The Gonstead Chiropractic Method

Dr. Clarence Gonstead was one of the founding chiropractic practitioners to establish how chiropractors work today. He was initially an engineer, so his approach to analyzing human structure is unique and effective.

Let's discuss the various steps involved in the Gonstead chiropractic method and why they are necessary to gain a comprehensive idea of how these chiropractors treat clients.

Visualization

This is the first step in the process, and it makes sense. When the practitioner sees you, he will visually inspect you for imbalance or posture deficiencies. This will inform the steps that are to follow. There is no use in applying instruments at random to areas that seem to be relatively unaffected.

After the visual inspection concludes, things will get a little more technical.

Instrumentation

Sometimes joints affected by imbalances will give off detectable distress signals. These signals include physical heat, which also indicates inflammation. Heat causes all sorts of things to be more mobile than if they were cool, which is why some athletes choose to heat trouble areas and tight muscle groups before their athletic performances.

The chiropractor will use a tool called a nervo-scope to detect these differences in heat. After they record the information they need to track, they will get to the point that is a little more hands-on.

Static palpation

Static palpitations help inform the chiropractor of any areas with excessive pain and swelling. Inflammation is easy to detect, and pain is easier to detect. Don’t worry, though! They won’t press too hard. This is just one more piece of the puzzle that they need to inform them how best to address your specific situation.

After they palpate your joints while you stay still, they will analyze how your joints react to certain movement patterns.

Motion palpation

Motion palpation allows chiropractors to test for impingement and imbalance– where joints have a difficult time doing their job and what factors are holding them back from doing that job. This may be the lengthiest portion of the assessment procedure, especially if you have a lot of problem areas in your body.

Once they analyze your body’s movement patterns, they will take x-ray images of your spine.

X-ray analysis

This step should be relatively confirmatory, but Gonstead practitioners have some unique tweaks to how they carry out the x-ray process. They take images of the spine in free and weight-bearing scenarios so that they complete the picture of how your joints articulate.

Why Gonstead is best practice

The Gonstead approach is a comprehensive chiropractic assessment. These professionals take the time they need to obtain a complete picture of the problem. Because of that, they will naturally find the best ways to address those problems and give their clients a thorough plan of treatment and recovery.

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