Jake Cooke

I was living in The Netherlands when I first heard about the Carrick Institute. Neurology had always been my favourite subject at university but when I started working, I found that much of what I learnt wasn’t very useful. I started to forget all those academic details and fell into a standard treatment routine. One day, I saw a young women with widespread pain and hypermobility syndrome. She was in an awful state. She was always in pain, felt dizzy and complained of brain fog. I didn’t understand her at all. I didn’t know why everything hurt her or why she felt so dizzy. While talking to some friends about our ‘crazy cases’, someone mentioned that Prof. Carrick was coming to Amsterdam. He was “meant to be the neurology guy so it might be worth checking out”. I still have a sharp memory of that weekend. Prof. Carrick and Prof. Brock were teaching. 95% of what they send went straight over my head, but I sat in awe of their clear mastery and fluency. They discussed complex subjects with casual ease. It was truely inspiring. Some patients were also at the seminar. They were incredibly complex cases, often with long, sad stories. I actually felt a little annoyed that they had been dragged along. It was so obvious that a chiropractor couldn’t do anything for them but Prof. Carrick examined each one with care and with a jovial bedside manor. He was so relaxed that patients clearly enjoyed the encounter, despite being in front of so many strangers. Then the magic started, patients with chronic problems involving, movement, balance or posture changed before our eyes. I sat at the back of the room and stared as patients visible improved over the course of a few minutes. I don’t mean small, insignificant changes, I mean life changing improvements. I’m a classic British sceptic, and I was sitting with a good friend and king of scepticism. Our conversation went something like this: “What the hell just happened?” “You saw that too? “That can’t be possible, right?” “Could you explain that to me?” We couldn’t explain it but luckily Prof. Carrick and Prof. Brock could. Not in a religious way, but in a simple explanation of the neuroanatomy. Everything fell into place and I felt certain this was the path for me. I sat on the train home and reviewed the weekend. By the time I got home, I had a plan to start learning and from that day I spent most evenings studying. I attended every seminar I could, and passed the American Chiropractic Neurology Board exams two years later. I then travelled to American to spend time with some of the leaders in the field of Functional Neurology. Those two months were life changing and have directly influenced how I work today. When I returned to the UK, I was surprised that neurology wasn’t held in the same regard as in Europe or the USA. A common conversation with friends was that it was too complex, too academic and took too much time. I disagreed with all of this so decided to start teaching a few friends. I found that I loved teaching! It helped me understand neurology better and helped them with their own patients. This developed into ‘Bespoke Clinical Neurology Seminars’ because everyone is at different levels. By tailoring the seminar to those present, I could ensure they got the most out of the day. I’ve been lucky to speak at the BCA and ECU conferences and all over the UK. Each seminar has been different because those present have been different. There have been chiropractors from all philosophies, as well as occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Some fresh out of university and others hardcore veterans with decades of experience. It’s been a pleasure meeting with all. Using neuroscience can be evidence-based, patient-based and extremely powerful. If you want to learn more, get in touch.

Past Presentations