Family career path a tradition

James Elmslie has joined the family practice. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 030913WCSMJAMES ELMSLIE

There is now no doubt at all that Nolan Chiropractic clinic is a family affair.

With James Elmslie now he becomes the fourth generation of the family to follow that career path and creating what is thought to be a first for New Zealand. The clinic has been operating in Wanganui since 1928 when it was started by Dr Elmslie's great-grandfather Dr Ivan Nolan. His son John Nolan then graduated to become a chiropractor as did John's brother Warren Nolan. Dr John Nolan was followed by his daughter Dr Shaaron Nolan (now Elmslie) and the tradition continues with her son James graduating from the NZ College of Chiropractic in Auckland.and coming on board.

There's another family member currently studying; Kirsten Elmslie, who is part-way through the five-year Bachelor of Chiropractic degree course in Auckland.

Dr James Elmslie, 23, said there was a common misconception that the focus of chiropractic was on the spine when it was actually the nervous system and that meant a large part of their study was in neurology and musculoskeletal anatomy. "I'm New Zealand's first ever fourth generation chiropractor and had the privilege to see New Zealand's first fourth generation patient who first saw my great-grandfather as a child. That patient has also been treated by my grandfather and my mother," he said.

When Ivan Nolan opened the clinic 85 years ago he was seeing patients from as far away as Gisborne and in an era when horse and cart was the main mode of transport.

"His patients would stay at the clinic, receiving chiropractic care and also following a strict diet of organic foods back when good nutrition was a radical concept," Dr Elmslie said.

His grandfather, John Nolan, has been called a chiropractic legend and is well known internationally for his Nolan X-ray filters which reduce radiation exposure to patients and removed the guess work for X-ray factors, providing excellent images every time.

His mother was the first, and to date, only female chair of the NZ Chiropractic Board and the youngest ever to be appointed. She has also served on the NZ Chiropractors Association council and was head of the chiropractic disciplinary board.

Dr Elmslie said the clinic has treated patients for conditions ranging from headaches, Bells palsy, and back pain, to more serious conditions such as sciatica and disc herniations.

"But the most common complaints we deal with are sporting injuries, headaches, sudden onset back, neck and pelvis pain," he said. "Many also choose to have a routine check up visit to make sure everything is staying aligned and functioning properly in their spine and nervous system, in a similar way dentists recommend having a check-up visit every six months for your teeth. Unfortunately, you can't brush your own spine."

He said in those earlier days chiropractors knew that what they were doing was helping people but the technology to explain it did not exist.

"The initial theories of how chiropractic could help with a wide range of conditions was very close to the actual reality."

Dr Elmslie said the profession has had a hard road getting to where it is but was now being upheld with ground-breaking research into neuroplasticity that showed how chiropractic adjustments actually alter the way the brain receives and processes information from the body.