The Chiro-Factor

Dr. James Chestnut and Dr. Brad Glowaki kick off NFL season by settling the "exercise vs. adjustment" debate once and for all, then dive deep into the neuroscience and business of concussion care — one of the fastest-growing new-patient generators in chiropractic.They cover the topographical brain-body connection, why immobilizing injured joints (or necks) is outdated, the gut-brain axis after a head injury, and the counterintuitive talking points (car-crash G-forces vs. concussion G-forces, why NOT to give Tylenol post-head-trauma) that turn a 10-minute school talk into dozens of new patient sign-ups. They also unpack why the ImPACT concussion test has a 40% false-rating reliability issue, and revisit a cost-effectiveness study comparing 12 visits of chiropractic care to no care at all.Timestamps:00:00 — Sponsor intros: Best Practices seminar & podcast sign-up01:43 — Welcome back, NFL talk, Seahawks, and catching up11:16 — Is it exercise OR the adjustment? Why that's the wrong question15:17 — Topographical brain organization: how joint motion maps to the brain23:17 — Why pain shouldn't stop rehab (or adjustments)30:14 — The 2016 Journal of Neuroplasticity study on spinal adjustment and the brain32:52 — James's master's thesis: strength gains without muscle growth41:42 — Dysafferentation, the righting reflex, and 3.7x greater ACL-tear risk after concussion47:47 — Concussion Roulette masterclass overview50:39 — Statins, pharma critique, and omega-3/vitamin D for brain recovery55:51 — Mouthpieces, Guardian Caps, and marketing concussion talks1:03:09 — golfnutrients.com and the value of being the community's health authority1:07:00 — Table-talk sound bites: what NOT to give after a head injury, ER doc validation story1:12:10 — The two real reasons chiropractors fail1:16:11 — Concussion Roulette program, Scott Rosa, and the Jim McMahon story1:22:14 — The "fraudulent" NFL/MLB concussion settlement system and the ImPACT test1:26:00 — The car-crash-vs-concussion G-force talk that closes new patients1:29:00 — Practice-time concussions, elderly falls, and James's personal concussion history1:35:25 — Speaking to patient values: playing time, self-esteem, independence1:36:11 — 2027 seminar dates: UK, Canada, Australia + Sept 2026 Vegas event1:42:52 — New JAMA study critique and the Vavrek/Haas cost-of-care study1:51:09 — Vegas "Crash" seminar speaker lineup preview1:55:10 — Why medical evaluations miss what chiropractors catch1:58:38 — Wrap-up and resources

In this episode of The Chiro-Factor Podcast, Dr. Brad Glowaki and Dr. James Chestnut go deep on two fronts: how to build adjustment-centric, evidence-based practices that patients trust — and a hard-hitting science breakdown of the GLP-1 (Ozempic) phenomenon sweeping global healthcare.Glow shares takeaways from his recent Australia workshops, and the duo unpacks the Therapeutic Working Alliance, the relationship Report of Findings, and why a segmentally specific adjustment to a subluxated segment has measurably greater neurological impact than adjusting one that's already moving. Then Chestnut turns "off the leash" on the GLP-1 industry — the staggering costs, the muscle wasting, the anhedonia, the rebound weight gain, and why lifestyle change remains the only real solution.Whether you catch this in one sitting or split it across your commute, it's packed with science, sound bites, and practice wisdom.🎯 Grab your seats to the Best Practices Seminar here: https://www.levelupmentoring.rocks/bestpracticesEpisode Timestamps:00:00 — Intro & where to find the podcast and Best Practices seminars01:30 — Australia recap & the mission behind the podcast04:30 — Why there'll never be a double-blind study on the adjustment; defusing the "subluxation" debate07:11 — The Niazi (2025) study: specific adjustments and the sensory motor cortex08:59 — Why a subluxation is physiologically detrimental — and the adjustment restores it11:37 — Loading value on Day One & the Chestnut Spinal Health Assessment13:40 — The Therapeutic Working Alliance: goal, intervention & bond agreement16:24 — The power of "because" in the Report of Findings19:01 — Building the bond of trust; why patients need more care than you think22:43 — The law of averages: do fewer, more valid tests25:04 — Practice announcements, the "if" statement & no answers on Day One33:43 — Shifting gears: GLP-1s and Ozempic — the setup35:18 — The numbers: 100 million obese adults, $70 billion a year, trillions projected39:25 — Using AI to check the evidence; lifestyle vs. drugs41:12 — Insurance profits, lobbying & the Medicare/Medicaid "guaranteed lottery ticket"44:16 — Side effects: blindness, "ass wasting," thyroid cancer & the denial playbook45:42 — The obesity pandemic: from "obesity gene" to body positivity to the drug rollout48:08 — Big Tobacco → Big Food → Big Ag → Big Pharma: the same playbook50:47 — GLP-1s now approved for children54:28 — How GLP-1s actually work: the peptide, the vagus nerve & satiation1:08:37 — Side effects explained: nausea, anhedonia, lost motivation & muscle/bone loss1:15:18 — Why people start anyway; the 70–80% who quit and the near-100% rebound1:20:05 — The reframe: injecting = admitting you've lost control1:23:04 — How we got 100 million obese adults: policy, lobbying & the SAD diet1:25:33 — "The ship isn't sinking — they're sinking our ship"; cutting off demand1:29:12 — Peptides teaser & upcoming Aaron Siri episode1:34:52 — Cost-benefit of injectables; living a reasonable life1:38:30 — Recap of the Ozempic numbers for part-two listeners1:40:07 — Reframing "health": the lowered number vs. true function1:57:30 — "You won the lottery": the next generation of chiropractors2:00:42 — Final thoughts, coaching, the ethical millionaire & sign-off

