Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics

08/19/2025

In this video, manual osteopath, naprapath & chiropractor, Dr Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD president of National Academy of Osteopathy, National University of Medical Sciences and Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada reviews some important points to keep in mind before performing any manual osteopathic techniques.

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08/18/2025

Manual osteopathic treatments on participants demonstrated an increase in milk production from baseline at each visit.

Context There is currently no clinical research investigating the effect of osteopathic manipulation on the milk supply of lactating patients. Herbal and prescription galactagogues are limited and have the potential for serious side effects. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine wh...

08/01/2025

First Manual Osteopathy Franchise Clinic is in Tampa Bay (Florida)

I want to do for the US what I did for Canada. Back in 2010, hardly anyone knew about manual osteopathy here — now, thanks to National Academy of Osteopathy, thousands of manual osteopaths serve communities across Canada. My mission has always been simple: make sure every city of 100,000 people has access to chronic pain care from NAO & NUMSS graduates.

After achieving this in Canada, I turned my focus to the US. I founded the National University of Medical Sciences (USA) in 2016 — then the only manual osteopathy school in America. Since then, the number of manual osteopaths has grown from almost none to over 2,000, mostly my students. To keep expanding, I opened a Florida campus for the National Academy of Osteopathy this year.

Education is key, but so are clinics. The more clinics offer manual osteopathy, the more people learn about it. That’s why I accepted to became an equal partner in America’s first manual osteopathy franchise. The first clinic will open late this year in Tampa Bay (Florida). The company behind it already runs successful osteopathy franchises and now brings that model to the US, with my help to train all their practitioners in chronic pain care at NAO.

My goal is for people to immediately link manual osteopathy with chronic pain relief. Staying focused helps the profession grow — just as chiropractic did when it narrowed its scope. A clear, specialized message builds trust, attracts patients, and helps our graduates thrive financially — which is exactly what will make manual osteopathy flourish across the US.

Dr Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
OCPCC President

07/30/2025

The Power of Unity

All National Academy of Osteopathy and National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain) graduates in New Brunswick have been accepted by the new regulatory college, stablished in June 2025.

This was a wise decision by the organization that initiated the process. On their behalf, a lawyer contacted all NAO & NUMSS graduates, as well as others, to inform them that they would be eligible to join the college as long as they are practicing in the province.

Because of this inclusive approach, there was no opposition from the National Academy of Osteopathy, National University of medical Sciences, their graduates, or other practitioners.

As demonstrated in Quebec, a regulatory process can be delayed or halted if it excludes certain practitioners. In Quebec, attempts were made to exclude graduates from several schools, which led those schools to file complaints with the government. The government ultimately paused the process and instructed the Quebec organization to make changes to ensure no one’s career would be jeopardized.

This experience highlighted an important lesson for New Brunswick: the regulatory process must be inclusive so that all osteopathic manual practitioners can continue to work.

In New Brunswick, members of the newly formed regulatory college can use the term "osteopath".

07/29/2025

I love this woman!

Dr. Maki Zanganeh, at 54 years old, is the wealthiest Iranian woman in the world—and the 23rd richest woman globally.

Like me, she left Iran during the Iran–Iraq war about 39 years ago and moved to the United States. While I focused on building a million-dollar business in rehab clinics, she set her sights on building a billion-dollar one in Biotechnology. Even while battling a cancer with only a 2% survival rate, she worked relentlessly—and in 2015, she sold her company for $21 billion!

This is the power of thinking big. I put a ceiling on myself at millions—and my mind delivered exactly that. She set her goal at billions—and that’s exactly what she achieved.

You are the main thing standing in your own way. This is why the first thing I do with my students at the National Academy of Osteopathy and the National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain, Panama) is work on their belief systems. I show them what’s possible if they truly believe it. Once that foundation is rebuilt, then we focus on how to achieve it. But it all starts with changing how you think about money and what you believe you deserve.

By the way, the founders of eBay, Uber, Future Shop, Hakim Optical, and the developers behind the two largest malls in the world are all Iranians—some of the wealthiest people on the planet.

The road to wealth starts in your mind.

Dr. Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
Osteopath, Naprapath, Chiropractor & Founder of:
National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada, USA)
National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain, Panama)
Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada (380 clinics in 34 countries)
World Osteopathy Day

07/27/2025

07/21/2025

What You Don’t Know Can Land You in Jail!

Since 2010, I’ve placed a strong emphasis on teaching jurisprudence and ethics at the National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada, USA) and the National University of Medical Sciences (Spain, USA, Panama). I’m proud to say that not a single one of my students has ever been found guilty of malpractice.

Just last week, I received a message from a manual osteopath who graduated from one of Canada’s oldest osteopathy schools—a four-year program that runs one weekend a month for six months each year in Ontario (Canada). One of my students had informed him that he could not charge clients two different fees: a higher fee for those with insurance coverage and a lower fee for those paying cash. This practice, known as two-tiered billing, is considered fraud and theft against insurers, and is a criminal act.

