Bay Area Chiropractic

Chiropractic is not an alternative to medicine nor is it complementary to medicine. It is a separate and distinct science, art and philosophy of health and healing. Chiropractic is the largest natural healing art in the world. It is based on the premise that the body is a self healing organism and that the nervous system is the master control system of the body. Minor displacements of the spinal bones, known as vertebral subluxations, can cause endangering stress to the spinal cord which acts as the main line of intelligence for the whole body.

These displacements, or subluxations, are the cause of many of the unwanted health conditions that people suffer from every day. Although there have been many valuable techniques that have been developed in the chiropractic profession, the Gonstead System is considered a “gold standard” for chiropractic techniques because of its record of safety and effectiveness in correcting vertebral subluxation.

Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead

Who Was Dr. Gonstead?

In the early 1960’s word was spreading throughout the world that there was a healer in a small farming community in Wisconsin to whom people of all ages, and walks of life, were flocking. Who was this man and what was his method?

The man was Clarence S. Gonstead. He became a chiropractor in 1923 following a personal experience with chiropractic that had helped his body heal from a painful, crippling episode of rheumatoid arthritis. With a background in mechanical engineering, he would come to apply the principles of this discipline to the evaluation of the spine. As part of a life long study of the spine, he would often fly his private plane to Indianapolis to dissect, study, stain, photograph and then reconstruct cadaver spines at Lincoln Chiropractic College.

Based on his studies, he developed the “foundation principle” to explain how a fixation in one area of the spine created compensatory bio-mechanical changes and symptoms in another. He was a pioneer in the chiropractic profession, developing equipment and a method of analysis that used more than one criteria to verify the precise location of vertebral subluxation (A subluxation is a spinal bone that is fixated or “stuck” resulting in nerve pressure and interfering with the innate ability of the body to maintain health).

Safety First

It is also interesting to note that because of his detailed study of the spine, he taught that rotation or twisting of the spine during the chiropractic adjustment was harmful to the patient. Current Chiropractic, Osteopathic, and Medical literature links twisting of the spine to accelerated degeneration of the cushion pad, or 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 the popular press, has diverted attention away from the enormous benefits of properly administered chiropractic care.

One hallmark of the Gonstead Technique is adjustment of the neck 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. In the 1990’s, 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.

Dedication

There was much more to Dr Gonstead’s success than his innate ability to assist patients in the healing process. Dr. Gonstead was an exceptionally giving and caring man. His deep compassion, extensive knowledge of the spine, and uncanny ability to focus intensely on each patient, helped to build an international reputation that resulted in days when he would see over 200 patients. When asked what his secret was, he would say, “No secret, just lots of satisfied patients.” In 1964, he built the largest chiropractic clinic in the world. Located in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin (population 1,400), the Gonstead Clinic had a reception area seating over one hundred people that often times was filled to capacity. In order to house the patients and doctors who traveled the long distances to take advantage of his expertise, Dr. Gonstead built a full service motel next to the clinic. The Karakahl Inn, now a Best Western property, has a restaurant, pool and saunas to provide a relaxing atmosphere for patients under care.