Are hands alone good enough?

For over 100 years, chiropractors have been using their hands to adjust the spines of their patients. At the beginning of chiropractic, mechanical devices had yet to be invented. Therefore, by definition, a finely trained chiropractor can certainly perform any needed adjustments without a device. That mean that the devices are bad? Absolutely not, though they are certainly the topic of much debate inside the profession. Take a look at this video.

Few things can spark a debate quicker among chiropractors the value and merits of mechanical devices versus treatment by hand. In chiropractic school, all students of chiropractic are taught to use their hands to make spinal adjustments. That part it is a given. As technology advances, there will always be new gadgets that come into the marketplace with the promise of doing a better, quicker or easier job of this or that type of treatment. Rest assured that your chiropractor, through continuing education, stay on top of the best methods to care for your spine. At the end of the day, that’s all you really care about and all that really matters.

Transcript of video

Gonstead Family Chiropractic

Dr. Todd Pickman

Hi, Dr. Todd Pickman here and patients sometimes ask me why sometimes we do adjustments by hand and sometimes we use instruments? What is the difference?

What a great question. The word Chiropractic is defined as “to be done by hand.” Therefore, any treatment of the spine not done by hand is, by its own definition, not Chiropractic. However, some doctors have chosen to use hand held mechanical devices to treat the spine. They believe that instruments can be more precise and less traumatic and at the end of the day, that’s a personal preference. While I acknowledge that some chiropractors are more “rough” with their techniques than others, a finely trained doctor can do a fantastic job with just their hands. Personally, I carefully adjust the spine by hand because I feel it is the best way to help a patient feel great and that’s why I’m here. Manual adjustments are precise, safe and very beneficial and hand held instruments are in essence just an extension of the hands. Both methods are designed to help you feel great.