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Technique and Analysis

By Cecil Laney, D.C.

Correcting Cervical Subluxations With A Torque-Specific InstrumentDr. B.J. Palmer, after a lifetime committed to chiropractic, concluded that a subluxation could only occur in the cervical area of the spine. If this honored profession accepts that concept, then it must search for the course of action that most efficiently corrects the cervical misalignment.

A revolutionary instrument now promises the upper cervical chiropractor a procedure whereby atlas subluxations can be cleared—consistently and reliably.

The procedure, developed by Dr. John F. Grostic, has proven to be the most effective method for cervical correction, and its efficacy has been documented with post X-rays. Dr. Grostic’s method consisted of establishing adjustment vectors, or paths through space, for all conceivable misalignments by calculating certain anatomical and misalignment factors.

If Palmer’s belief system is to be accepted, and if Grostic’s method is indeed superior, a logical question to ponder is: Why did the method and the focus on the cervical spine not dominate the chiropractic profession?

The great difficulty was that only a few doctors could master the necessary physical skills to send the correct force down the desired vector. The force had to be measured and rectilinear, and it had to incorporate an element called torque.

Because of this difficulty, the profession moved in the direction of least resistance toward procedures that most doctors could perform, such as Diversified, which did not require the analysis time and amount of physical effort necessary for Palmer and Grostic methods.

What is the solution? Since an accurate adjusting force is so difficult to achieve, and since the objective is to deliver force down a desired path, it can be argued that a precise instrument could be built to perform the task.

Indeed, many adjusting instruments have been developed over the years, with varying degrees of success. Separate organizations within the chiropractic profession now exist to teach and advocate various systems. It is clear that the most successful of these have been those who have remained close to the Grostic analysis and vector system.

I began researching instrument adjusting almost 50 years ago. This became my professional life’s work, and it continues to this day. In 1954, I began designing and building instruments. Several of them were handheld models, and later I developed table-mounted devices. At all times and with every instrument, I utilized the vector produced by the Grostic procedure.

One table-mounted instrument even included a rotating stylus, which could be turned either clockwise or counterclockwise. My research studies, conducted on thousands of misaligned patients, convinced me that a turning stylus had no effect on reducing a subluxation.

The Torque Factor Problem

Many techniques have utilized torque in their procedures, and over the years their proponents have made various claims about what they accomplish.

The stated purpose of “torque” in the Grostic procedure is to move the axis spinous process. There is so-called “inferior” and “superior” torque. Inferior torque is the term for moving the spinous away from the adjuster, or downward. Superior torque is moving the spinous toward the adjuster, or upward.

The Grostic hand torque does work. But how? Does the adjuster’s radius and ulnar crossing over one another cause the pisiform bone to spiral? What effect would this have on the movement of the spinous of axis?

I spent 10 years observing the adjustments of thousands of patients, and it became obvious that it was the element of more leverage that moved the spinous process of axis. In other words, more height moved the inferior spinouses, and less height moved the superior spinouses.

If this conclusion is to be accepted, the upper cervical chiropractor may ask, “Why not just add to or subtract from the height factor?”

This is exactly what orthospinology practitioners did with the handheld instrument—with great success. However, this modification did not completely solve the problem. The doctor is trying to move the axis spinous and lower cervicals by contacting the transverse process of atlas and therefore using the atlas as a lever. It is now recognized now that the stylus—the line of drive — cannot be set over 30 degrees without losing contact with the transverse process, since the patient’s skull blocks it.

It is unfortunate that many listings (the term used for the correction angles vector resulting from analyzing the pre-adjustment X-rays) require this extra leverage to move the spinous. Torque provides the extra leverage.

Therefore, the question remained: How does the hand torque create more leverage? A careful study of the problem revealed that if the torque were to work, it must be perfectly coordinated with the toggle and completed precisely simultaneously. The hand torque worked at the point when the torqueing stopped. It created a downward or upward increase in the leverage factor of the force.

The process created a rectilinear and angular force in one operation—in other words, a multi-vector force. This realization eluded the profession and stymied the creation of a truly effective adjusting instrument for decades.

Two noted practitioners, in particular, gave their insights on the cervical adjustment quandary.

