Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 6, 1 June 1995 — Loan fund recipient heals with his hands [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Loan fund recipient heals with his hands

by Patrick Johnston To many in Hawai'i, chiropractors seem to have a bit of an identity problem. In some ways they resemble medical doctors - they require extensive education and usually run their practice out of tidy offices that look very mueh like those of general practitioners. But they're also a lot like traditional healers, focusing on external, hands-on treatment and massage rather than on surgery or modern drugs. Literally, chiropractor means hand doctor. Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan fund recipient Dr. Miehael Kahue does nothing to dispel these seemingly conflicting images. Kahue owns and operates Plaza Chiropractic, a elinie on the first floor of Kukui Plaza in downtown Honolulu. If it weren't for the rumbling of a back massage maehine - and the noticeable laek of any strong ehemieal smells - his office could easily be confused for that of a private M.D. Talking to Kahue, however, it becomes clear where his priorities lie. "Chiropractic, lomi lomi, and shiatsu practitioners

are all in the same field," he explains. "We do things naturally with no medicine. However, lomi lomi concerns itself with tissue. We take into aeeounī the human spine." Kahue points out that pain often results from out-of-joint bones putting pressure on nerves. He says his job is to put those bones back in plaee. "The whole process of chiropractic is to realign bones, to take the pressure off the nervous system." Most people's bones - either through years of bad posture or a serious accident - get out of line. For many this does not cause any discomfort although it might prevent the body from working as efficiently as it should. Some people, however, do develop pain. Increasingly this is becoming a problem for office workers where hours in front of a eomputer ean lead to back problems and to a debilitating ailment known as carpal tunnel syndrome - a condition where blood circulation to the hands is cut off by extended periods of keyboard typing. The chiropractor's job is to correct these problems. "After a few adjustments, they ean get incredible relief," Kahue says.

Kahue does most of his work with his hands and with the help of some modern technology that has helped make a trip to the chiropractor a mueh less intimidating affair than it used to be. Neek and back "cracking" — a process that helps realign bones but also releases noisy pockets of nitrogen gas — has been replaced by far less traumatizing but equally effective treatments using meehanieal and electronic devices. Chiropractic treatment ean be a drawn out affair. Kahue explains that it takes a while to remind bones and muscles how to align themselves properly in the body after a lengthy period out of plaee. "The body returns to its bad habits quickly," Kahue says. "For that reason it is good to have regular appointments at the beginning and then space them out as the body corrects itself." Part of Kahue's treatment involves getting new patients familiar and eomfortable with chiropractic medicine. Before beginning treatment he offers patients the opportunitv to sit down

and watch videos about his treatment so they ean understand what he is going to do and the benefits that will result from it. "You have to work on people psychologically. ... help them feel comfortable, get rid of tension," he says. Kahue opened his doors three months ago after four years of chiropractic training and two years working for another chiropractor. He is helped out by his wife Sheryl and his mother-in-law. "There's is nothing like running your own practice," he says. "That is where is OHA has eome in and helped out."

Kahue's practice is part of Operation 'Ohana companies offering discounts to Hawaiians with an Operation 'Ohana card. Kahue says he offers Operation 'Ohana members a 50 percent discount for the first visit - whieh involves x-rays and other diagnostic treatment - and 20

percent off on follow-up appointments. To learn more about Plaza Chiropractic eall 538-7771. For information about the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund or the Operation 'Ohana Hawaiian ancestry enrollment project eall 594-1888.

Kahue and his wife Sheryl in his Kukui Plaza office.

The focus of his treatment: Chiropractor Dr. Miehael Kahue shows off a backbone model. Photos by Patrick Johnston