Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) and University of Guelph partner to advance research in chiropractic care in Ontario

The partnership marks the first time the OCA has engaged an academic institution to enhance its role in knowledge translation in research in chiropractic care

Toronto, ON (November 17, 2022) – The Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) is proud to announce its collaboration with a University of Guelph (U of G) researcher to advance its role in knowledge translation in chiropractic care research.

The OCA will be working with Dr. John Srbely, chiropractor, and associate professor at the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS), U of G. Through Dr. Srbely’s work, a key goal of the partnership is to strengthen the OCA’s capacity to support knowledge translation (KT) – the two-way process of integrating emerging research into clinical practice – for the profession. This includes creating KT tools and practical resources for Ontario chiropractors to apply to their patient care, advocate for the profession, and enhance member and communications efforts.

“In our mission to advance the understanding and use of chiropractic care, we continue to look for ways to engage with new and existing partners for the greatest research impact in our work,” says Caroline Brereton, CEO, OCA. “We’re excited to partner with the University of Guelph to further the profession’s research agenda. We look forward to working with Dr. Srbely and his team to help bring his groundbreaking research to the forefront of the profession and patient care.”

The goals of the partnership include:

  1. Increase access to experts and resources in research and knowledge translation.
  2. Advance the OCA’s Evidence-Based Chiropractic Care (EBCC) work.
  3. Integrate research and evidence-based practice into OCA’s initiatives, resources, and services. For example, map evidence-based Guidelines to diagnostic codes in OCA Aspire, its leading practice management and electronic health record (EHR) solution.
  4. Strengthen collaboration opportunities with partners including the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation (CCRF) and the Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative (CCGI).
  5. Facilitate the dissemination of new knowledge to stakeholders including government, clinicians, and patients.

In 2016, the OCA funded important research conducted by Dr. Srbely and his team of collaborators from George Mason University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This research continues to investigate the biological mechanisms of chronic Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and look for ways to advance diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to management.

“Chronic musculoskeletal pain is the leading cause of disability across the globe, especially with the growing ageing population,” says Dr. Srbely. “This presents an immense burden to our society. Our research work aims to uncover the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms of chronic musculoskeletal pain and physiologic mechanisms of spinal manipulation to help advance evidence-informed therapeutic methods. This will also help advance new approaches to treating chronic conditions like myofascial pain and osteoarthritis, and alleviate some of the pressure on our health care system.”

From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Srbely held the CCRF Research Chair in Spine Mechanics and Neurophysiology. The OCA first supported Dr. Srbely’s research in 2013.

Jonathan (Jon) Murray, research associate, also joins the OCA in a contract role to support its work in promoting KT in the chiropractic community under Dr. Srbely’s leadership. Jon recently completed his master’s degree (MSc.) under Dr. Srbely’s supervision in the department of HHNS at U of G, specializing in neuroscience. During his studies, Jon furthered Dr. Srbely’s work on the mechanisms of chronic MSK pain and collaborated on many KT initiatives.

“As spinal health experts, chiropractors have a significant role in helping to manage and prevent chronic musculoskeletal pain,” says Dr. Srbely. “The emerging research supports the growing profile of chiropractors as leaders and experts in the field of chronic musculoskeletal pain research and management. We look forward to working with the OCA to help advance this important work and other knowledge translation resources in chiropractic care research.”

To learn what else the OCA is doing to support clinical chiropractic care and related research studies to elevate patient care and advance the understanding of the profession, visit its Clinical Chiropractic Research webpage.

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Contact information:

Sasha Babakhanova
Manager, Communications
Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA)
sbabakhanova@chiropractic.on.ca