GENTLE Structural Adjustments (DNFT) for Pain Relief
Do you put up with back or neck pain because you’re wary of traditional adjustment techniques that twist or pop the joints? If so, you’re not alone. Many people would rather endure chronic neck pain or suffer a constant twinge of back pain than submit to treatment that involves a forceful cracking of joints. If you have a sports injury or chronic pain, our treatments can help.
Dr. McDonald uses a gentle, non-force manual therapy known as DNFT (Directional Non-Force Technique) to adjust the body without force. Patients feel safe and free from worry about injury during his low-impact, but highly effective, treatments.
What is DNFT?
DNFT (Directional Non-Force Technique) is a pressure-based method for adjusting the joints of the body. There is no snapping or cracking of the neck or vertebrae. DNFT was developed by a chiropractor in the 1920’s, Dr. Richard VanRumpt, DC, and is an alternative to mainstream chiropractic methods.
DNFT was designed to avoid the typical twisting and popping of joints for of chiropractic structural manipulation. Pressure-based adjustments are made along the spine or joint with the doctor’s thumb, following an energetically-based leg-length check to determine misalignments. The technique has been documented to obtain lasting beneficial results with fewer doctor visits required.
Realign Your Health
Dr. McDonald is not a chiropractor, but has developed his own style of DNFT that he has found is more effective for your body’s pain relief. His DNFT adjustments address ‘layers’ of pain and injury held within the body from past injuries.
The benefits of structural alignment with adjustments can help you regain your health following a personal or sports injury, or an automobile accident. The musculoskeletal system can be out of alignment and cause muscle tension and pain in both joints and soft tissue. In severe cases of misalignment, organs can be affected and lead to ill health.
Says Dr. McDonald:
‘It’s like a tent with tent poles. If the poles (joints, ligaments, bone structure) have a hitch and are not properly set up, the whole tent (muscles, tendons) becomes lopsided and non-functional in some ways.’
Chronic misalignments begin in childhood and continue to accumulate over time. These patterns can lead to postural and spinal problems, pain, inflammation and muscle weakness. Gentle adjustments for preventative care, as well as a series of treatments for injury recovery, can rebalance the body, relieve pain and restore mobility.
What Can I Expect During Treatment?
During treatment, you are fully clothed on the treatment table. Dr. McDonald determines any misalignments (subluxations) of your spine and joints. He then adjusts your spine and other affected joints with a series of gentle presses and alignments along the affected area. No machines or devices are used.
You lie on both your stomach and on your back as Dr. McDonald makes adjustments. You will be asked to get down from the table periodically and take a few steps around the room to stabilize the adjustment. After a session Dr. McDonald will instruct you on aftercare — movements you should avoid for 24 hours, possible ice packs on the area and recommended remedies, both topical and internal.
What Happens After an Adjustment?
You may feel tenderness or mild fatigue the next day as your body adjusts to the new alignment pattern, but should note a marked improvement within a couple of days. A few follow-ups visits may be required to realign the layers of tissues involved in the condition and get you out of pain.
Weekly visits may be recommended for a severe injury, such as whiplash or back pain due to an auto accident. Preventative checks and treatment every 1-2 months can support your overall health goals, especially if you are an athlete prone to sports injury or someone working with a chronic pain condition, such as arthritis, back pain or migraine headaches.
Our Unique Adjustments
Did you know that often older layers of pain and injury are beneath current problems? Even after your body has compensated for an original injury and regained apparent full function, the area is actually weakened? The injury has destabilized bones, ligaments and soft tissue to the extent that re-injury can occur, even years later.
Dr. McDonald’s assessment and treatment methods address these past layers of injury, as well as the present complaints. In most cases, this approach to your injury can help you to get better faster and to stay pain free longer.
Dr. McDonald calls his own approach to DNFT ‘Sequential Layering Technique’. His method addresses multiple layers of pain and injury stored within the body during a single session. This enables the patient’s body to stabilize over time and be less vulnerable to re-injury. It also requires fewer follow-up doctor visits to regain functionality and reduce pain.
Dr. McDonald has developed a non-invasive structural manipulation technique with no traumatic snapping of the back and neck. In many cases, his gentle adjustment technique is more effective for natural pain relief than the more forceful methods you may have tried.
Patients Say…
‘I was suffering from a severe case of TMJ. I was so disheartened by other physician and acupuncture visits, until I had my first treatment with Dr. McDonald. He worked miracles on my body and especially my jaw. I was elated to improve after the first treatment. I’ve recommended many of my friends and family to him, who have also benefited from his care.’ Robin L.
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