THE GONSTEAD ADVANTAGE
Only Chiropractors are trained to detect and correct vertebral subluxation, which means that if your condition is caused by vertebral subluxation, a Chiropractor can help. Gonstead Chiropractors are not merely focused on alleviating your pain and/or symptoms, but identifying the source and correcting the cause of them. While there are over 200 Chiropractic techniques, some have a greater degree of measurable attributes while preserving the philosophy of Chiropractic. The science behind the Gonstead System results in the most accurate, specific and reproducible approach in evaluating and correcting subluxation in the spine while following the Chiropractic philosophy.
BIOMECHANICAL APPROACH
Correcting dysfunctional biomechanics of the intervertebral disc is at the foundation of the Gonstead System. The curves in your spine act as shock absorbers that resist the effects of gravity on the human body. They also protect and reduce forces acting on the spinal cord and the nerves exiting the spine. Proper curves are dependent on the health of your intervertebral discs. Unfortunately the effects of gravity, poor posture, improper physical activity, injury, and disease can all play a role in the misalignment of your spinal joints and, as a result, affecting the entire structure of your body.
NEUROLOGY - BASED
Your spine houses and protects your nervous system, the most delicate and important organ system, which is responsible for your day to day bodily functions during your entire life. From your immune, cardiovascular, and digestive system, to sexual function and mobility – your nerves are responsible for sending vital information and energy from the brain through your spine and out into your body. Just as a kink in a garden hose can dramatically reduce the flow of water coming from the tap, a spinal joint out of alignment dramatically reduces vital information traveling from your brain to whatever is connected to the other end of that nerve. Thus, your organs are much more susceptible to malfunction and disease. It’s not just coincidence that people with poor posture tend to lack energy and suffer from fatigue, experience random aches and pains, as well as suffer from headaches, allergies, ear infection, sleeping disorders, gastrointestinal issues, asthma, high blood pressure, etc.
THE ANALYSIS
Because the spinal column is a dynamic structure capable of affecting the entire body especially the tissues it protects and those which surround it, the Gonstead System utilizes multiple criteria to check the spine and identify the spinal joints that are responsible for your condition. These criteria include:
Temperature changes - increased heat is a sign of inflammation caused my a joint injury.
Motion Palpation - it is the Chiropractor’s job to restore areas of restricted joints back to full range of motion.
Static Palpation - subtle changes in soft tissue tone around an injury, like swelling, is evidence of a joint injury.
Visualization - changes in the skin can be clues to the severity of an injury, like redness or broken blood vessels.
X-Ray - Full spine weight bearing X-rays are studied down to the millimeter for misalignments of the spine.
Case Management - Chiropractors have extensive training in neurology, and often times, the symptoms being experienced can be related to specific areas of the spine. Knowing where nerves come from and where they go is a very important part in finding the cause of a health complaint.
All these criteria are necessary to provide the patient with the most specific and individualized care possible while producing favorable and reproducible results allowing the entire body to function at its maximal potential. There is a clinical logic to every decision made for each and every patient.
THE SPECIFIC ADJUSTMENT
The Gonstead System acknowledges the intervertebral disc as the primary source of subluxation. Because the disc is at the most risk for damage with rotation and bending, there is no rotation utilized in the Gonstead Systems techniques when adjusting vertebral subluxation. The scientific analysis is so accurate and its techniques so specific and gentle that the Chiropractic adjustment is incredibly safe and effective for all ages. Our patients range from young infants and children to our senior citizens, as well as pregnant women, all calibers of athletes and even those who have had surgical procedures. Most patients under our care not only report relief from pain and discomfort, but as their spinal joints align and begin to heal they notice other conditions clearing up as well.