Gonstead Chiropractic: Gonstead System & Method
Today, Chiropractors use different methods to correct joint dysfunctions, subluxation and spinal misalignments. Chiropractic methods and techniques are useful for a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders.
The concept of Gonstead Chiropractic starts with the fundamental biomechanical principle. We all know that every builder, engineer, carpenter, and architect knows the significance of proper foundation in building constructions to ensure its long life and durability. Similarly, Chiropractors are specifically aware of the body’s foundation, which is formed by the pelvic girdle.
The pelvic girdle is the bony structure, which consists of bones in the lower back and hip area. When the pelvic girdle is level, it will maximize stability and balance in the spinal column. In contrast, when any of the vertebrae or the pelvic girdle itself becomes rotated out or tilted out of their respective positions, the individual may feel some dramatic changes in his or her body.
As a result, there are misalignments, which can lead to extreme pressure on the discs separating the vertebrae. In many situations, the disc’s condition is the key to the health problem of the patient. A single accident or several minor episodes can cause cumulative effects, which leads to the misalignment of the vertebra.
Sometimes, the patient does not need any assistance to cope with such jolts to his spinal column. However, if the vertebrae are rotated out or tilted of their normal position, then the individual will need proper assistance of qualified health professionals such as Gonstead Chiropractors to deal with the problem effectively.
History of Gonstead Chiropractic Approach
Dr. Clarence Gonstead – Wisconsin a small town – built a whole new system that we call today as the Gonstead method of chiropractic care. Dr. Gonstead the most influential personality in the history of chiropractic care. The Gonstead method lives as a shining example today and is one of the best chiropractic techniques.
July 23, 1898, is the birth date of a brilliant health professional who revolutionized the world of chiropractic care. Gonstead grew up learning and practicing how to repair automobiles and tractors – which was interesting for him because later on, this foreshadowed his achievements in applying the principles of mechanical physics to the correction of the human spine.
When Gonstead was 19 years old, he contracted a crippling case of arthritis, which caused him to stay in bed for several weeks. Dr. J.B Olson who was a chiropractor treated his condition and after a few days, Gonstead was able to walk again. This was a dramatic and life-changing experience for him.
So, he got admission to Palmer College for Chiropractic and completed the degree in 1923. As he was working as an automotive engineer, the mechanical physics concepts and principles helped him to rethink his prevailing ideas regarding the mechanism of subluxation. The theory of B.J. Palmer, which focuses on the displacement of vertebrae causing infringement of the neural foramina, was the paradigm and standard in the chiropractic profession.
On the other hand, Dr. Gonstead did not agree with Palmer's ideas and challenged his theory through biomechanical principles. Gonstead introduced the Level Disc theory, which states that the subluxation started at the disc – an area where the inflammatory response caused nerve pressure from the damaged tissue – resulting in different neurological complications that are associated with subluxation.
Dr. Gonstead created a whole new method of correcting subluxation, which is centered on this biomechanical principle. The objective was to center the vertebrae on the disk in order to restore the optimal relationship. Dr. Gonstead likewise pioneered a number of inventions in this new system to maximize the effectiveness of the technique to detect and correct subluxations.
The development of NERVOSCOPE by Dr. Gonstead allowed chiropractic professionals to pinpoint the subluxation components objectively by measuring differences in the spine’s bilateral temperatures – and efficiently fixing the nerves at each level. Another important thing you need to know is that he designed a knee-chest table and cervical chair, which enabled chiropractic practitioners to achieve the necessary “lift” in the process of centering vertebra back on the disc.
The Basic Principle of Gonstead Chiropractic
The Gonstead Chiropractic technique goes beyond what many health professionals consider spinal assessments by conducting a systematic analysis of the spine using five essential principles to diagnose the occurrence of the vertebral subluxation complex.
With this proactive and comprehensive technique for correcting the spine, we – here at Corrective Chiropractic Clinic in the UK – find that the entire body can function much better as a whole.
We believe that there is a clinical logic and rationale for each decision made for each patient. Consequently, this allows our qualified Gonstead Chiropractic Professionals to ensure the principles defined by Dr. Clarence Gonstead will be carried out to achieve the desired results.
The 5 key components of the Gonstead System of Chiropractic
Visualization: This is one of the basic principles of the Gonstead Chiropractic Approach. Our professional chiropractors are experts in looking for any change in your movement and posture – indicating muscular-skeletal and neurological issues.
