What is Network Spinal Analysis?

The founding father of Network Spinal Analysis is Dr. Donald Epstein, a New York chiropractor, who developed the network approach over several years of meticulous observation and correlation of patterns he saw while working with people. He developed a new protocol for knowing when and where to use adjusting techniques that were already well established in chiropractic. It was a "network" of upper cervical specific, Logan Basic, S.O. T., Toftness, Gonstead, Diversified and others. Dr. Epstein saw that many existing techniques fell into two broad categories:

A.) Those that use force and were intent on moving specific vertebrae.

B.) Those that use light force and had more focus on dural or menigeal torsion which was disrupting normal cranio-sacral respiratory action, cerebrospinal fluid flow, and the dynamics of the spinal-menigeal functional unit as a whole.

He also discovered that the presence of dural "subluxation" would show clinically as spinal muscle tension or spasm that was multisegmental (- not just around one or two vertebrae, but cordlike bundles of muscle tension spanning larger sections of the spine, which the patient cannot voluntarily relax). When the areas of the spine which have dural attachment (sacral, occiput, upper cervical) are addressed first, most structural Subluxations resolve spontaneously or can be corrected with very little force.

The Network Doctor uses the principle of leverage when he/she makes the light, gentle adjustment. You can push a huge boulder from a cliff without having to ram it with huge force if you use the leverage of tree branch. This is the fundamental idea - Putting that lever in the exact right place, at the right time with the right amount of force, you can easily move the boulder. Likewise, Network Doctors are trained in post-graduate certification courses on Network Spinal Analysis to know the exact leverage points and maneuvers to utilize on the spine.

The Network Chiropractor makes a gentle touch or pressure using leverage. As soon as he/she sees the patient’s body respond and start to work with the adjustment, the Doctor steps back and lets the patient’s body work with the adjustment. In this way, we are not overpowering the patient’s nervous system, but instead allowing it to do most of the work itself. This encourages and actually teaches the body to become self-corrective and more self-reliant in the future. It is like a parent showing a child how to tie his or her shoes, but then stepping back and letting the child practice and work with tying the laces. If the parent steps in all the time and does the shoe tying for the child, he or she never becomes empowered and self-sufficient. Healing is about empowering and freeing the awesome power you have inside of you to heal. By using light force then stepping back to let your body work, the Network Chiropractor is letting the greatest, wisest Doctor, the Doctor within you do the corrective work.

Network Spinal Analysis is an approach to wellness that applies low force touch contacts, applied at Spinal Gateways, to cue the nervous system to develop new strategies for living and healing. Two spinal "healing" waves develop which help improve spinal and neural integrity, adaptability, and significantly advance wellness and quality of life.

Care is advanced through a series of Levels, each producing specific new abilities to adapt to the environment, make healthier choices, enjoy life and develop a healthier spine.

This outcomes assessment approach combines self-reported wellness profiles with practitioner clinical assessment to help review the emerging options for healing and an enriched life.

In addition, NSA:

  • Features correction of facilitated vertebral Subluxations associated with adverse mechanical cord tension (AMCT).
  • Helps the brain to reconnect its awareness of the spine, nervous system and tension patterns of the body.
  • Is associated with somatopsychic and respiratory spinal waves.
  • Is associated with improvement in quality of life over a wide range of variables.
  • Is not X-ray dependent.
  • There is no force applied to protective muscle tension.
  • To date, no ceiling for health improvement has been found with ongoing NSA care.
  • NSA is non-competitive with the body’s adaptations. Works with the body to restore ease and natural function, and has been successful with a wide range of conditions.
  • NSA is advantageous for the athlete as well as those in acute or chronic ill health.
  • Children of all ages love NSA and can avoid years of compensatory distortion by receiving NSA early in life.

Some of the 18 physical parameters we use in Network Spinal Analysis to monitor spinal changes are:

  • Greater depth and ease in respiration
  • Less spinal muscular tension
  • Greater spinal fluidity
  • Return to a more adaptable human posture

A special thank you to Dr. Pierre Gremaud of Ithaca Wellness Center for this generous contribution.