Torque Release Technique

Torque Release Technique (TRT) is a method of chiropractic adjustment that uses a special instrument.

What is Torque Release Technique?

Chiropractors have many tools and methods that can help keep the body in alignment. Torque Release Technique (TRT) uses the Integrator tool to adjust patients. It is “chiropractic’s only Toggle Recoil Instrument” that uses “torque and recoil release”.¹ When the body has subluxations, it doesn’t work to its full potential. TRT can help to “locate and reduce subluxations”. The chiropractor checks the spine for misalignments and problem areas and may use the Integrator instrument to provide an adjustment. The sound the instrument makes is like a “staple gun”. The tool can work with less force and more specifically than the hands. The Integrator in TRT is meant to stimulate the nervous system so that it works to correct itself by reducing tension and releasing. The Integrator is precise, specific, gentle, fast, consistent, and reliable. The recoil “bounce” is believed to increase the nervous system response. Because the impulse is three-dimensional, the Integrator’s torque is maximizing its effectiveness.² The Integrator allows for the torque and recoil to be adjusted. It also has 3 tip sizes. The “Toggle Recoil” aspect of the tool concerns the reproduction of the “classic chiropractic method” of hand adjustments at 1/10,000th of a second. The Integrator instrument is “the only chiropractic adjusting instrument that was developed out of randomized clinical trial”, a study done by Robert Duncan, PhD.³

TRT vs. Manual Adjustment

The Torque Release Technique (TRT) differs from a traditional chiropractic adjustment in that it can be done while the spine is in a neutral and relaxed position. In a traditional manipulation, the spine has to be stretched to tension so that the manual thrust of the hand can activate a cavitation response (popping sound). TRT uses less force and does not cause the cracking sound.⁴ Another type of instrumental adjustment uses the Activator. Some chiropractic offices use one of the tools, while others use both to adjust patients in a gentle manner. There are patients who do not wish to (or are unable to) twist or turn, while others may not like the noise associated with traditional chiropractic adjustments. Instrumental adjustments with the Integrator or Activator can be used on patients of any age, including children and pregnant women.⁵ TRT is believed to “unwind the nervous system and return a sense of balance”.⁶ Dr. Jay M. Holder designed the Integrator, and the instrument has been given “a 510K…medical device designation” by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).⁷