As we promised, a full report of the sensational seminars given by Drs. Keith Innes and David Seaman, accompanied by Dr. Jonathan Soltys, in Australia will be given. As the three arrived from Hawaii at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 10th I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready to pick up the weary travellers. As they exited via customs all I could see was David Seaman tanned and carrying his precious golf clubs. His first question was, "Where is the golf course?" All looked extremely relaxed after the 10 hour flight from Hawaii. After they settled in the first thing on the agenda was a sight seeing trip into the city. The temperature that day was a cool 60oF -- a big drop from the 90oF in Hawaii. But this would be the last day of "cold" temperature because Sydney would go through its driest and warmest month in 50 years with the average temperature being 77oF and getting up to a maximum of 86oF.
The first stop on our tour was the infamous Sydney Opera House situated on the harbour. I have been living here now for eight years and I have to say that every time I see this structure it is as magnificent as the first time. I believe and they agree with me that Sydney Harbour is the most magnificent harbour in the world; the 2000 Olympic Games will be the most picturesque yet. The next stop was the was the Rocks, which is a restored area of the city on the harbour. The infamous Kings Cross was next on our agenda. Kings Cross is a little like Times Square is to New York, with its many entertainment spots. At this point the doctors were getting tired from all their travelling, and they had an early night as the next day we had to be on another flight to Adelaide for their first seminar.
On that Friday, Drs. Seaman and Soltys decided a golf game was needed to get rid of their jet lag. They both struggled but enjoyed the beautiful sunny day, whereas Dr. Innes was writing his next column for "DC." That's what I call dedication. That night, we flew into Adelaide and stayed at the Hotel Intercontinental right beside the casino in downtown Adelaide. Dr. Odette Reader, a Canadian chiropractor practicing in Adelaide who knew Dr. Innes from CMCC, was our host for the weekend. She did an outstanding job in the organization of the seminar. Dr. Seaman started the seminar off with his thought-provoking analysis of the neurological subluxation complex. He made all the doctors in attendance think about what we do as chiropractors. Dr. Seaman is a very passionate and stimulating speaker who is always provoking the doctor to think. Dr. Innes' part of the seminar came on the Sunday, and the attending doctors absorbed a lot of information and like Dr. Seaman, Dr. Innes is a fantastic speaker and the doctors were all engrossed by what he had to say. At the end of the seminar, there was a standing ovation from all the participants. Everyone learned so much, and they had a lot to think about on Monday morning in their own practices. Dr. Seaman's patient education material was very well received.
On Wednesday, August 16th, Drs. Seaman and Innes and I went to Macquarie University where the Centre for Chiropractic is located. The doctors gave the students there a six-hour free lecture. The students were all enthusiastic about the lecture and it was standing room only, and the doctors both agreed that the knowledge of the students was excellent. Our host for the day was the school's principal Dr. Rod Bonello. Dr. Bonello has been the driving force of getting chiropractic inserted into the curriculum at the University. The Centre is doing some outstanding research and it bodes well for chiropractic world wide. Dr. Ray Hayak, the head of research at the University for Chiropractic, explained to Drs. Innes and Seaman what different projects the students were doing, and both DCs were impressed. The doctors commented that the projects conducted at the University would aid the profession, and expressed a desire that MPI and the University to conduct mutual research.
At the weekend, Drs. Innes and Seaman conducted their seminar in Sydney where again the doctors and the students, this time from Macquarie University, were enthralled by the information given. Again Dr. Seaman made the practitioners think about their past philosophies and why the old "bone out of place" concept was so bad for chiropractic. Good scientific research done by Dr. Seaman is all that chiropractic needs, not some outdated concepts to get patients on a never-ending over servicing regime. Dr. Seaman's method of being bombastic and thought-provoking may not be everyrone's cup of tea, but to this chiropractor we need more people like him who get out there and make perfect scientific sense. Dr. Innes was again fantastic in his lecture. Dr. Stephen Espesito, head lecturer of technique at Macquarie University, was attendance and was very impressed with Drs. Innes and Seaman. He expressed interest in having MPI and the University develop closer ties.
During their stay here Dr. Innes has penciled in two seminars for Australia next year. The first being on August 16-18 covering S1 and E1, and November 29-December 1 covering the Subluxation/Neurology complex and S2. Both of these seminars will take place at Macquarie University using the practical facilities as well as lecture facilities. Macquarie University's Dr. Rod Bonnello said that he is very excited about MPI's usage of their facilities and said he hopes for a long association with MPI.
As Dr. Orazio Trevisan and myself are MPI representatives in Australia and New Zealand, we were very happy to have Drs. Innes, Seaman and Soltys lecture to the practitioners here. We believe the high standards that Dr. Innes espouses will not only benefit chiropractic, but will help keep chiropractic at the head of the class. MPI has a very bright future here in Australia, and we hope with our influence here it will continue to grow. As a result, the first MPI club will be started at Macquarie University on October 9th. With the guidance of Dr. Innes and Mr. Donald Petersen Jr., Dr. Trevisan and myself will bring to Down Under the latest in research and technique to the students and practitioners of Australia.
Now as we enter our spring in Australia and you in the Northern Hemisphere go into fall, the next big conference we will be attending with Drs. Innes and Seaman is the Low Back and Sacroiliac Joint Symposium in San Diego, California in November. We look forward to seeing old friends and get the latest in research from the world's best.
In the next article we write, we will discuss the inclusion of chiropractic for the retired veterans from the wars, an inclusion that is at no charge with direct billing to the Veterans' Affairs department. In that article we will discuss the general membership's reaction to this development and their concerns.
George Dragasevich, DC
Brookvale, NSW, Australia
Orazio Trevisan, DC
Condell Park, NSW, Australia
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