It's easy to assume chiropractic adjustments are fairly interchangeable — a version of "getting your back cracked" that looks similar from patient to patient. In Gonstead technique, that's not really how it works, by design.
Every adjustment starts with that day's exam: visualization, Nervoscope instrumentation, static and motion palpation, and X-ray analysis when indicated. The findings determine which segment is involved, which direction it has shifted, and how the correction should be delivered. Two patients with the same complaint — low back pain, say — can have completely different findings and, as a result, completely different adjustments.
The same is true for one patient over time. A segment that needed correction at your first visit may test differently at your fifth, either because it has stabilized or because a different area has become more relevant. That's the point of re-examining at every visit rather than repeating a set adjustment on a schedule.
This individualized approach takes more time than a template-based visit, and it means your care isn't identical to the person who was in the room before you — even if you're being treated for something that sounds the same on paper.
Read more: the Gonstead exam process, meet Dr. Will Bartlett.
Frequently asked questions
Will I get the same adjustment every time I come in?
Not necessarily. Your adjustment is based on that visit's exam findings, which can change as your spine responds to care.
Why might two people with back pain get different adjustments?
Because the underlying exam findings — which segment, which direction, how severe — are specific to each person, even when the symptom sounds similar.
Does this mean visits take longer?
Follow-up visits generally take less time than the initial 60-minute exam, but still include a targeted re-exam before any adjustment.
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