In this special edition of The Chiro-Factor, hosts Dr. Brad Glowaki and Dr. James Chestnut welcome investigative journalist and attorney Gerald Posner, author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America, for a no-holds-barred deep dive on the pharmaceutical industry.Gerald brings the receipts — five-plus years of FOIA requests, court documents, and whistleblower interviews tracing pharma's 100-year history from selling morphine in the Civil War to becoming the second-largest industry on earth. Brad and James push the conversation further into where health actually comes from — and why no drug, even a "clean" one, can ever produce it. Together, they connect the dots between guideline manipulation, captured medical schools, direct-to-consumer advertising, vaccine immunity, off-label prescribing, NIH-funded patents, and the ongoing cancer and obesity-drug machine.If you're a chiropractor, this episode is your ammunition. Decisions have consequences — and your patients deserve to know what's on the other side of the recommendation they didn't follow.🎯 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 - Glow's six-month masterclass on the exact table-talk sound bites and conversations that convert existing patients into a steady stream of referrals. One new patient pays for the entire program: https://www.levelupmentoring.rocks/pricing-plans/tabletalk🎤 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 - 𝐋𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐬, 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖-𝟏𝟗 - Chiropractic's birthday celebration and the live seminar of the year. Earn your CE while getting the unfiltered truth on everything Gerald covered in this episode: https://www.levelupmentoring.rocks/lueventsTimestamps:00:00 - Introductions: meeting Gerald Posner, the Pharma book, and how COVID supercharged this conversation04:54 - Why medical doctors aren't scientists — they're clinicians running on guidelines they didn't create09:27 - Who really writes the guidelines: how cholesterol numbers got lowered overnight and 12M statin users became 36M18:26 - A walk through pharma history: the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), morphine, Pfizer, Squibb, Wyeth, Lilly, and Bayer's "favorite five years" (heroin, aspirin, Tylenol, phenobarbital)27:43 - 1938 and the Humphreys Act: how off-label prescribing became the industry's biggest loophole32:02 - Properly prescribed drugs as the 4th leading cause of death — and how Viagra, Rogaine, and Botox were all "happy accidents"34:40 - The core argument: even if pharma were clean, the paradigm is still wrong — drugs don't address the cause42:11 - Puberty blockers, the Dutch studies, and "the greatest medical scandal since lobotomies"47:42 - Penicillin's untold story: how pharma abandoned cheap cures and chased "me-too" patented variations52:41 - Gerald's Oxford debate vs. the former Pfizer medical director and former FDA director (won 12-to-1)57:04 - COVID, the NIH's $930 billion, and how taxpayers fund drugs pharma then patents and sells back1:00:17 - 1986 vaccine immunity, 1997 direct-to-consumer advertising, and the Claritin loophole that built a $10B ad industry1:05:43 - Media capture: why ER shows multiply, why CNN can't quit pharma ads, and how journals bury negative studies1:09:03 - Inside the opioid crisis: Purdue, the Sacklers, Dopesick, and the Congressional bill that handcuffed the DEA1:17:45 - Gerald's upcoming Jordan Peterson Academy course: The Politics of Cancer1:20:32 - Why people accept the system: convenience, fear, and the cult-like structure of medical training1:24:51 - Should chiropractors fight for prescribing rights? All three agree — it's a trap1:34:09 - How "prestige" panels really work, the FDA's expedited-fee scandal, and statins gaining you 3-5 days over 5 years1:38:46 - What's coming next: Bobby Kennedy, MAHA, and steering the ocean liner1:44:00 - Closing thoughts for chiropractors: confidence, urgency, and why your recommendation is the alternative to all of this

