Clarence Selmer Gonstead (July 23, 1898 – October 2, 1978) was an American
chiropractor
Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscien ...
. He created the
Gonstead technique. He established a large chiropractic facility in
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Mount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin,. The population was 7,754 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History The Ho-Chunk nation
The Village of Mount Horeb is part of the ancestral ...
.
Early life
Clarence Gonstead was born in
Willow Lake, South Dakota
Willow Lake is a city in Clark County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 255 at the 2020 census.
The city took its name from Willow Lake, a natural lake near the town site.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, ...
,
[ ] the son of Carl Gonstead (1871–1956) and Sarah Gonstead (1874–1918). His family later moved to a dairy farm in
Primrose, Wisconsin
The Town of Primrose is located in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. As of 2018, the population was 731.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.8 square miles (92.8 km), all of it lan ...
. At the age of 19, Gonstead was bedridden with
rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...
.
After his arthritis was cured by a chiropractor, he was motivated to enroll in the
Palmer School of Chiropractic in
Davenport, Iowa.
Gonstead became a member of the chiropractic fraternity
Delta Sigma Chi. Gonstead earned a doctor of chiropractic degree in 1923 and returned to Wisconsin. He first practiced with Dr. Olson, the man who inspired him to become a chiropractor, before establishing a practice in
Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. His younger brother, Merton Gonstead (1902–1983), joined his practice in 1929 for a few years before starting his own practice. Clarence Gonstead remained a sole practitioner for the next twenty years.
Career
Gonstead's method of chiropractic practice was an extension of his training at the Palmer School of Chiropractic. While Gonstead was a student, school president
B. J. Palmer began promoting the neurocalometer (NCM), an invention of chiropractor Dossa Dixon Evins (1886–1932). Gonstead assisted in various efforts to improve the quality of these two instruments. In the 1940s Gonstead became a consultant for Electronic Development Laboratories (EDL). EDL made the original Nervoscope, a competitor device to the NCM. Over the years, Gonstead helped the company define the device's sensitivity, parameters, and function. Gonstead also worked with various X-ray companies to optimize full-spine 14x36 X-ray exposure, primarily the use of split screens to account for varying patient density on the lateral film.
Gonstead's first office was located above a bank building in downtown
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Mount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin,. The population was 7,754 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History The Ho-Chunk nation
The Village of Mount Horeb is part of the ancestral ...
. In 1939, Gonstead built the first Gonstead Chiropractic Clinic (or second office) in downtown Mount Horeb. In 1964 he opened a second clinic just outside Mount Horeb which treated 300 to 400 patients per day. It was designed by
John Steinmann
John Steinmann (1914–1987) was an American architect. He designed St. John's Lutheran Church (Evansville, Wisconsin) (1958), listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Steinmann's father was an architect, and his son would become one as ...
. The next year, 1965, a motel (Karakahl Country Inn) was constructed next to the clinic to accommodate out-of-town patients and chiropractors attending his seminar.
Later years
In 1974, Gonstead sold his clinic and seminars to Alex and Doug Cox. Gonstead's inventory was later auctioned. His clinic continues operation under the ownership of the non-profit C.S. Gonstead Chiropractic Foundation.
Personal life
In 1924, Gonstead married Elvira Meister (1901–1991).
Gonstead died in 1978 at the age of 80.
He was buried at Mount Horeb Union Cemetery in
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Mount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin,. The population was 7,754 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History The Ho-Chunk nation
The Village of Mount Horeb is part of the ancestral ...
.
See also
*
History of chiropractic
The history of chiropractic began in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. While Lillard was working without his shirt on in Palmer's office, Lillard bent ov ...
References
External links
Gonstead Clinical Studies Society official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonstead, Clarence
1898 births
1978 deaths
American chiropractors
People from Clark County, South Dakota
People from Primrose, Wisconsin
American people of Norwegian descent
Palmer College of Chiropractic alumni
People from Mount Horeb, Wisconsin