Do you know why your migraine subsides following a visit to the chiropractor? Or why your mood feels lighter and the brain fog dissipates after hearing a few pops with treatment? How about why your baby sleeps through the night after an adjustment? There is science and a long history of how and why chiropractic works. In regards to the title of this blog, you may be more familiar with the term adjustment (which we prefer) but when we say spinal manipulation or adjustments - we’re referring to the same thing here. Many sources use the terms interchangeably so we want to inform you on what spinal manipulation means.
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is when a chiropractor - since you wouldn’t let anyone else adjust you :) - uses a combination of techniques to correct spinal misalignments. Together, they restore motion to joints, reduce inflammation of muscles and soft tissues, and most importantly relieve pressure on nerves improving function throughout the body. Many people experience relief from their head, neck, and shoulders, to their back, but a chiropractic adjustment improves much more throughout the body that people can’t feel. They just know they are feeling better - which is one of Dr. Rob’s goals for chiropractic patients in Traverse City. However, it’s important to remember that our health is much more about how we function than how we feel! We can feel great and have problems brewing, but we’ll save this info for a future blog post. It’s always Dr. Rob’s mission to not only have you feeling great but functioning great as well!
Types of Chiropractic Manipulations (Adjusting Techniques)
There are over 100 different types of chiropractic adjustments used around the world today and with many chiropractors in Traverse City you will find that not all offer the same level of care. So which ones does Dr. Rob use? He primarily uses the seven chiropractic techniques listed below, which encompass many different adjustments. The techniques he uses for each patient depends on what a patient is experiencing, the type of misalignment, as well as their preferences. Some techniques feel more gentle than others, some lead to hearing a popping or cracking sound, and others are so subtle that you may not think anything changed at first.
Diversified: Most common method of making a chiropractic adjustment that involves standing or sitting while thrusting and shifting misaligned vertebrae. This brings joints back into a full range of motion amongst other benefits. Dr. Rob uses this type of adjustment to increase mobility, such as when he adjusts your neck and you can suddenly turn your head further to one side.
Gonstead Technique: This method encompasses many things, several of which you probably don’t realize Dr. Rob is doing, including static palpation (feeling your spine for swelling, tenderness or anything abnormal), motion palpation (feeling the spine while it’s moving at different angles), and visualization (looking for subtle changes in your skin, ability to move and posture).
Thompson Drop: The table that Dr. Rob uses is a drop table with a weighing mechanism that provides tension to hold a patient up before an adjustment is performed. The action of dropping with an abrupt stop allows him to use momentum and gravity to move the bone without using much force.
Webster Technique: When an expectant mother comes in for an adjustment, Dr. Rob performs adjustments using this technique to balance the pelvic bones, muscles and ligaments. This has been used to indirectly influence babies in the breech position to turn head down for optimal fetal positioning and it also helps minimize those pesky ligament pains common in pregnancy. With how much an expectant mother’s body changes to accommodate the growing baby, it’s common for pregnant patients to visit Dr. Rob for a chiropractic adjustment in Traverse City, especially in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters when the body is under the most stress.
Activator Method: Dr. Rob commonly calls the noise the Activator Adjusting Instrument makes a “pop” or “click” and it’s often used to check his youngest patients for “popcorn”. He calls it popcorn for good reason since the sound the bones make when adjusted in combination with the activator sounds like popcorn popping. This resonates with his youngest patients and will bring a smile on your child’s face. The tool helps restore motion to the spinal vertebra or joint using gentle impulse forces without any twisting or hands on pressure. Dr. Rob uses this on the youngest to the oldest patients to release tension, headaches, neck pain, back pain, and shoulder pain. Even seeing his youngest patients improve with conditions like colic, nursing troubles, and ear infections to name a few benefits!
Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT): This technique is multi-step, which starts with analyzing the spine in three different positions, including vertical, lying face down, and lying face up. While performing this technique, Dr. Rob analyzes how the body’s alignment affects the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and the nerve health and makes adjustments that improve the flow. This may include palpating the skull and at the same time removing blockage by “pumping” vertebrae or by placing wedge shaped blocks under the hips. Dr. Rob uses the Sacro Occipital Technique to relieve migraines, chronic headaches, dizziness, lower back disc problems and many other conditions.
Toggle Recoil (upper cervical technique): This technique allows Dr. Rob to adjust only the 1st or 2nd bone in the neck without having to twist or “crack”. When performing this adjustment, Dr. Rob will ask you to lay on your side and position your head on the cervical (neck) drop piece to provide the adjustment by applying a quick and gentle adjustment.
How Did Chiropractic Get Its Start?
The chiropractic techniques explained above are the result of numerous developers in chiropractic and resulted from years of study, practice and modifications. However, it all started in Davenport, Iowa in 1895 with patient William Harvey Lillard and Physician Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer (who later founded the Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where Dr. Rob obtained his credentials). Lillard was an African-American janitor who worked in the same building where Palmer’s office was located. One day, Lillard shared his story of how he developed a hearing loss. As the story goes, 17 years prior, Lillard bent over and heard something pop in his spine, which caused a loss of hearing. Considering this information, Palmer evaluated Lillard’s spine and performed adjustments that lead to Lillard’s hearing being completely restored after 17 years of being hard of hearing. This miraculous change led Dr. Palmer to commit the rest of his career and life to further studying the cause and effect of spinal adjustments on overall health and Chiropractic was born!
Since then, there have been many different techniques developed. Chiropractic schools today teach numerous techniques that are backed by science and results. Other influential doctors of chiropractic include:
B.J. Palmer (D.D. Palmer’s son who expanded Palmer School of Chiropractic) - Developed the Toggle Recoil Technique
Clarence Gonstead - Developed the Gonstead Technique (Practiced from 1930’s - 1970’s)
Joe Janse, D.C - Developed the Diversified Technique (Practiced from 1930’s - 1980’s)
Dr. Clay Thompson - Developed the Thompson Drop Technique in the 1950’s
Dr. Larry Webster - Developed the Webster Technique in the 1970’s
Arlan Fuhr - Developed the Activator Method and device in the 1970’s
Major Bertrand DeJarnette - Developed the Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT) (Practiced from 1920’s - 1990)
There are many other doctors and individuals who have made contributions that have lead to advancements in chiropractic and many who continue to do so, all of us at Grand Traverse Family Chiropractic couldn’t be more grateful for what they do and have done for this amazing profession!
For more information about Grand Traverse Family Chiropractic and the chiropractic techniques used, connect with Dr. Rob on the web at www.grandtraversefamilychiro.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/grandtraversefamilychiro & www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009026113759.