Torque Release Technique

(Article courtesy of torquerelease.com.au)

Torque Release Technique in chiropractic language this is known as a “low-force,” “neurologically-based,” “tonal,” “subluxation-centered” assessment and adjusting technique.

The methods TRT offers have firm foundations in science:

1) Anatomy and an understanding of the amazing structure of the spinal column, spinal cord and central nervous system.

2) Physiology and cutting-edge knowledge of the chemical reactions and processes that occur in your nervous system and how these keep your body working (or not).

3) Biochemistry and how the chemical reactions in the nervous system change the       chemical reactions in the rest of the body; and how a chiropractic adjustment can       act as a catalyst for healthier body chemistry.

4) Neurology and how the nervous system is the master controlling system of all other body systems: How chiropractic is capable of improving communication between nerve tissue and body tissue.

5) The revolutionary science of Psychoneuroimmunology and how the mysterious relationships between emotional state, the immune system and physical function is being unraveled (The Mind-Body connection).

6) Clinical science through the review and refinement of the “best of the best” chiropractic techniques, culminating in this ultra-modern style of chiropractic.

7) Evidence-based health care and how the effects of these new techniques are being measured and proven.

Chiropractic is not just about “bad backs”.

Spinal Subluxations can best be described as specific sites of spinal malfunction leading to irritation of the body’s central computer, the nervous system. The end result of this is separation from wholeness and an inability to experience wellbeing.

Only “vertebrates” have an opiate receptor Brain Reward Cascade chemical mechanism which allows them to experience a state of wellbeing.

In simpler terms, there is a series of chemical reactions that occur in your nervous system, which when working properly, result in you thinking “I FEEL GOOD, LIKE YOU KNOW THAT I SHOULD NOW…”

The common denominator is the spine and spinal cord.

If the spine is allowed to express itself without interference (free of subluxations) the person can express full potential. If the nervous system “feels good”, then usually the rest of the body “works well”.

Research published in one of the most respected psychiatry journals showed dramatically increased success in reducing anxiety and depression levels, and improved measurements of wellbeing, when Torque Release Technique (“TRT”) Chiropractic Adjustments were received.

TRT is the most up-to-date chiropractic technique available. It has been designed as part of scientific research into the health benefits of chiropractic. As such it is a mixture of the ”best-of-the-best” systems of chiropractic assessment and treatment.

TRT helps to locate and reduce Subluxations.

What is involved with a TRT Adjustment?

Your Chiropractor will be checking your spinal column for areas where the nervous system is being damaged by Subluxation and will deliver an adjustment using the Integrator instrument: This sounds like a staple gun and will feel like a quick impulse into the muscles of your spinal column.

This reproduces what the hands were intended to do with much more specificity and less force than ever possible by hand. The advantage of the Integrator is that it can deliver a specific frequency into the nerve endings of the spinal column, exactly where nerve function has become “facilitated” (irritated).

A “jump start” for your body’s “electrical system”.

As such this is not so much a technique to manually stretch or realign your body. It is a technique to stimulate your nervous system in such a way that it will release and reduce tension, assisting your body to self-correct.

The Integrator instrument was purpose designed and built to reproduce what the hands intend to achieve during a Chiropractic Adjustment. Originally it was manufactured for use in scientific research and when the dramatic health benefits were measured overwhelming demand lead to its use in private practice.

The attributes that make an Integrator adjustment something special and powerful are:

PRECISE: When using an Integrator we can pinpoint the exact point on the spine that requires adjustment of nerve function.

SPECIFIC: The force, frequency of energy, torque, speed and thrust provided by the Integrator have all been tailor-made to deliver the perfect amount of energy to help normalize nerve function.

GENTLE: An Integrator adjustment can be delivered with the spine in a perfectly relaxed position with a controlled amount of force.

FAST: The incredibly fast but shallow impulse is one of the secrets to the effectiveness of this adjustment and the reason for it being so gentle.

RECOIL: Another of the secret ingredients built into the Integrator is recoil: This bounce in the impulse increases the body’s nerve system response.

TORQUE: Subatomic particles, atoms, muscles, and human bodies all move in three dimensions: The three-dimensional impulse of the Integrator maximizes the effectiveness on the human body.

EFFECTIVE: The benefits of Integrator adjustments have been measured by scientific research and this research has been published in major peer-reviewed medical journals.

RELIABLE: The way that the Integrator delivers an adjustment is very consistent and reliable so that the right amount of force and energy is transmitted on each and every adjustment.

CONSISTENT: The assessment, examination and adjustments that are used in TRT are standardized which means that several practitioners using the same method can deliver the same results and experience.

RECOGNIZED: The Integrator is patented for the correction of Subluxations, is registered with an FDA 510k, and holds a CE license.

Have you ever watched a good guitarist tuning his guitar?

He picks up his instrument, and starts to play. Then he screws up his nose because he hears a “bung” note (that no-one else heard). Next thing you know he has stopped playing and is crouched down listening intently to one string as he gently and gradually adjusts the tuning peg. Then he carries on as if nothing happened. If you’ve seen a guitarist lately, you may even have noticed him pull out a little electric gizmo that he plugs his guitar into, which actually tells him when he’s found the right note!

So, what is he doing while he is winding or unwinding that small peg on the end of the guitar string? The amount of tension in the guitar string determines the note and hence the tune that plays when you pluck the string.

