I’m sure you have all seen YouTube videos of chiropractors pulling on patient’s heads. Immediately after removing the Y-Strap or the neck strap adjustment, you hear a loud “pop,” and the patient’s eyes get huge. It looks barbaric! I will be one of many to say, though, “It works!” It is not my primary technique; however, it has been beneficial in my practice. Using the Y-Strap and the Anterior Assist Alpha in my practice has transformed how I treat my patients while still offering High-Velocity Low Amplitude(HVLA) within the y axis.
At this time, there are no colleges that teach high-velocity decompression in their curriculum. I understand why they do not. They have boards and financial donors to keep them happy. We also need to address the “elephant in the room. The Y-Strap and the Anterior Assist Alpha are not specific to one joint of segmental dysfunction. The Y-Strap utilizes high-velocity vertical axis decompression, and the Anterior Assist Alpha uses a precisely angled fulcrum to adjust a patient’s thoracic spine posterior to anterior “P-A.” While they both offer fantastic relief to patients, they are not specific to one segment of adjusting. However, both adjustments allow for ease, enabling nutrients to flow and allowing muscles and ligaments to relax.
If they are not specific, then why do I use them? This question has an easy answer. No two patients are the same.
If I adjust a patient using the cervical chair on Monday, and on Wednesday, that patient is still having the same severity of symptoms, I will try a different approach. Maybe the patient needs decompression to stretch the spine. If I use Y-Strap on Wednesday and the patient has no pain Friday, it’s simple. I will use the Y-Strap on this patient from then on.
This straightforward approach to chiropractic care will make you a chiropractor that will be sought after by patients. Word of mouth will spread. You will be known as the chiropractor with “tricks up your sleeve.” Too many patients have visited chiropractors that used the same technique no matter what, regardless of if it was effective or not.
I never use one specific technique as my “go-to” when a new patient walks in. You have to “size up” the patient. Is the patient large, small, stalky, older, brittle, stiff? You have to think about this every single day. Do not force one technique on a patient. Use what works.
For me, using the “Anterior Assist Alpha” when adjusting the thoracic spine of a stiff or large patient is the best technique. It allows our patent-pending fulcrum to perfectly fit in the thoracic curve to offer a smooth, effective adjustment.Click here for more information on Anterior Assist Alpha.
Some chiropractors do not find the Y-Strap or Anterior Assist Alpha crucial for practice. They may say, “Chiropractic is with hands only.” I understand where they are coming from in some regards, but I see my job as a chiropractor to analyze each patient differently. I use my “hands-only” for many patients…but not all! My job as a chiropractor is to offer the most effective form of care. When I use the motto, “Offer the most effective and comfortable adjustments, I never go wrong! To learn more about Y-Strap, check their website to further your success as a chiropractor.
I was initially skeptical about purchasing my own Y-Strap. Still, after having numerous patients ask about the Y-Strap, I had to buy one.