Dr. Brad Glowaki and Dr. James Chestnut broadcast live from the Best Practices Seminar on the campus of Life University — hosted in the Guy Riekeman building — for a packed episode blending hard science, practice-building tools, and live Q&A with the next generation of chiropractors. The guys dig into why restriction and tenderness (allodynia) are the most valid indicators of a segmental problem, how neuroplasticity sensitizes nociceptive pathways, and how the adjustment paired with patient movement rebuilds healthy neurology. From there, they introduce two practical tools — the Chestnut Spinal Health Assessment and the new Table Talk for Referrals master class — before opening the mic to students from Palmer Florida, Life University, and beyond. The back half of the episode takes a deeper turn into epigenetics, stem cell expression, and the crucial difference between gene possession and gene expression — answering one of the most common questions students ask: why do some unhealthy people live long lives while some healthy people get sick young?Timestamps:0:00 - Welcome from the Best Practices Seminar at Life University0:45 - Allodynia explained: why tenderness + restriction = a valid segmental finding2:30 - Neuroplasticity, C-FOS proteins, and how nociceptive pathways become habits3:45 - The adjustment as stimulus, healing as response — why movement at home matters6:40 - The Chestnut (Chiropractic) Spinal Health Assessment: measuring severity & progress10:15 - Table Talk for Referrals — the new master class at LevelUpMentoring.rocks13:00 - Earning the right to ask for referrals (and why it's not a flywheel pitch)17:40 - Student Q&A #1 — Petra (Palmer Florida): Science, philosophy, and art in chiropractic21:30 - Defining the adjustment: HVLA, manipulation vs. adjustment, and the Niazi/Haavik study27:00 - Student Q&A #2 — Redmond (Life University, from Canada): navigating a mechanistic, anti-adjustment environment as a new grad29:30 - Vitalism vs. evidence: winning the argument by out-evidencing the "evidence-based" crowd32:30 - Student Q&A #3 — Michael (Palmer Florida): Why do healthy-looking people get sick young?35:00 - Toxicity, deficiency, and the bioaccumulation of exposures37:50 - Genome vs. genes: what determines lifespan vs. what determines expression43:20 - The stem cell analogy — the clearest way to explain epigenetics to patients47:00 - Twin studies, adopted-child studies, and why genes have near-zero predictive value49:00 - The 2% of true genetic illness vs. the 98% lifestyle-driven chronic disease52:00 - Wrap-up: honoring Dr. Guy Riekeman's legacy and closing thoughts

In this special live edition of The Chiro Factor, Drs. Brad Glowaki and James Chestnut record from London during their Best Practices Seminar — and the result is one of the most loaded episodes yet. From the future of chiropractic education in Scotland, to the political landscape of UK practice regulations, to raw, heartfelt moments with chiropractors navigating their own health crises, this episode has something for every chiropractor at every stage of their career.Sign up for the Best Practices here: https://www.levelupmentoring.rocks/bestpractices⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00 - Introduction & Sponsor Note3:27 - Welcome from London4:19 - Guest 1: Dr. Ross McDonald21:37 - Guest 2: Melissa Sanford36:47 - GCC Code of Conduct Clarified49:48 - Live Audience Q&A1:31:31 - Closing remarks