Activate Your Practice Podcast
Activate Your Practice Podcast
Dr. Fuhr & Dr. Shepherd Dive Deep into What The Activator Method Can Do For TMJ Patients
Imagine embarking on a nostalgic journey back to the time when the Activator Method was just being discovered. We tap into this vibe, as Dr. Ed Shepherd, a renowned expert in the field of the Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ) and the cranial area, reminisces about his first encounter with the Activator Method 40 years ago. Dr. Shepherd takes us through the evolution of this method, shedding light on its latest development, the Activator V, and how it's transforming various clinical practices. We also delve into the critical importance of TMJ adjustments, backed by scientific research and successful patient cases. Our enlightening discussion provides insights on how to assess patients for TMJ adjustments, offering listeners a practical guide to this innovative method.
But, we don't stop there! We shift gears into the realm of virtual training. Dr. Shepherd and I share our thoughts on how this virtual training can bring about significant benefits to your clinical practice. We dive deeper into the new features of the training and our anticipation for what's to come. Alongside this, we share our captivating clinical experiences, including eye-opening cases where TMJ adjustments tremendously improved a patient's balance. This episode is an exciting blend of history, science, practical guidance, and intriguing narratives—perfect for those keen to learn about the Activator Method, virtual training, or just love to hear about fascinating case studies!
Welcome to the Activate your Practice podcast. I'm Dr Ford. Data always wins. Hi, this is Dr Arlen Ford, welcoming you to the Activate your Practice podcast. These podcasts are going to come out regularly to help you activate your practice. We're going to try to answer some of the questions that you have that you just can't find answers for, and today we're going to have Dr Ed Shepherd, who is an expert in the temporal mandibular junction and the cranial area, and that's what we're going to talk about today, and this will be coming out in the future, and you'll want to look forward to seeing this because there's some real answers to some problems in patients that are difficult to sort out. So hi, dr Shepherd, glad to have you, hi.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Well, let's start with how did you get involved using the Activator Method?
Speaker 2:Well, I would be looking back today and thinking about how long I've been using it. And 40 years ago I went to a parker seminar and in Las Vegas, I remember when you were there teaching a full Activator seminar in that week and I thought that was outstanding. I sat on the end of my seat the whole weekend learning about Activator and finding out that it was different from what I ever thought it was. I was working for a paraplegic who had an Activator and I thought that he was using the Activator the way you're supposed to use it and my eyes were open that we're a totally different world and I learned how the Activator Method actually works and what it could do. And for the first time since getting out of school, I walked away with a way to tell where to adjust someone and when to adjust someone and when not to adjust someone, and to be able to check them each time they come in here to really manage their face. So that really that's really what got me into doing Activator. That's when I started to be a career.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I've been around long enough that I see things come and things go. This is our 57th year in Activator and I can tell you, clinicians don't use something that doesn't work. They throw it away very quickly. And so we've even seen this in the different instruments we've had and with the new Activator 5, we've noticed that the clinicians are extremely happy with it, and you know why that is because they're getting results. Now I want to know why did you get interested in the TMJ and the adjusting of TMJs?
Speaker 2:Well, it's really simple. It was because so many people come in complaining of job issues and then they also complain of other things that can be related to the job headaches or doing it in a paracet, and so on. There's just this year, a number of people who were saying they're not interested. There's a job problem, can you do something about it. And at first I didn't know that I could do anything about it and then I started learning way back when you put some basic TMJ work about how it could work and I started using it and it really started making a difference with many of my patients.
Speaker 1:Do you have a memorable patient that responded well to TMJ?
Speaker 2:Yes, there's one that comes to mind that I saw about five years ago. She came in and she had had a shopping problem with her job for 15 years and she doesn't remember anything particular. That caused me to just something that developed and for 15 years, at any time she opened her mouth. It was fine and I went through the TMJ protocol with her. We did an examination and checked everything. I did an adjustment on her and she got off the table and started crying. I thought I'd heard her. I was a little bit worried until she said I'm not crying because there's hurt me, I can open my mouth now and my jaw isn't popping. I mean, it was that dramatic. I forget to have it every time. No, but when that happens it's one of those chiropractic miracles which have just regular chiropractic results that happen in a short period of time.
Speaker 1:Is there evidence to support utilizing chiropractic care to adjust the TM temporal mandibular distress or disease?
Speaker 2:There is evidence and we're all well aware there's a lot of evidence behind the technique and what we do Activator methods. There are some case studies, clinical studies about TMJ adjusting. Then, of course, there are the two randomized control trials done with the University of Iowa School of Dentistry that point to the efficacy of utilizing activator methods for TMJ problems. Yeah, there is evidence and I feel really good about that because it's not just me doing this and trying to get some good results. There's a lot more behind all of that. There are so many of us out there doing TMJ work and I think that it is very effective and very safe.
Speaker 1:That big study was, I guess you'd say, initiated by Dr Wally Schaefer, and he was at Palmer College for many years and he practiced in the Iowa area there.
Speaker 1:But he had contacts at the University dental school and he was the one that put the study together that we found that big randomized control trial. That's the beauty of connection. So I had to thank Wally for his contacts and so forth that allowed us to be involved with that huge study. Now how do you assess a patient to determine if they're a candidate for activator adjusting for TMJ?
