When NOT to Adjust, The Courage of Restraint!

The KST Edge | Week 8 Issue 8

Short one this week. But it might be the most important thing I say all year.

Ready?

Sometimes the most specific thing you can do is nothing.

That sentence will make your Educated mind extremely uncomfortable. Because Educated has been trained to do. To intervene. To act. You didn’t spend four years in chiropractic school to tell someone, “Your body doesn’t need an adjustment today.” Right?

Wrong.

The ability to say “not today” is one of the most powerful clinical skills you will ever develop. And it’s one that KST gives you the tools to exercise with confidence, not guesswork.

Here’s what happens in most chiropractic offices: the patient comes in, they’re on the schedule, so they get adjusted. Every time. Regardless of what the body is saying. Why? Because the Educated mind needs to justify the visit. The Educated mind equates value with action. And the Educated mind is terrified that if you don’t adjust the patient, they’ll think you didn’t do anything.

Innate doesn’t work on your schedule. Innate doesn’t care that it’s Tuesday and the patient is on your calendar. Innate is doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing, always. Principle #26: the normality of Innate Intelligence. Innate is always normal. Its function is always normal. If Innate is processing the last adjustment, integrating changes, and reorganizing, adding another adjustment on top of that doesn’t help. It interferes.

Read that again.

Adjusting when the body doesn’t need it is a form of interference.

This is where KST separates you from the crowd. Because when you check a patient with KST and the body says “nothing to adjust today,” you don’t have to panic. You don’t have to make something up. You don’t have to adjust C1 “just in case.” You look that patient in the eye and say:

“I checked everything. Your body is doing exactly what it should be doing right now. It’s integrating. It’s healing. The most respectful thing I can do today is honor that process and not add anything on top of it.”

You know what happens when you say that to a patient? They don’t lose trust. They gain it. Because you just demonstrated that you listen to their body, not your bank account. You showed them that you trust the same intelligence you’re asking them to trust. That’s integrity. And it’s rare.

Your Educated mind will fight this. It’ll say, “But what do I charge?” or “What do I say?” or “Won’t they think I’m lazy?” Those are Educated problems. Innate problems look different. The Innate question is:

“Did I honor the body’s intelligence today?”

If the answer is yes, you did your job. Period.

Getting specific doesn’t always mean getting specific about what to adjust. Sometimes it means getting specific about the fact that the body is asking for space, time, and trust.

#getspecific. Even when specific means “not today.”

This week’s challenge: The next time you check someone and the body says “nothing,” don’t second-guess it. Don’t recheck hoping for a different answer. Trust it. Say it out loud to the patient. Notice how it feels. That discomfort? That’s your Educated mind losing a fight with Innate. Let Innate win.

Trust Innate. Find the Edge.

Dr. Kevin Ross

Academic Director & Lead Teacher, Koren Specific Technique