Shockingly, not only was he doing this, but he also advertised it openly on his website! When confronted, he checked with his professional association, which unbelievably told him that this was acceptable!

I was truly stunned that an osteopathy college would fail to teach basic jurisprudence and ethics, and that an osteopathy association could be so out of touch with the law.

This practitioner reached out to me on Facebook for clarification. I explained the law to him—he was shocked but grateful. He promptly updated his website and notified all his patients to correct his mistake.

Over the past 30 years, I have seen health professionals charged and taken to court for this very issue. Insurers treat two-tiered billing as theft. I saved him thousands of dollars in penalty, fines and legal cost, being blacklisted by insurers and a potential jail term if convicted of theft against insurers.

You can charge different fees, but only if the services are clearly different and the fee is the same for everyone, regardless of whether they have insurance. For example, toward the end of my chiropractic career 20 years ago, I charged $1,000 for specialized performance and injury-prevention care for elite professional athletes (I was the team doctor for F.C. Porto in Portugal and two other football teams)—services that differed from my standard care, for which I charged $275 per hour. The fee was the same whether the client had insurance or paid privately.

You can also legally offer discounts, but they must apply equally to everyone in that group. For instance, if you offer seniors a 20% discount, then all seniors must receive it, not just those who pay cash.

This dedication to protecting our students is one reason we have become the largest manual osteopathy school in the world. We constantly evolve our curriculum to ensure our graduates are protected. Remember: ignorance of the law is never a defense. I urge every osteopathy school to start teaching jurisprudence and ethics to prevent situations like this.

Dr. Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
Osteopath, Naprapath, Chiropractor & Founder of:
National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada, USA)
National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain, Panama)
Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada (380 clinics in 34 countries)
World Osteopathy Day

07/20/2025

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07/20/2025

Need New Clients Tomorrow? This Might Help!

About 25 years ago, I became the #1 chiropractor in Canada, treating around 150 patients a day and charging up to $1,000 per session for a select group of elite athletes. But I didn’t start out that way. Right after graduating, I charged just $20 per session and made only about $2,000 in my first month. It took years of trial and error to figure out what actually works—but this one simple technique I created out of sheer necessity kept me afloat when I needed clients fast.

You can do this too. No, it’s not easy, and it’s not for everyone. But if you’re in the same situation I was in—desperate to get new clients just to keep the lights on—this might help. Whenever I needed new clients immediately, I grabbed a stack of high-quality, professionally designed business cards with my photo on them. Then I went out and made sure I personally handed my card to at least 100 people that day—along with a quick pitch, telling them I was a new graduate and asking for their help.

Most people are kind. When they see you genuinely need help, they’ll often do what they can. Not once did this fail me—I always got a few new patients every time I did it. The income helped me get through the tough times until my practice grew.

The road to wealth often passes through hardship. You will stumble—everyone does. But those who succeed are the ones who get back up. For me, it was never about how I felt. Yes, it was awkward and nerve-wracking to approach strangers—I felt embarrassed every time. But I pushed those feelings aside because I needed income. I needed to survive. So I did what it took.

If you want clients fast, you may need to get over your fear and get out there. This method won’t be right for everyone—but if you truly need new clients tomorrow, it might work for you just like it did for me.

Dr. Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
Osteopath, Naprapath, Chiropractor & Founder of:
National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada, USA)
National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain, Panama)
Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada (380 clinics in 34 countries)
World Osteopathy Day

07/18/2025

My New $2 Billion Dollar Venture?

My success in building my colleges and universities into the world’s leading providers of manual osteopathic education — and growing Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada into the largest chronic pain clinic network globally, with 380 locations in 34 countries — as well as making the ROMP title a mandatory requirement for the GEHA license in the United States, has led to an extraordinary new opportunity.

A university with a potential valuation of $2 billion has offered me a 50-50 partnership, and we are now in the final stages of finalizing the agreement. The main point of negotiation is my condition for full autonomy: I do not wish to answer to anyone, seek permission, or have my vision limited in any way.

My lifelong goal was to reach a $100 million valuation for my schools. I never imagined I would live to see them become a billion-dollar enterprise. But God has always been by my side, and it seems I may witness this milestone through this partnership with an established university.

I will lead the development of new programs and oversee their marketing. This will be the biggest project of my career, which means I will need to make significant changes — consolidating some businesses and letting go of others — to focus my energy on this new venture.

If this vision becomes reality, it will also bring tremendous benefits to my students at the National Academy of Osteopathy and the National University of Medical Sciences.

For now, it remains a dream — but in my life, dreams so often become reality that I am confident this one will too.

I am deeply grateful to God for continually blessing me with a beautiful life full of opportunities.

Dr Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
OCPCC President

07/16/2025

Osteopathic soft tissue manipulation enhances recovery of muscle mass in a disuse model of sarcopenia.

Context Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by low muscle mass and function that places individuals at greater risk of disability, loss of independence, and death. Current therapies include addressing underlying performance issues, resistance training, and/or nutritional strategies. However, these...