This is a story from The Tower – Volume 2, 2024.
In a family full of cardiologists, healthcare and healing are all Martin Camara, DC, ICSC has ever known. Growing up in the Philippines, he planned to follow in his family’s footsteps as a medical specialist.
“I took the pre-med route, but I was looking for a field that really specialized in the entire body,” Dr. Camara said.
He first learned about chiropractic over a phone call with his brother, who was completing a cardiology residency in America. He told him about doctors called chiropractors.
“This was in the late 1980s when there was no internet,” Dr. Camara said. “I had to go to libraries and do actual physical research. I would write letters to schools in the U.S. and then wait months to get a reply. But even with the waiting time, I liked the information I was receiving.”
Dr. Camara was drawn to the natural, drug-free and nonsurgical approach of the profession. He also liked how it involved the whole body. Dr. Camara enrolled at Palmer College of Chiropractic and graduated with his Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree in 1993. He returned to the Philippines with an ambitious goal.
“I knew it would be a pioneering effort to bring this field of healthcare back to a country where it was not yet accessible,” Dr. Camara said. “So I got started immediately.”
He opened a clinic in Manila called Intercare Chiropractic Centers, offering adjustments and soft tissue therapy. Thirty years later, the clinic has grown to five locations with more than 60 healthcare professionals and offers additional services such as physical therapy, rehabilitation and acupuncture.
“The foundation of Intercare is about providing everyone in the Philippines with equitable access to chiropractic care,” Dr. Camara said. “We want to reach the marginalized communities, too, so we embark on chiropractic missions around the country.”
By partnering with educational and international institutions, Dr. Camara, students and volunteers travel around the Philippines to provide rehabilitation, adjustments, exercises and physical therapy.
“It’s similar to Habitat for Humanity where volunteers offer all they can, but this is for health, not homes,” Dr. Camara said. “Our main focus is on rehabilitation, but we offer all the same services as the Intercare clinics. We’re just bringing it to people who can’t come to us.”
In 2004, Dr. Camara began working with the World Health Organization (WHO), putting together the “WHO Guidelines for Basic Safety and Training in Chiropractic,” a set of recommendations and standards to ensure the quality and safety of chiropractic education and practice worldwide. To this day, these guidelines and recommendations provide a framework for chiropractic institutions and associations around the world.
While juggling clinics, out-of-town chiropractic missions and work with the WHO, Dr. Camara began serving as co-chair of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the team physician sports chiropractor for the Philippines Olympic team in 2007.
Dr. Camara set up comprehensive sports medicine care for Filipino athletes and attended three Olympic Games, seven Asian Games and seven Southeast Asian Games. From 2007-2018, he worked with 20 to 200 athletes per event.
“It was an incredible opportunity—one that I couldn’t hoard for myself,” Dr. Camara said. “I gave up the position so a new generation of chiropractors could have the chance to develop their skills and have the experiences I was fortunate to have.”
Despite Dr. Camara’s efforts to prove the positive difference chiropractic care can make in everyone’s lives, chiropractic was not officially recognized or regulated in the Philippines until 2012.
“I am passionate about the profession and was tired of people coming to my country and ruining its reputation, so I started working with the Philippine Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to create a registration process for people to be officially recognized as chiropractors in the Philippines,” Dr. Camara said.
The registration process involves meeting educational and training requirements set by PITAHC to ensure the competency and qualifications of chiropractors practicing in the country.
“I’ve done so much for the field of chiropractic in the Philippines,” Dr. Camara said. “If I step back, I fear it will go in a direction I don’t want. I’m passionate about chiropractic. I’m passionate about helping people. When you see how one adjustment can literally change a patient’s life, it fills you with a sense of purpose.”
In 2023, Dr. Camara founded the Camara Institute for Chiropractic Sciences (CICS), the first modern chiropractic program in the Philippines. The CICS aims to provide high-quality chiropractic education programs and continuing education opportunities.
CICS obtained accreditation from the PITAHC signifying that graduates will be eligible for legal registration to practice as chiropractors in the Philippines. The first cohort of students at CICS began classes in August 2024.
“What started as a 2-year program for medical doctors to qualify as chiropractors has now turned into a full chiropractic program in partnership with Far Eastern University by 2025,” Dr. Camara said. “I want to give Filipinos an opportunity to earn what they would earn abroad without having to leave the country. I want them to know they can make a meaningful impact on people in their own country.”
During the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Biennial Congress in October 2023, WFC Secretary-General Richard Brown, DC, LLM, FRCC, FICC introduced Dr. Camara to Elise Hewitt, DC, DICCP, FICC, program director for Logan University’s Master of Science in Chiropractic Pediatrics (MS-CP) program.
Dr. Hewitt heard Dr. Camara’s inspiring story and offered him a full scholarship to the MS-CP program. While incredibly grateful, Dr. Camara worried about adding to his workload and told Dr. Hewitt he would think about it. In addition to speaking, Dr. Camara attended other presentations at the conference, and to his surprise, many focused on chiropractic pediatrics.
“People were presenting case studies, research and patient satisfaction rates,” Dr. Camara said. “I was amazed by the results of chiropractic pediatrics and couldn’t stop thinking about it or Logan’s MS-CP program.”
After learning more about the program from Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Camara realized it was doable and enrolled in January 2024.
“I’ve enjoyed the course materials and flexibility the online program provides,” Dr. Camara said. “My professors have also been incredibly helpful in their feedback, which shows me they are looking at my work and want to help me be the best I can.”
Dr. Camara describes the MS-CP program as high-value and honest and Logan as ethical and selfless.
“When things are given without being asked for, like the scholarship I received, you realize how selfless people and organizations can be,” Dr. Camara said. “To have a degree of such high value and to be willing to share it with people like myself speaks a lot about Logan.”
Dr. Camara is expected to graduate in January 2026, but he has already learned things from the MS-CP program that he plans to incorporate into his practice.
“Since starting the MS-CP program, I’ve been able to provide better care for pediatric patients,” Dr. Camara said. “People are bringing their children to my clinic because they are aware I am enrolled. I’ve seen chiropractic miracles happen in all ages and populations. The idea of doing that with a baby or toddler who can’t properly communicate their pain is nothing short of miraculous.”