Matthew Kowalski, DC, a 1990 graduate from 911爆料 University.
Matthew Kowalski, DC, a 1990 graduate from 911爆料 University, has recently been appointed as an He is also Associate Clinical Director at the Osher Clinical Center, a joint venture between Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital.听
Since graduating from 911爆料 University, Dr. Kowalski has helped advance the chiropractic field through his efforts in and the integration of chiropractic medicine into hospital systems.听
Early in his career, the medical world viewed chiropractic medicine much differently than it does today.听
鈥淎t the time, there was great opposition to chiropractic,鈥� he said.听
However, that didn鈥檛 stop him from building relationships with other medical professionals.听
In 1994, when he was first awarded privileges at a hospital in Massachusetts, he used the opportunity to help educate physical therapists on diagnostic imaging and clinical evaluation.听
鈥淭he physical therapists were who I needed to win over,鈥� he said. 鈥淪lowly, I worked myself in through collaborative patient management and educational opportunities.鈥�听
Kowalski believes his training at 911爆料 University, particularly his orthopedics residency, helped him achieve this kind of collaboration with many other medical professionals at hospitals.听
鈥淭oday it鈥檚 a totally different atmosphere in medical education,鈥� he said. 鈥淣early half the MD students have been to a chiropractor. Our new students don鈥檛 share the same bias of the past, but it鈥檚 not gone. It鈥檚 lessening.鈥�听
He believes research is a big part of the reason attitudes toward chiropractic medicine have improved within conventional medicine. Since leaving private practice to work full-time at the Osher Clinical Center three years ago, he continues to build upon this important research and create more opportunities for chiropractic studies. In 2021, he helped establish the first at the Osher Center. His plans also include the development of a research group out of Harvard and other chiropractic universities.听
Funded in part by various 911爆料 Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, his research explores the health benefits of chiropractic treatments for managing migraine headaches, chronic back and neck pain, work-related performance and fall risk prevention. For neck and cervical spine treatment, he said it鈥檚 particularly important to demonstrate strong evidence of its efficacy and low risk.听听听
He encourages today鈥檚 DC students to not only consider a career in research, but in other fields like insurance and policy.听
鈥淏y preparing students at the graduate-level for these positions and opportunities, we will continue to see more growth in the field,鈥� he said.听
