The Gonstead Technique

 Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead (1898-1978), known as the "miracle man", began practicing chiropractic in 1923 in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, a small farming community of 1,200 residents in south central Wisconsin. Dr. Gonstead's reputation spread throughout the state, the country and ultimately around the world, as a multitude of patient's health problems were corrected remarkably fast by his brand of chiropractic treatment. Hundreds of patients were seeking his care on a daily basis, and with his dedication to helping these patients, Dr. Gonstead worked from 8 a.m. to midnight six days a week plus every Sunday morning from 5 to 10 a.m. to be able to accommodate these growing patient numbers. When Dr. Gonstead's schedule was at the limit of his physical capability, he knew the only solution to meet the public's health needs on the scale the public was demanding, was to build an unparalleled chiropractic treatment facility and staff it with Gonstead trained associates.

A Unique Approach

His concept of adjusting the spine only if and when there is a fixation, has not been universally accepted. Gonstead stated in the 1940's, "Therein lies the uniqueness of my work - The Gonstead Technique has a specific application on the affected segment or segments only." His approach is often summarized by the phrase he coined, “Find the subluxation, accept it where you find it, correct it and leave it alone”. The common sense, evident in his work, is further summarized in another phrase that he often used: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Safety First (Above All, Do No Harm)

He taught that rotation or twisting of the spine during the chiropractic adjustment was harmful to the patient. Current Chiropractic research links twisting of the spine to accelerated degeneration of the disc, located between the spinal bones. The twisting motion associated with crude methods of "manipulating" the neck or cervical spine has also been implicated as the major factor in the rare incidence of stroke associated with chiropractic "treatment". This tragic occurrence, occasionally reported in scientific literature and in the media, has diverted attention away from the enormous benefits of properly administered chiropractic care. Using the Gonstead Technique, adjustment of the neck is done with a very specific maneuver that is completed with the patient seated. The neck is adjusted in this manner to eliminate the twisting or rotation aspect of the adjusting procedure. The Gonstead Technique is recognized throughout the global chiropractic community as one of the safest systems of evaluating and caring for conditions related to the spine.

Family First Chiropractic

Our Gonstead Doctors set the standard in Chiropractic for patient examination and care. Examination of the patient includes complete patient history, static palpation, motion palpation, instrumentation of the spinal column,and x-ray analysis. When all this information is combined, our trained Gonstead Doctors will immediately let you know if your health situation is a Chiropractic case. If it is not, a referral to the appropriate health provider will be given. If your case is a Chiropractic case, you can be certain that we will utilize the dynamics of the effectual Gonstead Specific Adjustment to get you back to optimal health as quickly as possible.

 Call us at 1-319-354-1744 to set up your initial consultation today!