At Vertical Chiropractic, we don’t offer temporary "fixes"—we provide structural solutions. Corrective care is the bridge between suffering from symptoms and achieving a state of high-performance health. While relief care masks the problem, Corrective Care addresses the root cause: the structural integrity of your spine and the efficiency of your nervous system.
The Engineering of the Spine
Your journey begins with objective data. Your initial postural spinal images allow us to visualize the exact deficiencies in your structural alignment. By correcting the structure of the spine through specific time and repetition, you don’t just find relief; you build a body that can sustain its results.
Lasting change is an investment in time. As your spine is adjusted and ultimately corrected, these improvements in posture become evident on your follow-up imaging. This "before and after" verification is an essential element of our practice, confirming that your spine is moving toward its healthy, natural design.
The Gonstead Standard: The Science of Specificity
Our doctors utilize the Gonstead Technique, recognized globally as the "Gold Standard" in hands-on spinal adjusting. For over 100 years, Gonstead has been the most accurate and effective approach to evaluating the spine, backed by the sciences of biology, physiology, physics, and geometry.
Because the spinal column is a dynamic structure affecting the entire body, we never guess. We utilize five specific criteria to analyze your nervous system:
-
Instrumentation: Digital thermal sensing to detect nerve interference.
-
Static Palpation: Locating swelling and tender areas in the tissue.
-
Motion Palpation: Determining the exact degree of "fixation" in a joint.
-
Visualization: Observing your posture and gait for subtle clues.
-
Spinal Imaging: The blueprint that reveals the underlying architecture.
Beyond the Adjustment: A Whole-Body Transformation
When we restore the structural integrity of the spine, the entire body begins to function as a coherent whole. Our patients don't just notice less pain; they experience increased energy, deeper sleep, and improved metabolic function.
There is a clinical logic to every decision we make. By adhering to the timeless principles of the Gonstead System, we ensure that results are not accidental—they are engineered. When you align your spine, you unlock the power of your nervous system, allowing you to move from survival to self-regulation.
Instrumentation
The Gonstead chiropractor uses a thermal detection instrument that discerns heat differentials along the spine consistent with inflammation and nerve pressure. The instrument obtains objective neurological evidence of vertebral subluxation and monitors the progress of patient care.
Motion and Static Palpation
When nerves are compressed and spinal joints malfunction, they produce swelling (edema) in the area; they “lock up” and surrounding muscles tighten. Your Gonstead chiropractor will feel for these areas on your back and neck using the fingertips and can feel which joints move improperly.
Visualization
Your Gonstead chiropractor visually looks for abnormalities in skin, muscle tone, posture, and gait to help locate misalignments of your spine. Visualization is crucial when considering all other criteria and making important decisions about your corrective care.
Spinal Imaging
Postural spinal x-rays allow for a “blueprint” of your spine, which is important in determining specifically how the involved spinal segments are to be adjusted. X-rays are also helpful in determining previous trauma, postural abnormalities, the approximate length of time spinal misalignments have been present, and guides the journey toward correction.
Specific Spine Adjustments
Your initial findings using the five criteria will let us confirm and show you if there are deficiencies in your spinal structure. By correcting the structure of the spine by hand only with time and repetition, patients achieve and sustain their results and likely rid themselves of other symptoms. Our doctors recognize that as your spine is adjusted and ultimately corrected, proper changes in posture will be evident on the X-ray. Before and after spinal imaging is an important element of confirming the success or furthering of our focused efforts to realign the spine toward a healthy, normal posture. If your case is accepted, we recommend an appropriate corrective program comprising a carefully planned series of Gonstead adjustments.
Specific Extremity Adjustments
Extremity adjusting, as taught by the late Dr. Mark Werking, is a technique based on Dr. Gonstead's work that we use to correct paravertebral joint fixations. We use the Gonstead criteria to analyze and correct extremity conditions. Specific adjustments are made to the extremities to bring about alignment, enhance joint function, and restore range of motion.