By Drs. Terence and Alan Brady
As a student at Palmer School of Chiropractic, Clay Thompson’s engineering background helped him see needed changes in the adjusting tables of the time. Some of his experience at Palmer School led to the development of the drop table. In those days, students adjusted their patients on a stage in the auditorium in front of their peers. In preparation for that first adjustment, the student clinicians practiced their Toggle recoil on the stools meant for the patients to sit on while waiting in line. Clay felt he had a very good recoil because he could really make the stool “jump” when he delivered his thrust.
When Clay delivered his first adjustment, he was shocked to feel how much force was referred back to him. He knew there had to be a better way. After much thought, Clay remembered something one of his instructors had done when adjusting babies. The doctor placed the baby on the mothers’ lap and asked her to raise her heels slightly off the floor. As the doctor gave the adjustive thrust, the heels struck the floor and came to a sudden stop. Clay thought this was very clever and filed the image in the back of his mind.
At that time, students were allowed to practice out of their homes and Clay started a practice in his basement. He bought an old table from a graduating student and began getting great results. The headpiece on this table was broken and it gave way when a thrust was delivered causing it to “drop” slightly. Not much thought was given to this until he bought a new table with a headpiece that did not “drop”. The patients complained about the new table and Clay realized he had achieved better results with the old table and the patients were more comfortable. He began to wonder if the loose headpiece had anything to do with it. Soon after, the idea of the “drop headpiece” was born and developed.
Chiropractors of today may not realize how important the Thompson drop tables are in the history of chiropractic equipment. The first adjusting table was the D.D. Palmer flat one-piece table. Following that came the two-piece divided table, the spring lift table, the hydraulic lift table, the knee chest table, and finally the side posture table.
The drop mechanism is based on Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states: “A body is in equilibrium if no force is acting upon it. If it is at rest, it remains so; if in motion, it persists in motion, unless an opposing force is met.” Newton’s First Law is the basis for the low force, high velocity adjustment that is safer for the patient and easier on the doctor. Many chiropractors attribute their long careers to their use of this table. It is invaluable to women doctors, any doctor of smaller stature, doctors with injuries or physical disabilities or anyone that does not want to be exhausted at the end of a day.
Dr. Thompson also developed an adjusting technique to be used on the table. J. Clay Thompson Technique uses leg check analysis to locate vertebral subluxations. The leg check analysis is systematic and straightforward, and any doctor can learn and use it. The analysis and adjusting procedures developed by Dr. Thompson give the doctor’s confidence in their ability to locate and correct subluxations. The Thompson Table is also versatile, as it can be adapted to compliment many other techniques such as Logan Basic, Diversified, Toggle Recoil, Gonstead and SOT. The table is extremely effective with extremity adjusting.
The basic Thompson Analysis and Adjusting Technique is known for its five categories. These identify whether the primary problem is in the cervical or the lumbo-sacral region. The categories also tell the doctor the order in which each adjustment will be rendered. The categories are: 1. Cervical Syndrome; 2. Positive Derefield; 3. Negative Derefield; 4. Bilateral Cervical Syndrome; 5. X-Derefield.
The Thompson Table was designed to accommodate the doctor and allow for easy transition between the analysis and the adjustment phases of treatment. All leg checks are done in the prone position, and most adjustments are done prone, thus making it easier on the patient and the doctor. What was exciting as a young graduating doctor 30 years ago was the fact that the analysis gave a system to follow, which identified the subluxations and the order in which to adjust them. It indicated which end to adjust first, thus eliminating a good deal of stress. Using the Thompson Table reduces the physical strain on the doctor, thereby eliminating the need to struggle with especially large patients in a side posture position on the pelvic bench and straining the shoulders while performing side posture adjustments.
Analyzing and adjusting a patient on the Thompson Table is like turning pages in a book. As each subluxation is identified and corrected, like turning a page, it reveals something different, another subluxation in a different part of the spine. When this is corrected, it reveals another and so on. This is what is meant when we say it reduces the stress of practice, both physical and mental.
The Thompson Table is also used for upper cervical, Toggle Recoil adjusting. The drop headpiece with its built-in forward motion component allows for a very comfortable Toggle Recoil adjustment.
Analysis for the upper cervical listings is done in either the prone or sitting position using leg check, static and motion palpation findings. X-ray analysis and instrumentation are also used to determine the level of subluxation. If upper cervical toggle recoil is to be the preferred method of adjusting, all available resources should be used to determine the precise listing so as to maximize correction. The toggle is a very important method of adjusting the subluxation to increase the ability to heal. The Thompson Forward Motion headpiece is a very effective way to deliver that adjustive thrust.
Extremity adjusting, including ribs, TMJ, clavicle and most joints of the body is sometimes hard and painful on the patient and physically stressful on the doctor. The drop mechanisms on the Thompson Table allow the treating doctor to manipulate most of the joints of the body with much less physical work. The doctor will analyze the misalignment or dysfunction, using X-ray, orthopedic and chiropractic testing, and will determine the line of correction based on the analysis. Adjusting the extremity has been made easier on the patient and the doctor by the introduction of the drop table.
Terence G. Brady, D.C., is a chiropractor in Los Angeles, Calif., and Alan C. Brady, D.C., practices in Victoria, Australia.