What the Gonstead Technique Is, and Why We Analyze Before We Adjust

Ask ten chiropractors how they decide what to adjust and you will get ten different answers. At our Collierville and Germantown office, Dr. Reed Johnson works from a specific method called the Gonstead Technique, and the difference is in the order of operations, not just the hands-on part. It is a named system with its own society and its own training, not a house style improvised over time.

Analysis comes before adjustment

The Gonstead system starts from a simple rule: find the exact misalignment before you touch the spine, not after. Rather than adjusting broadly based on where a patient reports pain, a Gonstead analysis looks for the specific vertebra that is out of position and the direction it needs to move. The adjustment that follows is aimed at that one finding, not a general routine applied up and down the spine.

Who is behind it at our practice

Dr. Reed Johnson has 29 years of chiropractic experience and is a member of the Gonstead Clinical Studies Society. He also served as president of the Life College Gonstead Studies Club while training at Life University Chiropractic College, where he graduated in 1995. He also holds an earlier degree from the University of Memphis, Class of 1989, before he went on to chiropractic school. That combination is where the analyze-first approach used at our Germantown office comes from directly, not secondhand.

What the analysis actually looks at

• Visual observation of posture and how weight is carried through the spine.
• Palpation, meaning a hands-on check for areas of heat, tension, or misalignment along the spine.
• X-ray imaging, taken in the office, to see the actual position of each vertebra rather than estimate it.
• A patient's own description of where the pain is and what makes it worse or better.

Each of those on its own tells you something. Put together, they tell a chiropractor which vertebra is actually the problem, instead of adjusting the whole spine on a guess.

Why the order matters

An adjustment aimed at the wrong vertebra does not do much good, and can leave the actual problem untouched even if something else feels different afterward. The Gonstead approach treats analysis and adjustment as two separate steps that both have to be done correctly, in that order. It is also why a first visit at our practice includes X-ray imaging in a dedicated room before any hands-on treatment starts. The spine gets looked at, and only then does it get adjusted.

One technique among several we use

The Gonstead Technique is the specific method Dr. Reed Johnson practices, and it sits alongside spinal adjustments, decompression therapy, and the other services offered across our three Memphis-area offices. Whether Gonstead is the right fit for a particular complaint is something worked out during the exam, not assumed before you have even been seen.

It carries into ongoing care, not just the first visit

The same analyze-first habit shows up beyond the initial adjustment. Our preventative and wellness care is built on the Gonstead technique too, combined with patient education and lifestyle counseling, rather than a standing appointment where the same adjustment gets repeated on a schedule regardless of what has changed. If your spine looks different at a check-in than it did a month earlier, that is what shapes the next visit, not a script.

What patients notice

Google reviewer Karen Vogelsang wrote that Dr. Reed Johnson is an excellent chiropractor and that his care has helped her stay healthy and active. Another reviewer, Brittany Scott, described bringing her whole family to see Dr. Reed, calling him attentive and knowledgeable and saying every visit felt thorough. Patients do not usually describe the Gonstead system by name. What they notice is a doctor who explains a specific finding rather than a general plan, which is the analysis-first approach showing up in the room.

Booking with Dr. Reed Johnson

Dr. Reed Johnson sees patients at the Collierville/Germantown office, 3169 Professional Plaza Drive in Germantown, alongside Dr. Dave Kellenberger. If Gonstead is specifically what you are looking for, mention it when you call, and the front desk can get you scheduled with Dr. Reed directly. Same-day appointments are often available at that office.