The Red Deer Chiropractor to see - Chiropractor Red Deer

Our Techniques

We use a number of highly-effective adjusting approaches to help improve spinal biomechanics and reduce nervous system interference. The approach we use is based on our judgment and years of experience.

The primary adjusting techniques we use include:

Diversified

After identifying which spinal bones have lost their normal motion or position, a specific manual thrust is administered to free up “stuck” joints... read more»

Gonstead

Named for its developer, we conduct a thorough evaluation using full spine X-rays and a heat-sensing instrument for accurate adjustments... read more»

Thompson

Thompson Terminal Point technique is a system of analysis and a special table that reduces the amount of energy needed to adjust your spine... read more»

Torque Release

With a gentle touch and a light thrusting by hand or an instrument called an Integrator, the connection between brain and body is enhanced… read more»

Upper Cervical Technique

Upper Cervical adjusting is a little-known chiropractic procedure that corrects the position of the top vertebrae of the spine, the atlas and/or axis. By correcting the tilt, shift or rotation of these vertebrae, the effects of many conditions can be minimized or eliminated all together....read more»

Cold Laser Therapy

The Erchonia cold laser device has gained recent FDA approval for the non-surgical treatment of neck and shoulder complaints and is being used widely in the NFL and by the USPS tour de France team chiropractor.read more»

If you’ve been to a chiropractor before and prefer to be adjusted in a particular way, let Dr. Norman Hoffman know. We want you to relax, enjoy and fully benefit from your chiropractic care.

Diversified Technique

At Reference Chiropractic, we use an adjusting style commonly referred to as “Diversified.”

First, an analysis of the spine is performed. This can initially involve a case history and X-ray pictures of the spine.

A special hand arrangement called a “pisiform contact” is used to deliver a specific thrust at the right place and the right time.

Subsequent visits may include motion palpation, with the chiropractor feeling the spinal joints move as you turn and bend. Or, a leg check may be performed, to uncover an imbalance in the neck or lower spine.

With the malposition of one or more spinal bones identified, a specific manual thrust is administered. The direction, speed, depth and angle that are used is the result of experience, practice and a thorough understanding of spinal mechanics.

The energy delivered during the thrust may produce a slight “popping” sound from shifting gas and fluids in the joint. This sound may be interesting, but has little meaning as to the value and effectiveness of the adjustment.

While improving spinal biomechanics can reduce nervous system interferences, virtually all joints of the body can be adjusted to help restore proper range of motion.

Gonstead Technique

Named after its developer, Clarence Gonstead, this approach came from his engineering background. His “foundation principle” explains how a subluxation pattern in one area of the spine can produce compensatory changes in another.

A Thorough Evaluation

The two probes detect minute differences in temperature up and down your spine.

After studying your health history, we conduct a complete examination. This generally includes full spine X-rays and precise analysis. Using a small heat-sensing instrument, subluxation patterns are revealed by slight differences in temperature. Finally, we use our fingertips to “palpate” or feel the location of individual bones and how they may differ from their normal position.

Full Spine Correction

With a complete picture of your spine it’s time to make the needed corrections.

To adjust your lower spine and pelvis, we’ll have you lie on your side. Subluxations in the middle back are corrected as you assume a comfortable kneeling position. When you are seated, we can restore the integrity of your spine without twisting or rotating your neck.

Sometimes you’ll hear a slight “popping” sound that we call cavitation.

Safe and Effective

The Gonstead Technique is acknowledged as one of the safest systems of evaluating and caring for the spine.

Thompson

The Thompson Technique, developed by Dr. J. Clay Thompson, has evolved into a system of analysis and a way of adjusting the full spine. The combination produces precise adjustments and high levels of patient comfort.

A System of Analysis

Early chiropractors noticed that subluxations would produce the appearance of a short, or contracted leg. Using a protocol of comparing leg lengths while the patient turned their head, helped determine whether the subluxation was in the upper, middle or lower back.

After gently lowering you to a prone position, individual drop pieces give way, reducing the amount of energy needed to adjust the spine.

Terminal Point Table

What patients often notice first is our segmental “drop” table. After stepping onto the platform, the table gently lowers you into a horizontal position. This helps preserve any leg length inequality.

Individual cushions or “drop pieces” located along the table surface, support each area of the spine until the thrust is given. Then, each drop-piece gently gives way, reducing the pressure needed to move a specific spinal segment.

Popular and Patented

So unique is this approach, Dr. Thompson was granted a patent in 1955. Since then, because of its precision and patient results, it is a technique used around the world.

Torque Release

Torque Release uses a gentle touch and light thrusting by hand or small, hand-held instrument called an Integrator. This low-force adjusting method allows the nervous system to better integrate and understand the new corrective information and to process it throughout the spinal cord and brain.

The hand-held instrument that delivers the energy is called an Integrator.

Imagine that your nervous system has a volume control. If the volume is too loud it causes distortion, with internal organ complaints, musculoskeletal stresses and diminished immune response. Too weak, and your body doesn’t receive critical messages, showing up as sluggishness, reduced performance and poor muscle support. Torque Release looks to correct these problems by normalizing the functioning of the nerves, spinal cord and brain.

After each adjustment, the body is given time to process the change. Correction continues with your body’s movements and breathing. This process teaches and empowers your body to make more corrections. Healing progresses with repeated visits.

The primary intent of Torque Release Technique is to reduce blockages and tension of the entire spinal system, to release trapped unresolved patterns in the body/mind and facilitate reintegration of the nervous system, allowing a greater expression of ones healing and performance capabilities.

UPPER CERVICAL TECHNIQUE

Upper Cervical adjusting is a little-known chiropractic procedure that corrects the position of the top vertebrae of the spine, the atlas and/or axis. By correcting the tilt, shift or rotation of these vertebrae, the effects of many conditions can be minimized or eliminated all together. When the atlas and/or axis are out of their proper position, the head moves off center of the body. This creates body imbalance from head to toe. The most serious result of an atlas and/or axis being out of position is the restriction or distortion of critical messages from the brain to ALL parts of the body.

The repositioning of the atlas vertebrae is done by hand or by instrument. There is no twisting of the neck. It simply restores body balance and brain-to-body communication so that organs, limbs and tissues can resume normal functioning. It is becoming increasingly clear that parents should have their children’s atlas’ examined as soon after birth as possible and have periodic atlas check ups throughout their lives. Countless problems could be avoided entirely. A rightly positioned atlas is so fundamental to good health that children to grandparents need to get their atlases examined now.

Cold Laser Therapy

The Erchonia cold laser device has gained recent FDA approval for the non-surgical treatment of neck and shoulder complaints and is being used widely in the NFL and by the USPS tour de France team chiropractor. The beneficial effects of the Erchonia laser are currently being researched by leading plastic surgeons for use in liposuction procedures.

When the body has an injury the cells are damaged and fail to function within normal parameters. Low level lasers penetrate deeply into the skin and work by restoring this abnormal cellular function. Physiologic effects include improved metabolism, circulation and tissue healing.

Laser therapy may be useful to you if you have any of the following:

• tendonitis
• frozen shoulder
• fractures
• post-operative wounds
• sprain-strains
• scar tissue
• autoimmune diseases
• chronic or acute pain
• wound healing
• arthritis
• migraines
• disc herniations
• minor nerve damage
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• heavy metal detoxification