Instrumentation: When it comes to using the Gonstead Method, the basic choice for instrumentation is the “NERVOSCOPE,” which detects uneven distributions of heat on the spine that indicates nerve irritation and inflammation. NERVOSCOPE is guided down the length of the individual’s back and will feel like two fingers that are gliding down each side of the patient’s spine.
Static Palpation: This principle lays emphasis on palpating the patient’s spine is a static position. The Gonstead chiropractor feels the presence of edema, tenderness, swelling, and any other abnormal tightness or texture in the patient’s back muscles.
Motion Palpation: The Gonstead chiropractor moves and bends the spine at various angles, which enables the professional to identify the ease or difficulty in all segments of the patient’s spine and whether they are moving in different directions.
X-ray Analysis: The Gonstead chiropractor uses X-ray technology (where clinically required) to visualize the spine’s structure of the patient, which is useful in assessing any pathologies, recent fractures, vertebral misalignments, posture, and joint or disc integrity. This is also helpful for the chiropractor to determine whether any of these problems are contributing to the health condition of the patient. The substantiation of these findings may require the chiropractor to take full-spine x-rays in the standing or weight-bearing position.
The Subluxation Explained
The central nervous system (CNS) is the most important part of the nervous system, which consists of the brain and spinal cord. The nervous system is the only organ system in the body, which is completely protected by bone.
The nervous system of the individual is responsible for each and every function in his or her body. For instance, the day-to-day functions of the body, receiving and reacting to stimuli, and reactions to all major systems of the body such as reproductive health, digestive, immune, and cardiovascular systems, etc.
There are twenty-four moveable vertebrae in the spine, which have nerves on each side of the spine that transmits signals to each cell, tissue, muscle, and organ in the body. All these nerves work together to form a communication system – as they send important information from the nervous system (brain) to other parts of the body.
The nerves receive responses or feedback from organs and send them back to the brain. The whole process of this sending and receiving messages is faster than the speed of light.
The body of any person can undergo stress, traumas, and chemical irritation – they are so obvious throughout life, which can lead to the misalignment of the bones in the spinal area. This condition is known as the “Vertebral Subluxation Complex.” In simple words, it is called “Subluxations,” that may cause inflammation and irritation to the nervous system.
Subluxations or missalignments significantly impact the transmission of nerve impulses and alters the sending and receiving of vital information between the nervous system and other parts of the body.
The complexities in the nervous system can lead the individual to express subluxations in numerous ways. For instance, you may complain of fatigue, heavy menses, lower back pain, allergies, sleep disorders, hypertension, gastrointestinal issues, ear infections, infertility, etc.
All these symptoms or conditions refer to dysfunction in the brain or nervous system. Therefore, it is vital to understand that Gonstead chiropractors don’t treat these conditions or symptoms associated with them, but they work to remove nerve interference with specialized adjustments by working on the body’s natural physiology to restore the overall health of the patient. So, when your body is capable of communicating properly, it will heal itself – and this is the aim of a Gonstead chiropractor.
The objective of our Gonstead chiropractic practitioners is to restore your health quickly. We have a simple philosophy – i.e. “Find the problem,” “Fix the problem,” and “restore the health of the patient.” We work to get your spine and body in the appropriate state to heal itself.
Our objective is to help each and every patient achieve full health and total wellbeing – and we believe that you must not be dependent on the practitioner to live. This is why our chiropractic clinic has implemented the Gonstead technique and our practitioners use it.
There are various techniques or methods in chiropractic. However, the Gonstead method is not used widely because it requires a lot of dedication and patience to perfect. More interestingly, there is only one percent of graduated chiropractic professionals who commit themselves to the Gonstead technique.
Moreover, as Gonstead practitioners, our team is well-educated in this approach and case management system. With many years of training and experience, we carry out this technique to provide patients with the best health possible.
Likewise, our chiropractors attend Gonstead seminars and workshops where they discuss and go through different patient case studies, review new research, brush up on the strategies, and find new ways through an evidence-based approach. All this is to support and help perfect our Gonstead application of chiropractic treatment to our patients.
