The Connection
Palmer Gonstead Club
Newsletter
Volume 1 Issue 8 September 2005 Club News Last Month in Review The month of September brought its ups and downs to the Gonstead Club. As many students were preoccupied by the National Board Examination, club attendance was somewhat hurt the first two weeks. Although we totally understand our member�s worries, we were frustrated to notice that, unlike Mark Twain, they �let their schooling get in the way of their education� ?. Things came back to normal nevertheless, and we were able to get back to what is really important: Specific Chiropractic! Two key events were on our schedule in September: Dr. Kurt VerHelst from Ames, IA and the Gonstead Seminar�s Annual Homecoming in Mt Horeb, WI. Dr. VerHelst, a regular of the Seminar came to Palmer for a Saturday Workshop. With a lot of enthusiasm and generosity, he gave an excellent review of the basics of Gonstead adjusting. Dr. Kurt also shared many of his experiences and wonderful cases and certainly encouraged a lot of us present that day. The Palmer Gonstead Club would like to extend a special thanks to him for graciously giving his time and coming to work with us. Finally, last week, many of the club members from various trimesters made the trip to Mt Horeb for a much anticipated Gonstead Homecoming. And judging by the reports of everyone who attended, the Seminar was fantastic. Many of our members from early trimesters made us proud by working hard in technique or introduction class, and it is very encouraging and gratifying for us to realize that our daily efforts in club generate some further interest and motivation in this great system. We worked hard, and played hard as well, and were well represented during the talent show and Karaoke night. To be noted were the memorable performances of Dr. Scott Carruthers (Dr. Alex� impersonation) and Jason �Chino� Grimm (Chris Farley imitation). We all came back to Davenport with a renewed enthusiasm and energy that will carry us through the remaining weeks of the trimester. Yet, much work remains to be done. Two weeks remain with ample opportunities to better your chiropractic skills. Don�t wait until next trimester � it will never come. Take the time, put out the effort. Some day your patients will thank you for it. As always, club meets on M, W, and F at 11:10 am in room L101. We also have regular club times at 9:20 in L102 on Tuesdays and Fridays. These club activities provide excellent opportunities to grow and develop your skills as a specific, subluxation-based doctor of chiropractic. For more information, contact one of the executive members or email us at: palmergonstead@yahoo.com As always, we readily welcome submissions for The Connection and appreciate suggestions on how to make this publication better. Seminars or prizes donations for deserving students are also welcome and appreciated. The Palmer Gonstead Club can be reached by email at: palmergonstead@yahoo.com or by mail at: 1000 Brady St. PCC Box 26 Davenport, IA 52803. You can also visit our website at www.geocities.com/palmergonstead for more information on club activities and functions. Thank you for you interest and support, Carlos Munoz, Club President
Technique - Quickness of the Chiropractic Adjustment By Kurt A. Ver Helst, D.C., from Ames, IA Line of correction, stabilization, proper contact point, etc., etc., etc� These are just a few things to think about when you give a specific spinal adjustment. Do you ever get frustrated when you have everything down and you make your thrust and nothing happens? One thing that seems to get less attention is quickness. Several studies have been done way back in 1995 and 1996 that found that quickness or speed of the adjustment was more important than the audible. Quickness is an aspect of the adjustment that cannot really be taught. It is learned! So how do you learn to be quick? Here are a few points to consider. 1. Practice, practice, practice! I know of no other activity than to practice your thrust thousands and thousands of times. The more you practice, the quicker you get. 2. Understand what you are trying to accomplish. There is a reason why Dr. Gonstead chose to use a short lever, high velocity thrust. It got the best results. 3. Have no fear! So many students and practicing doctors are afraid of the life giving chiropractic adjustment. Remove fear from your vocabulary. You won�t hurt the patient by being quick; you will hurt them if you are slow. Ever wonder when you watch an experienced Gonstead field doctor give an adjustment, how he got that fast? He applies these three principles every day. Be encouraged, it gets better every day! Technique - Patient Placement By Kristin Vike (Palmer Gonstead Club Executive) We as students need all the help we can get with adjusting. Patient placement is 91.4% of the adjustment according to Dr. John Cox. There�s a lot of truth in that statement. As students we usually don�t have the speed to give a successful adjustment every time. We need to remember to focus on good habits in our set ups that will help us now and later. Patient placement is important in every set up on the pelvic bench, knee chest, cervical chair and on the hylo. We also need to focus on something that most of us forget about, getting up from the adjustment. Getting off the equipment after the adjustment is probably the most important thing we don�t focus on. This is one of my pet peeves. On the pelvic bench we give a great adjustment and celebrate. But we forget to have the patient get up like a horse and not like a cow (for those of you that are not from the Midwest that means get up first with your arms and then swing your legs around). This will help the adjustment hold longer. After making an adjustment on the knee chest make sure the patient gets up the same way they were shown to get on. The patient has to make sure they tuck the pelvis when they get up so they don't ruin the great adjustment they received. If there�s another region to adjust on another piece of equipment this is an especially important time to remember how to get on an off correctly. Following these few tips will help any doctor see more, longer lasting results! Upcoming Events October 12th (around 8-9pm) End of the Tri Party @ Boozie�s For more information contact us at palmergonstead@yahoo.com October 14th-15th Gonstead Seminar - Cathedral City (Palm Springs), CA For more information visit www.gonsteadseminar.com or call (800)842-6852 November 11th-12th Gonstead Seminar - Rosemont (Chicago), IL For more information visit www.gonsteadseminar.com or call (800)842-6852 Gonstead Club Executives and Contact Information Website: www.geocities.com/palmergonstead Email: palmergonstead@yahoo.com � President � Carlos Munoz (563) 940-8546 � Vice-President � April Wolf (563) 320-0700 � Treasurer � Kristin Vike (563) 324-3770 � Secretary � Gina Agostino (563) 340-4451 � Communications Director � Tom Rammel (563) 343-6465 � Editor - Matt Marr