Speaker 2:Well, the great thing about the activator and the modul is that it goes through a whole explanation about assessing a patient, doing a complete history. That's the first step and then an examination, and the examination has multiple steps to it that are all laid out in the training model and then also utilizing outcome assessments, which you've been talking about having us do for years, way back when the West was between the big film and, but there's an attempt to have an individual outcome assessment tool that can be used. So I do all of that first. And then they initially start working with the patient that has a job problem and then going through the whole activator protocol and the step-by-step protocol asking for the different directions of misalignment that can occur in the jaw, and this gives me a really nice package of being able to assess the patient and then adjust them and manage their care.
Speaker 1:I can't help but share one thing with you. One of my good friends here in Phoenix is a cardiovascular surgeon and his wife has Parkinson's, and so I was watching a program on TMJ one day and the dentist were talking about that even balance is affected by correcting a TMJ and some things in Parkinson's, and so I couldn't wait to get his wife in and check her and see if she in fact had a TMJ. Also, my brother had Parkinson's and I couldn't wait till he got in so I could see. Now, lo and behold, both of them had an active TMJ problem and so I went ahead and adjusted them and I got a call from my surgeon friend the next morning and he said guess what happened?
Speaker 1:My wife got up, went out of bed, went to the bathroom and all of a sudden real actually had walked along the wall using it for support, and so when her TMJ was in correction, her balance was much better. Same thing happened with my brother. Then I knew that I was on to something and I just wanted to share that with our audience today. If you've got Parkinson's, people check their TMJ because it will help in the balance area. So let's go now from the TMD or the TMJ to in this upcoming session that you just taped here. In our last taping you did a cranial section, and so what was your reaction when you first heard about cranial adjusting using activator?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had been to some cranial adjusting at the seminars and I heard a cranial adjusting. It's been in chiropractic for a long time. I wasn't really familiar with how to do it and it always seemed a little bit mysterious and complicated to me so I thought I would just check it out. I went to a cranial adjusting seminar and it was. It was pretty interesting and the things that they were doing by just adjusting the cranials. And I told the instructor the person who did this seminar and I've been teaching it for years and using it in his practice that I used activator and he said you just write off the back, said to me, you know, you can do all of this utilizing an activator. I was like, oh, that never dawned on me and I wasn't sure how.
Speaker 2:But within the next month I was at an activator seminar that you were teaching and you did some cranial adjusting. You were teaching about how to do this and it was just like the lights went off and my eyes were opened again and it was just a great segue into like learning that we could do a lot of good in the cranial area utilizing the activator. And you laid out such a simple procedure for doing this and it just made it so easy and yet so effective on so that was my first reaction. It was just like this is great. This is gonna be a great way to be able to help more people with other types of problems.
Speaker 1:Now, safety has always been a concern when performing high velocity, low amplitude adjusting procedure. Is it safe to adjust cranials with an activator? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:We've learned previously about pediatric adjustment and using high velocity to adjustments. That's what an activator is. It's the same as a diversified adjustment in all of its maintenance. So it's still HVLA, so it's very safe, but it's done the right way. As you pointed out, the activator 5, in its lowest setting, is very safe to use over the cranial bones. If you're using an activator 4 or an activator 2, then you want to use that through your thumb, but the forces are very gentle. Patients rarely react to those adjustments in a negative way and so, yes, it's very safe and very comfortable.
Speaker 1:So can a doctor learn these techniques effectively on virtual training.
Speaker 2:I think so. Again, one of the advantages that we have is having the virtual training and having our textbook, the activator virtual training goes over all of the things in the textbook. So learning it online, seeing all of the things that we present in the module and being able to have that reference with the textbook, is so important. The activator textbook has been super valuable to me. I refer back to it and I'm amazed sometimes at things that I've forgotten as I've gone through practicing and time goes by and it's always nice to go back in and just tune myself up. Having the textbook, having that virtual training module there, both in those ways of learning, really makes it a lot easier to learn, and so, yes, I think it's very easy and effective and a great way to learn how to use different types of procedures with the app.
Speaker 1:What would you recommend the first step be for someone working with patients with jaw disorders? I think?
Speaker 2:that the first thing that has to happen is that we've got to have a good understanding of the activator basic scan protocol. It's like the foundation, because you want to, no matter what else you're doing, clear up the nervous system through the basic scan protocol. That's going to address a lot of issues and then, when you go in and add in different layers of either doing the jaw or doing cranials, a lot of the other things are going to be cleared out. And I think with all this works much better in a package and it's more effective when we do all of it together. So first learn the basic scan protocol, get that down and then get in on the module for the MJ and the cranials. It shows us how to do everything that needs to be done. Once you're familiar with the basic scan protocol, it's pretty easy to plug in the other things into that framework.
Speaker 1:Well, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here to talk about the virtual training at the Actitude Institute of Higher Learning, and so, for all of you that are watching, if you are already an activator practitioner, just keep your eyes open for what's coming down the line here as we bring these new things to you. And, as you can see, we've got some really nice new things that will be good for your clinical practice. So, dr Shepard, thank you for all you do for activator.
Speaker 1:Well, that was a very interesting section with Dr Shepard. You know he's been doing this for a long time and he's shared a lot of experience for you. The TMJ and cranials have always interested me a lot and I could sit here and tell you hours of experience that I've had with different things. So I hope that the things that we shared with you today will give you impetus to go online, take a look at the virtual training, and I think you'll bring things back to your practice that you'll be very happy with Until next time. This is Dr Arlenfor signing out from Activate your Practice Podcast, and we hope you enjoyed it and we've got a lot of good stuff coming.