Gonstead Chiropractic Practice – Significance
Chiropractic care is best known for helping people who have chronic sciatica, neck, shoulder, back, or hip pain. Typically, the primary advantage of chiropractic care is related to joints and spine. However, when we explore the other potential benefits of this treatment, we can help with all kinds of discomfort and pain.
Gonstead Method promotes a complete patient evaluation. While adjustments can be great, if you don’t analyze the wide range of sources of the issues you have, it is likely that you will experience more recurring issues. It is important to tell you that Dr. Gonstead (the founder of Gonstead Chiropractic Care) was not really satisfied with the original chiropractic treatment.
Therefore, Dr. Gonstead looked thoroughly into the potential causes and solutions for health problems that his patients were suffering from. So, primarily, he decided to take a few steps in which the first one focused on a thorough analysis of the patient.
For instance, this consists of everything – from palpation to X-rays. So much so, with this scientific and evidence-based approach, Dr. Gonstead pushed chiropractic care to a whole new level and established a new branch of chiropractic technique – known today as “Gonstead Chiropractic.”
With a more detailed look into the potential causes and the actual body’ state, this technique or adjustments are super focus, measured and precise. A patient is given a safe, gentle, and corrective adjustment – personalized to his or her specific health issue. The personalization factor of this method makes Gonstead Chiropractic safe and reliable for everyone – from children to pregnant women to adults to the elderly.
Our Gonstead chiropractors carry out the corrective adjustments based on the patient’s individual needs promoting the body’s naturaly ability to restore and express health.
Health Benefits of Gonstead Chiropractic Treatment
In general, the Gonstead Chiropractic treatment allows your body to reach a more balanced and natural state. This allows all systems of the body to work together – and your body actually starts healing itself. Gonstead chiropractic techniques focus on restoring the structure of the body to its natural position. So, a proper body structure leads to proper function.
When the structure of your body becomes impaired because of injury, stress, or disease, it leads to improper and impaired functioning of the body. The degree of impaired function typically depends on a wide range of factors, which include the root cause, how long its been there, the condition of your nervous system, and the condition of the structure.
Gonstead chiropractic is a wonderfull addition to your wellness regime as its purpose is is to remove the bariers that stop your body from expressing health.
The Benefits of Using Gonstead Chiropractic
Benefits to the Body
Gonstead chiropractors promote physical health and help manage pain, inflammation, irritation, etc. to encourage healing of a variety of different injuries. So, a patient who receives regular Gonstead care may enjoy improved mobility and decreased pain in the body. Misalignments in the spinal area may lead to maladjustments in other parts of the body – causing a variety of symptoms such as pain, inflammation, etc. and even decreased organ function.
When your body part is injured – for instance, your ankle, your body will attempt to compensate. It may cause your spine to curve or pelvis to tilt. As a result, you will experience pain in lower back, knees, and hips.
Gonstead Chiropractic technique addresses such issues significantly and seeks out the root cause of the issue to restore the balance of the body. This type of treatment viable, may also be effective for joint pain, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, sprains, tendonitis, and headaches.
Benefits to the Mind
If your brain has imbalances such as stress, depression, and anxiety, then you need to know that these conditions are destructive and debilitating. At the same time, mental stress can exacerbate immobility and pain in the body. Most often, these conditions occur when there are imbalances of some kind – typically within the brain.
When your body is out of proper alignment, it can cause problems in the transmission of vital messages between the nervous system and other parts of your body. So, misalignments can block CNS signals leading to imbalances in the brain.
Around 70ish % of the brain is occupied with movement and posture. If you can get that part In the best shape possible it frees up some extra capacity in the brain to do other things like repairs and its easier to maintain a more balanced state.
Spinal pain and misalignments also put mechanical and neurological stress on your body which may adversely impact your mental health.
We address neurological imbalances by aligning the physical body and restoring nerve flow. The aim is to promote whole body health and vitality through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes. When your body is in proper alignment, you have a healthier mind and body.
Gonstead Chiropractic Adjustments – Corrective Chiropractic
Corrective Chiropractic in Aylesbury delivers the Gonstead method as all three practitioners are Gonstead Chiropractors. To experience Gonstead first hand you can book your first visit for a full Gonstead Chiropractic Assessment at our Aylesbury clinic on the following days Monday to Friday between 8am to 8pm (except bank holidays).
To make your booking call us on tel: 01296 488288 or email us using our contact form
We look forward to seeing you at the clinic.