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Diversified, Activator, Gonstead, Drop-Table, Sacro Occipital. What are they, what do they do, and how do they benefit patients? In this post, we look at 8 chiropractic techniques. We explain their benefits (in simple language!), tell you why they’re used, and discuss chiropractic techniques in general.
Chiropractic techniques are methods chiropractors use to assess, diagnose, and address musculoskeletal issues. Some techniques are manual. The chiropractor uses their hands to perform adjustments. Other techniques use special instruments or equipment to make adjustments.
However, all chiropractic techniques – manual or otherwise – are drug-free and non-invasive.
Some methods rely on advanced technological tools to assess patients. Others use joint manipulation assessment techniques. Many use a combination of both.
Chiropractors often use several techniques in their practice. This is because what suits one patient may not suit the next one. Using different techniques lets them develop custom treatment programmes.
New chiropractic techniques ‘come about’ when practitioners modify treatment or assessment methods to suit patient needs or to achieve better results.
Techniques provide the treatment tools and procedures chiropractors need to assess and adjust spinal misalignments. Whilst stretching exercises, diet, lifestyle modifications etc, are often used alongside techniques, their role is to support and complement the techniques, not take their place.
In other words, although most chiropractors use a range of supportive therapies as part of their holistic approach to musculoskeletal health care, techniques are always the ‘backbone’ of their treatment protocols.
There are some 200+ chiropractic techniques used today. Many are variations upon a theme. The underlying technique is common but has been modified to suit a patient’s need or a chiropractor’s preferred modus operandi.
With that in mind, here are 8 of the most common chiropractic techniques:
Chiropractors use the Diversified Technique for a wide (diverse) range of chiropractic conditions. It adapts well to suit individual patients and treatment programmes. For this reason, it is a pillar of chiropractic technique and is widely taught and used.
Diversified is also a manual technique. Chiropractors deliver quick, precise manual thrusts to adjust specific spinal joints. The aim is to restore correct alignment and function to the spine and surrounding tissues.
The Activator Method uses a handheld adjustment tool – the Activator Adjusting Instrument. It has a spring-loaded mechanism that delivers adjustable, controlled, very precise, targeted, and reproducible adjustments. These help provide consistent, reliable treatment results.
The Instrument itself is the creation of Dr. Arlan W. Fuhr. He invented it to deliver gentle, precise adjustments in cases where manual manipulation didn’t suit.
This is a diagnostic process rather than a standalone technique. Chiropractors use it to assess joint mobility and detect abnormalities in movement. The information provided then helps guide treatment decisions and technique choices.
The Gonstead Adjustment relies heavily on diagnostic technology, largely because its founder, Dr Clarence Gonstead, was a mechanical engineer before he switched to chiropractics.
In particular, Gonstead’s engineering training allowed him to hone in on the biomechanical aspects of the musculoskeletal system. He also understood how to use technology for diagnostic accuracy. These 2 attributes naturally gravitated him towards applying scientific principles to his chiropractic techniques.
This turned out to be an important development for chiropractics. Gonstead’s scientific and orderly targeted approach helped change the perception of chiropractic.
It moved from ‘dodgy, back street hocus pocus’ to a mainstream healthcare profession based on sound principles and reputable methodologies.
Today, the Gonstead Adjustment technique still focuses on the use of diagnostic technology to identify precise misaligned joints in the spine. Chiropractors can then target those joints to deliver highly accurate, specific adjustments.
The Sacro Occipital Technique or SOT concentrates on restoring functionality to the pelvis (sacrum) / spine / head (occiput bone) relationship. It is classified as a gentle technique with a focus on patient comfort.
SOT operates on the principle that these structures interact and influence each other’s function and position. So – if one is out of alignment, it affects how the other 2 functions. This in turn affects how the nerves and muscles around these structures function.
SOT practitioners place blocks or wedges under the patient’s pelvis. They then apply pressure to specific points, allowing body weight to help correct misalignments.
Advanced Biostructural Correction™ (ABC™) focuses on both the misalignment AND what may be causing it. Usually, this cause is lifestyle habits, posture, or movement patterns that stress the pelvis and spine.
ABC™ practitioners perform specific adjustments designed to ease the misalignment alongside recommending exercise and lifestyle changes to tackle its cause.
This technique uses a special treatment table with moving sections. These can lift or drop under the patient’s spine.
When the chiropractor applies a quick, controlled thrust to the patient’s spine, the underlying section of the table drops away. The gravitational momentum this creates results in a gentle yet effective adjustment. The technique also causes minimal discomfort for the patient.
The table gets its name from its inventor, Dr Clay Thompson, and is now a very common piece of chiropractic equipment.
Flexion-distraction is used to treat conditions like disc herniation, sciatica, and spinal stenosis. It uses a special table with moveable sections that apply gentle rhythmic traction and flexion forces to the patient’s spine.
The aim of the technique is to decompress spinal discs. This helps reduce pressure on spinal nerves and improve mobility in those sections of the spine. The technique is gentle and provides relief from lower back pain, sciatica, and similar conditions.
Chiropractic techniques are constantly adapted to suit patient needs. For example, Diversified’s manual adjustments don’t suit some patients. The Activator Instrument may not be strong enough to help another patient. And so on…
Other factors that can cause practitioners to adapt proven techniques, or develop new ones, include:
Although there are a ‘few’ more than 8 chiropractic techniques, the 8 we’ve discussed here are some of the most used and taught.
Techniques like Diversified for example are foundation techniques. They provide the basis for many of the other techniques that have developed. Others, like the Activator Method, introduced instrument use into chiropractic treatment regimes.
Ultimately, however, the goal of any chiropractic technique is the drug-free, non-invasive alleviation of pain and discomfort associated with spinal misalignments. By correcting these, and addressing the root causes of the misalignment, the body can self-heal.
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