The skill of the musician is to be able to tune the guitar to make a beautiful noise.

Now try to imagine a funny looking guitar: This one has pegs at both ends of the string, so that you could change the tension in the string from either end of the guitar. There is also an extra peg right at the tip of the neck of the guitar which can also change the tension of all the strings.

What we have just described to you is an analogy for the relationship between your spinal column and your spinal cord. The “pegs” on the guitar are represented by small ligaments which actually hang the spinal cord within the spinal canal. These ligaments are few in number (about half a dozen at both ends of the spine), and only attach between specific vertebrae, and corresponding sections of the spinal cord (central nervous system).

When a specific command travels down the spinal cord from the brain to the body, or when sensory information is being transmitted back up the spinal cord to the brain; there is a “flash” of “electricity” that carries the messages. Quick body responses and sensory perceptions result.

At the same time though, there is also a low-grade “wave” of radio frequency traveling up and down your spinal cord that determines the “mood” or “tone” of your central nervous system. This affects your level of consciousness and awareness, your mood, and the slower metabolic and hormonal functions of your body.

Adjustments aim to remove any blockages to the fast acting messages traveling up and down the spinal cord; and at the same time rebalance the overall frequency at which the nervous system is operating.

Scientifically speaking, your spinal cord is a thick string of pizo-electric gel (electricity conducting jelly). The frequency it is working at is determined by the amount of tension and/or torsion being placed at either end of the “string”. Just like the guitar string, the tightness of the cord determines the tune that is being played.

TRT differs from many of the other chiropractic techniques in that it focuses a lot of attention to the “tuning pegs”: The strategic and vital connection points between the spinal cord and spinal column. As we gently and methodically adjust these areas of your “guitar string” (spinal cord), we are changing the degree of tension in the central nervous system in an effort to change the notes that result.

Hence, the skill of the Chiropractor is to be able to tune your spinal cord to find some more beautiful notes. That is, a better level of tension.

When many people get up straight after an adjustment, they comment on how their vision seems clearer, the light or view seems sharper, their head feels lighter, there body feels looser, etc. These are all reflections of your central nervous system now operating at a better frequency. The Integrator is the high-tech tool that we use to tune your nervous system.

Science is beginning to discover the physical and chemical connections between emotional state and physical condition.

There have now been dozens of chemicals isolated which are known as Neuropeptides. These are small protein chemicals that act in the Nervous System as transmitters of information. But we are not just talking about knowledge, we are talking about feelings. Depending on what “soup” of these tiny hormones is running around inside of you right now pretty much reflects what you are feeling emotionally.

Most of us would guess that these neuropeptides (things like endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine, opiates to name a few) “live” in our brain. Our culture has restricted the concept of emotions to never venture south of the skull. Now here’s the really fascinating thing. Heaps of these chemicals actually live in your spinal cord, and some even can be found around the tiny cells all over and inside your body. What this effectively means is that when you “feel” an emotion, your entire body is feeling it!

In terms of chiropractic, the spinal cord is the switchboard for the transmission of these chemicals and hence the communication-centre of emotion and feeling.

This has three important implications:

1) Your emotions can play havoc with what is happening in your spine. Next time your back goes out and you can’t think of a single thing you did “physically” that could have caused you to tie up in knots: Think about what has been happening emotionally in your life and therein may lay your cause. It’s possible that you may be worrying too much about things at the time. It could be a moment in your life when you’re bothered by work-related problems, overdue credit card payments, a bad relationship – anything that can cause emotional stress.

2) Your spine can play havoc with your emotions: Over the years we have seen lots of people suffering with what are loosely termed, “chronic pain syndromes”. Some of these people initially suffered a physical injury. Before that point/period of time they were emotionally “well-adjusted”. Now they are depressed or emotionally volatile, plus suffering with any number of other “mental” problems. They are shunted from doctor to doctor and put on antidepressants (and stronger pills), and told that their pain and depression is “all in their mind”. Nonsense! There physical malfunction has damaged their “brain reward cascade” and is limiting their ability to have any normal emotional ”chemical reactions”. Until their “therapy” includes the spine, they will not see long-term improvements. On a less dramatic level, if your spine is “out of whack”, there is a chance your emotions will be “out of whack” too. If you’re grumpy, ask yourself how long has it been since you had an adjustment before analyzing what you’re worrying about.

3) Occasionally when we start to adjust your spine, you may experience some changes in your emotions. Usually positive ones, but sometimes as you start to peel back through layers of tension in your spine and spinal cord, these levels of tension can trip off memories and emotions attached to the point in time when you first arrived at that level of tension. If you are feeling like your mind is in a state of upheaval, let us know, as this may be due to these “memories” being rekindled. (Sometimes this may mean past unresolved issues may need some additional support.)

Bottom line: If your spine is getting tight – your “nerves” will be getting tense. If your emotions are getting strung-out – your spine will be winding up. When we release your spine – your emotions will relax. When you unwind your mind – your spine will release.

Caroline von Fluegge-Chen

With an emphasis on family care for more than 24-years, Dr. Caroline von Fluegge-Chen has created a unique program of promoting peak performance found only at Balance Atlanta. She combines specialties of family chiropractic, functional medicine, and BrainCore Therapy to address structural integrity, optimal brain function, and body chemistry balance.