My Chiropractic Adjusting Techniques

Click here for the video overview of the Pro-Adjuster mentioned in the video above.

I use several different chiropractic adjusting techniques, ranging from gentle low-force methods that use an instrument or positioning blocks, to the more traditional hands-on methods that usually produce joint pops and cracks.

Which method(s) I use depends on the nature of your overall health and the conditions you’re seeking help with, as well as your personal concerns and preferences.

Here’s an overview of the chiropractic techniques I most commonly use:

Diversified Manual Adjusting – This is the method that most people tend to think of in association with chiropractic.

Diversified actually has several different ways to perform an adjustment on each area of the spine and other joints, but they all involve moderately forceful thrusts using the hands and there’s typically the sensation and sound of joints popping or cracking when the adjustments are performed.

The sound, by the way, is due to a rapid change of gas pressure in the joints as restrictions in mobility and/or misalignments are corrected, much like the popping noise that occurs when you open a vacuum-packed can.

Since each level of the spine has multiple joints, it’s not unusual to get multiple pops out of a single adjustment.

Thompson / Drop Table Adjusting – This type of adjusting uses tension-loaded sections of the adjusting table that can be raised and will drop a short distance when the chiropractor administers a thrust with the hands on the area of joint dysfunction or misalignment.

The drop of the table section produces a “bump” from gravity that assists in correcting the joint being treated and often reduces the amount of thrusting force necessary for a successful correction.

This can make for a more comfortable adjustment for the patient and the noise of the drop piece tends to mask the popping/cracking noise heard with other manual adjusting techniques that some patients find disconcerting.

Pro-Adjuster Instrument Adjusting – The Pro-Adjuster is a computerized low-force spinal adjusting system.

Unlike most of the adjustments I do with the patient lying down, the Pro-Adjuster system uses a specially designed chair (much like a massage chair) and patients are adjusted in a more or less seated position with the head and arms resting on cushions in front of them.

The adjusting instrument contains a sensor that allows me to scan the patient’s spine for areas of restriction, and the scan results are displayed in real time on a computer screen.

I can then select the vertebrae to adjust and the amount of force to use and the computer sets a frequency of tapping by the treatment head based on the characteristics of the scan results.

The treatment is very low-force and is quite comfortable in most cases, except in situations when the patient is extremely sore or pain-sensitive.

Although it works extremely well for certain patients, it has been my experience that other adjusting methods are more effective in many cases – please don’t tell the Pro-Adjuster people I said that or they might come for me!

I typically use the Pro-Adjuster for what I call “The 2 F’s” – the fragile and the fearful, as well as for patients with past success being treated with it and who have requested it.

Click here for a video overview of the Pro-Adjuster.

Arthrostim Instrument Adjusting – Like the Pro-Adjuster, the Arthrostim provides a repeated tapping to gently restore motion and alignment to joints.

It is a stand-alone treatment instrument and does not have the diagnostic function and computer interface of the Pro-Adjuster, so it’s a simpler tool, but also a more versatile one in my opinion (again, Shh! Don’t tell the Pro-Adjuster people!).

Whereas the Pro-Adjuster is primarily designed for treatment of the spine, the Arthrostim is well-suited for treating spinal joints as well as joints in the arms and legs, the TMJ (joints of the jaw) and even cranial joints of the skull.

The Arthrostim is also useful for treating focal areas of muscle contraction. The flexible power cord allows for a wide variety of treatment angles, and the force of the thrusts automatically changes with the pressure I apply with the instrument.

It allows for a very low force of treatment when that’s needed, yet also packs a punch at the upper limits of its force output. It’s been a very useful tool for me in working with a wide variety of patients and conditions.

Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) – this is a low-force technique that uses wedges to position the patient and use gravity to gently realign the joints. Although there are methods within SOT for other areas, I primarily use it for repositioning joints in the pelvis and low back.

SOT is one of the methods I like to start with when someone comes in with severe low back pain and can’t tolerate much movement, let alone any forceful chiropractic adjustments. It works quite well in conjunction with the Arthrostim, as well as with Thompson Drop Table Adjusting.

There are a few other techniques I use now and then but the ones just discussed are the ones I use every day in the office.

In addition to these adjusting techniques, I typically also use various soft tissue release methods and/or energy medicine techniques, which are discussed separately here on the site.