According to Dr. Ralph R. Gregory, “Frequently, it is necessary to deliver both a linear and angular motion in the adjustment at the same time. The combination of directing a linear force with an angular force (torque) is required when the axis spinous has misaligned differently from the axis body and atlas.”(1)

Researcher Dr. John D. Grostic said, “In the Grostic procedure, the torque is used to correct the rotational misalignment between C1 and C2. It is not actually a torque, but rather a change in the line of correction at the very bottom of the thrust.”(2)

The Torque Factor Solution

These observations, combined with having a lack of success with developing a stylus-turning mechanism from the early prototype, led me to a breakthrough in my research. Looking back at decades of trials and failures and incremental steps forward, and revisiting the works cited, it seemed obvious the problem could be solved.

I built an instrument whose stylus moved in an angular vector at the end of the linear portion of the thrust. This momentous discovery was the solution, and corrections increased in effectiveness by an order of magnitude. I saw the best corrections I had ever seen—consistently and reliably—and, moreover, my patients held their corrections better for longer periods of time. It was a true breakthrough.

This vector was the true torque! It was not rotational spin, but angular movement that made it work.

The idea was easy to conceive, but it was difficult to translate into a production model. The movement toward marketplace instrument production ground to a stop for several years, until 1996. In that year, Dr. Sid E. Williams, president and founder of Life University, showed an interest in building an improved version of the table-mounted prototype.

This vote of confidence, not only in upper cervical work but also in instrument adjusting, invigorated my hopes and plans and those of my colleagues, who wanted to see the upper cervical method, and the instrument, more accepted throughout the profession.

I agreed to manage the process and assigned the university rights to the invention. After investigating various manufacturers, Spinalight, Inc., was chosen as the manufacturer. Several years of work then went into design and production, and a unit was delivered to Life University’s research department.

Months of testing followed, with Dr. Roger Hinson leading a project that involved adjusting hundreds of patients. He was particularly interested in using the instrument on problem cases that other methods had failed to clear. After a favorable report on its value and potential, the instrument went into production, and it is now marketed under the trade name, the Torque Specific Cervical Adjusting Instrument.

Spinalight built several more Torque instruments, which were placed in Life University’s classrooms and all of its clinics. The technique and the instrument are now being taught in its regular curriculum. Dr. Beth Amacher, a senior Life University instructor, reports that the students are adjusting one another and their patients with the instrument.

The Torque instrument is capable of sending a force, both linear and angular, down any vector that is obtained by detailed X-ray analysis. Aligned with the aid of a laser, it is capable of doing so with the accuracy of the perfectly executed hand thrust. Perhaps the most outstanding function this instrument offers is duplicating the functions accomplished by a perfectly executed hand torque.

The instrument has many capabilities, including:

The results now being shown, after hundreds of patients and thousands of hours of research, indicate a truly outstanding record. The Torque instrument is clearly a new standard in upper cervical corrections. In Figure 1, Dr. J.K. Humber Jr. demonstrates a correction procedure.

There continues to be discussion within the profession about how corrections can be quantified due to the uncertainty of what is “normal.” While asymmetries exist in every human, it has been observed for over 60 years that the closer the upper cervical spine is to the orthogonal position, the better the body remains balanced and the longer it can exist without neurological insult (see Figure 2).



There are some very skillful hand adjusters in the field, especially among the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) group. However, it is highly unlikely that many doctors can match the Torque adjustment because of the near superhuman skills needed to coordinate the toggle with the torque. Indeed, if the torque is attempted but it is not coordinated with perfection, the misalignment can be increased.

How many doctors will acquire the training and utilize the instrument to make better corrections? The instrument removes the difficult part, which is providing the adjustment, and the process is now achievable for anyone.

A person must be trained in the Grostic-based procedure to buy and use the instrument, and training is available through NUCCA, the Society of Orthospinology and Life University’s Life Cervical technique course.

The tragedy is that the billions of suffering people are not yet getting the benefit of this already developed procedure. That is our main concern.
Further information about the Torque instrument is available by calling Spinalight, Inc., at (800) 482-2537 or (770) 420-3333 or by visiting spinalight.com; or by calling Dynamic Essentials at (770) 422-8836.

About the author: Cecil Laney, D.C., a 1949 Palmer School of Chiropractic graduate, is a true pioneer in the profession, having endured arrest in 1958. He managed a private practice for 37 years, and upon his retirement, he began research into the development of cervical adjusting instruments. Inquiries should be addressed to him at 4950 Windwood Circle, Birmingham, AL 35242; or call (205) 991-5290.

References
1. Gregory, Ralph R., Chiropractic Economics, July/Aug 1981.
2. Grostic, John D. computer files.
By Cecil Laney, D.C.

© Copyright 2002 Today's Chiropractic

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