dNFT Chiropractic
Directional Non-Force Technique® (D.N.F.T.®) Chiropractic is a chiropractic method based on testing your nervous system. D.N.F.T.® Chiropractic adjustments involve a gentle, highly specific thumb-thrust. There is no twisting, cracking, or popping during DNFT chiropractic adjustments. Patients often report that DNFT Chiropractic adjustments are so relaxing that they feel like they could fall asleep. Results are powerful and long-lasting.
Types of Health Complaints DNFT Chiropractic May Help With
Is pain holding you back from doing the things you want? DNFT Chiropractic may help! Schedule your appointment and get back to doing what you love, faster.
The Directional Non-Force Technique (DNFT) Chiropractic Adjustment
Directional Non-Force Technique (DNFT) Chiropractic adjustments begin with a thorough subluxation analysis using what is called the Reactive Leg Reflex. The corrective step consists of gentle chiropractic adjustments with a thumb-thrust, which is a light thumb impulse made in the appropriate direction to relieve nerve interferences.
Subluxation Analysis
Directional Non-Force Technique (DNFT) Chiropractic is a unique and gentle method that identifies and corrects subluxations, which are structural misalignments causing active nerve interference. These nerve interferences may lead to various health issues, such as headaches and body pains.
In DNFT Chiropractic, our subluxation analysis is highly detailed. For spinal adjustments, structures that we analyze and adjust include:
- vertebrae
- discs
- spinal ligaments
- the dura mater (connective tissue)
- surrounding muscles
The result is a deep level of correction with long-lasting results. Instead of adjusting the same spinal levels again and again, in most cases we expect the holding power of your DNFT Chiropractic adjustment to be six months or longer, depending on your health and lifestyle.
Reactive Leg Reflex
A technique-specific feature of Directional Non-Force Technique (DNFT) Chiropractic is that we use the Reactive Leg Reflex to gather real-time information from your nervous system. This involves a proprietary leg check that captures your nervous system response to a “challenge,” or test, giving information about the presence or absence of active nerve interference.
Using the DNFT Reactive Leg Reflex, we find detailed information about subluxations, so that your chiropractic adjustment is highly specific and especially thorough. We also use the leg check to confirm that your chiropractic adjustment resolved the active nerve interference.
Gentle Chiropractic Adjustments
Unlike traditional chiropractic methods that use high-velocity adjustments (sudden movements), DNFT Chiropractic utilizes gentle, low-force thumb-thrust adjustments. DNFT adjustments are performed with the patient’s body in neutral posture, without any twisting or sudden movements to “pop” or “crack” the spine or other joints.
These gentle chiropractic adjustments and result in the restoration of proper spinal alignment and the removal of nerve interference. Because DNFT Chiropractic adjustments are achieved with minimal force, using mere pressure, they have almost no contraindications and are suitable for special populations such as babies, seniors, and other sensitive patients.
D.N.F.T. Chiropractic for Special Populations
D.N.F.T.® Chiropractic is uniquely suitable for people requiring gentle chiropractic adjustments, such as:
• Babies
• Seniors
• People with hypermobility (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD), etc)
• People with particularly high sensitivity to touch (e.g. reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) aka chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS))
The DNFT Chiropractic Philosophy
“Don’t play God on the body”
Dr. Richard van rumpt
DNFT Chiropractic is the original low-force method of chiropractic. In addition to its gentle adjustments, it utilizes a unique system for analyzing and correcting subluxations. This analysis begins with a light, specific test—or challenge—to a structure, such as an area in the spine, the arms or legs, or the abdomen. This is quickly followed by the D.N.F.T. Reactive Leg Reflex, which indicates whether or not there is current nerve interference requiring an adjustment to correct.
The D.N.F.T. system of analysis allows the nervous system to indicate the locations and directions of misaligned structures causing active nerve interference, as well as to confirm when a correction has been successfully made during an adjustment. This innovative approach allows for a deeper, neuro-functional understanding of structure beyond what X-rays alone can offer.
A famous quote by Dr. Van Rumpt, the creator of DNFT Chiropractic, is “Don’t play God on the body.” This statement of humility means that it is not the place of doctors to impose their view on patients’ bodies. Instead, the role of the doctor is to test the nervous system of the patient, and deliver care accordingly.
Are you looking for gentle chiropractic? Dr. Lerner-Powers is a chiropractor in Lafayette, CA who specializes in gentle chiropractic care.
History of Directional Non-Force Technique (D.N.F.T.) Chiropractic
Directional Non-Force Technique (DNFT) Chiropractic is known as the original low-force chiropractic technique. It was developed by the late Dr. Richard Van Rumpt (1904-1987), beginning in the 1920s. Dr. VanRumpt’s work is thought to be the foundation for many other low-force techniques in chiropractic today.
Dr. Richard Van Rumpt created DNFT Chiropractic while studying chiropractic medicine in the 1920s. While in chiropractic college, he observed that during spinal palpation, mere pressure was enough to effect a change in his patients. He began to explore the effects of gentle touch, and discovered that a low force approach was an effective alternative to traditional chiropractic, which consists of more forceful methods. Intrigued, he continued to practice using a low force approach throughout chiropractic school, observing how his patients reported pain relief and improvement in their structural problems even when he used less force than other chiropractic techniques.
In addition to using low-force adjustments to achieve corrections, Dr. van Rumpt developed the D.N.F.T. Reactive Leg Reflex, which is an assessment method to observe the body’s reaction to neurologic tests, giving information about where there is active nerve interference.
Dr. Marla Lerner-Powers has attended D.N.F.T. Chiropractic seminars since 2014. While she offers a multi-therapeutic health care approach, DNFT chiropractic is the only chiropractic adjusting technique she performs, because it is so comprehensive.