OUR APPROACH
In the Chiropractic profession there are many different techniques. Some chiropractors adjust and use manipulation with their hands only, while others use various instruments and soft tissue techniques.
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Some chiropractors treat using quick but firm manipulation, while others have a lighter touch.
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There are different techniques to suit the needs of individual patients. Some prefer the immediate feeling of pain relief offered by the sound and feeling of an adjusted joint which makes a popping sound, while others cringe at the mere thought and prefer a gentler approach using low force/ softer techniques.
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In short, chiropractic care is driven by the individual preferences of both the chiropractor and the patient.
In our clinics we use several different techniques. Here are examples of just two of them:
The Gonstead System
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The Gonstead System of Chiropractic established in 1923 by Dr Clarence Gonstead.
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It represents arguably the ultimate standard in “hands on” spinal adjusting.
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A Gonstead Chiropractor typically attends many hours of training in addition to his/her 5 year Chiropractic degree and will usually intern for a further year at an established Gonstead practice before entering into practice.
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Dr Gonstead used his background as a mechanical engineer to develop a specific, thorough, definite approach of analysis to every segment of the spine. This includes instrumentation, digital palpation, motion palpation, visualization and x-ray analysis.
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The Gonstead system is also a structural and very specific approach to correction of spinal and extremity problems.
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The Gonstead adjustment is given with care and specificity; only the problem areas of the spine are adjusted.
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These adjustments help return the spinal joints to their proper position and motion resulting in proper nerve functioning and improved health.
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Gonstead adjustments are incredibly safe. Our patients range from young infants and children to the old aged, pregnant women, celebrities and professional sports people . The specificity used in the Gonstead system allows for the greatest possible effectiveness and safety.
​Gonstead History
Doctor Gonstead was born in 1898.
He initially studied as and became a successful mechanical engineer. Gonstead first turned to chiropractic when he started to suffer from a crippling form of rheumatoid arthritis in his hands.
He saw a miraculous change in his rheumatoid arthritis for and decided that chiropractic was to be his future.
He enrolled and attended and finally graduated from the worlds first Chiropractic college….Palmer Chiropractic College in 1923 and started in practice the that year.
Dr Gonstead applied his knowledge of mechanical engineering to the human body. He saw the human body as a complex, intricate marvel and applied the same principals to the spine from his mechanical enginering knowledge.
As part of his lifelong fascination with the human spine he flew Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis and spent many hours examining cadavers (bodies left to scientific research).
From his findings and studies Gonstead developed a completely new system of analysis and correction based around what he called the foundation principle. This Principle was that the human pelvis was akin to the foundations of a bulding.
He thought that if the foundations (pelvis or spinal vertebrae) where uneven or misaligned then all structures above it would be affected.
Dr Gonstead also wanted to be able to visualize what was happening with the spine instead of just attempting to palpate with his hands as so many other chiropractors were doing, and so was the first doctor to take full spine and pelvic x-rays of each individual patients. This gave Gonstead the ability to see exactly which way the pelvis and vertebrae were misaligned as well as the curves of the spine and any degeneration that may have occurred.
And so Dr Gonstead set up his first clinic in 1923 in the small farming town of Mt Horeb in the state of Wisconsin, United States.
With a population of only 1200 people, Dr Gonstead's reputation started to spread throughout the state, country and the world as he was able to help so many people with many different conditions.
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As Dr Gonsteads success and reputation grew so did his patrient numbers and size of practice.
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As the demand to see Dr Gonstead grew he had to change clinics twice with his final clinic being completed in 1964.
Gonstead's first clinic in the small farming community of Mt Horeb, Wisconsin, USA
Gonstead's final clinic in Mt Horeb, at the front is the clinic with the 78 room motel situated behind.
The clinic was to become the most famous chiropractic clinic in the world.
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It was the most advanced clinic of its time and the largest chiropractic clinic ever built. The most amazing thing about the clinic was that patients came from a total of 22 different states and many different countries.
He would be able to see up to 800 patients in a typical week. In order to accommodate these patients Gonstead built a 78 room motel at his clinic, as the town of Mt Horeb only had a few small motels.
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And so other chiropractors in the United States and other parts of the world wanted to know exactly what this man was doing to his patients.
How could this man who lived in a town of 1200 people see 800 patients a week, why were there people who lived minutes away from a local chiropractor prepared to travel hours and days to see this man?
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The result was the creation of the Seminar institute that Dr Gonstead built in order to teach his famous and unrivaled system to other Chiropractors.
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This seminar is the longest running seminar in chiropractic, and is still going strong today. Doctor Gonstead soon got the name 'The Miracle man', given to him by patients and by his fellow chiropractors.
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Dr Gonstead stopped practicing in 1974 and handed his clinic, his teaching, technique and the Gonstead seminar of chiropractic to Doctors Alex and Doug Cox, his first two associates, who are still practicing in the clinic today and teaching on the seminar.
Why we Choose the Gonstead System of Chiropractic?
The Gonstead system uses the exact same principles of spinal analysis including full spinal x-rays, digital palpation, motion palpation and thermography as Dr Gonstead used on all his patients in collaboration with the very latest in chiropractic research.
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The Gonstead Chiropractor goes far further than just focusing all their attention on the spine. What many people believed made Doctor Gonstead so successful was his patient management, and his ability to look at the patient holistically.
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The Gonstead system thus looks at all aspects of the patient's health analysing areas such as diet, stress, lifestyle and sleep.