The Gonstead Difference

There are many different chiropractic techniques, most named after the person who was instrumental in their development. The Gonstead System was developed by Dr Clarence Gonstead who did extensive research in his Mount Horeb clinic in Wisconsin. In Dr Gonstead’s 55 years of practice he preformed over 4,000,000 adjustments helping sick people get well, people travelled from all over to see him and he built a big motel to accommodate them. Dr Gonstead was asked by other chiropractors to teach them his specific form of chiropractic and so he developed the Gonstead System that we use today.

The Gonstead Chiropractor conducts a thorough analysis of your spine using a variety of tools to detect the presence of spinal dysfunction known as a vertebral subluxation complex.

History

Your chiropractor will take a thorough history including your past and present medical history and health to help determine if you are a candidate for chiropractic care.

Visualisation

By looking at your posture and spine we are looking for subtle changes that can indicate problems.

Instrumentation

A Nervoscope will be run down your back, it detects uneven distributions of heat along the spine with its two thermocouples. The heat swing indicates uneven distribution of heat along the spine due to uneven nerve supply to the skin. It feels like two fingers gently running down your back.

Static palpation

The chiropractor will feel your spine with their fingers looking for any swelling (or oedema), tenderness or abnormal texture/tightness in the skin and muscles.

Motion palpation

The process of feeling each individual bone moving and comparing them to above and below, this involves bending and moving at different angles enabling the chiropractor to feel which bone has restricted motion.

X-ray Analysis

Xrays are taken when clinically needed. The x-ray allows your doctor to visualise the entire spine. It is extremely helpful in evaluating spinal curves, joint and disc integrity, vertebral alignment, ruling out pathologies or recent fractures. These x-rays are taken standing in the weightbearing position to get the best information.

Taking into consideration all of the above information about you, your Gonstead chiropractor will immediately be able to let you know if we can help your problem with chiropractic care. If not you will be referred to the appropriate health professional. If your case is a chiropractic case, the trained Gonstead chiropractor will use specific, hands on adjustments to get you back to optimal health as quickly as possible. The goal of a Gonstead practitioner is to get you back on the road to recovery as quickly as possible. In the words of Dr Gonstead “Find it, Fix it and leave it alone.”

The adjustment is a gentle direct movement of the restricted spinal segment towards normal alignment returning movement to the joint.