About Gonstead Chiropractic

The Gonstead technique of adjusting the spine and extremities was originated by Clarence Gonstead in the middle of the twentieth century. As a young man, Gonstead suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and traditional medicine failed him.

Eventually they found chiropractic, and Clarence was greatly helped and inspired by the results, and went to the Palmer School of Chiropractic on the G.I. Bill. He fully dedicated himself to the science and art of correcting the subluxation, and in addition to his studies at Palmer, dissected hundreds of cadavers in his quest to understand the body.

His practice grew quickly, and within a few years DCs in neighboring states found that some patients were disappearing, traveling long distances to see Gonstead. Clarence’s reputation grew such that built a hotel and even an airplane landing strip next to his eight thousand square foot clinic in order to house people coming from around the world for his help. He saw over a million patients in his lifetime, profoundly changed the chiropractic profession, and even anatomists’ understanding; he was responsible for Gray’s Anatomy reclassifying the sacroiliac joints as movable joints, among other contributions.

There are a few foci of Gonstead chiropractic that distinguish it from other types of chiropractic: a focus on the balance of sympathetic versus parasympathetic nervous systems in complaints; emphasis on specificity and adjusting as few segments as is possible; and the focus on adjusting the vertebrae back into it’s correct position on the disk versus simply mobilizing the facet joints.

What this means to you as a patient is that you will not have your neck rotated or your spine twisted during an adjustment. The simplest identifier of a Gonstead adjustment is the seated cervical (neck) adjustment. Most techniques address facet problems, while Gonstead practitioners honor the primacy of the disk in subluxation.

Dr. Matthew pursued the study of Gonstead chiropractic in school because in the first weeks of the curriculum it was clear that there were clinical and ethical protocols that made it a superior technique for patients. He attended dozens of Gonstead seminars for practicing doctors while still in school in addition to his campus education, and he practices the technique because he believes it to be the best thing for you.

Gonstead Clinical Studies Society (outside link)

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About Dr. Matthew

Dr. Matthew grew up in New England and graduated from a performing arts high school in California before attending UCLA. While he had strong interests in physics and marine biology, he graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in theater, film and television with an emphasis in design in 1992.

He spent eight years touring the Americas as a professional musician, working in the entertainment industry when not on tour. He left the band to settle with family, expand his design business, and to start studying consciousness. For a decade he managed various aspects of a $7 million a year design and production company while building his own fine art business.

Although already a life coach and minister, in 2000 Matthew began to weigh his professional successes against his desire to serve. After considering his own frustrating experience with health care, his positive experience with chiropractic, and his love of working with people, chiropractic was the clear choice. He began attending Cleveland Chiropractic College Los Angeles in 2002 and started studying Gonstead Chiropractic in his first trimester.

Matthew excelled in school; he won the Alumni Association’s Student of the Year Award, produced Children’s Health and Wellness Expos, gained International Chiropractic Pediatrics Association certification, and visited over one hundred DCs in their practices to help him in designing his own practice. In 2003, he began a two-year Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology with emphasis in Consciousness, Health and Healing at the University of Santa Monica, was elected to Cleveland's student council, and traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby for pro-chiropractic legislation.

Dr. Matthew was chosen from over eighty interns to participate in the highly competitive “intern exchange program” with USC Medical School, where he saw patients while interacting with USC physicians and interns. He graduated as salutatorian, cum laude, in December 2005.

He has attended over 25 seminars, primarily ICPA and Gonstead related, in order to better serve his patients. While he has incorporated elements of symptom-based doctoring, rehab, exercise, nutrition, extremities adjusting, and addressing the mind-body connection in practice, his primary concern is finding nervous system health and supporting his clients with wellness in every area of life.

Dr. Matthew lives in Boalsburg with his family. In addition to involvement in many organizations such as Rotary and Toastmasters, he has served as a Harris Township Commissioner, as a lecturer in the Penn State Kinesiology and Health and Policy Administration Departments, and has been a health columnist for the Centre Daily Times and Voices of Central PA magazine.

Dr. Matthew is grateful for his first 20 years serving Centre County, and looks forward to the next 20.

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About Centre Chiropractic

Centre Chiropractic was established in May of 2006 to serve the health care needs of our neighbors in central Pennsylvania. Our office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9–6, and Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays by appointment. We do all we can to work with your schedule. We accept cash clients and our office is credentialed with the most popular insurance plans in the area:

If your insurance is not listed above, please contact our office for more information.

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