom reported that she could also clean Briana’s ears, a task she had not been able to complete since her daughter was born.
“I also had a ten-month-old patient who cried multiple hours a day every day and after just one adjustment he showed signs of improvement,” Dr. Camara said. “His parents were so grateful.”
In addition to pediatric care, Dr. Camara has also used his newfound knowledge to help adults at his clinic. During a visit from a middle-aged patient whose care he had been managing for ten years, he noticed she was experiencing extreme discomfort, more so than normal.
“This patient saw me regularly for acute neck pain and debilitating headaches and vertigo, but the regular adjustments and treatment were not helping alleviate this extra discomfort,” Dr. Camara explained. “Then I thought about the Pediatric Technique course I was currently taking with Karen Erickson, DC, FACC, and went through the cranial protocol.”
Dr. Camara replicated the protocol in a seated position and within seconds the patient described feeling the pain go away.
“I could not see her reaction and was surprised when my assistant handed her tissues,” Dr. Camara said. “Then I realized she was in tears—grateful for the relief and care she had received.”
The MSCP program has provided Dr. Camara with the opportunity to broaden his range and ability of care, and he finds roughly 30% of his patients are now children.
“I am blessed to have experienced this so early in my career development as a pediatric chiropractor,” Dr. Camara said. “Dr. Hewitt mentioned the concept of changing the trajectory of a child’s life and development with chiropractic care. It’s very real.”