Torque Release Technique

Torque Release Technique (TRT) is a tonal, neurologically based chiropractic technique developed by Drs. Jay Holder and Nima Holder. It grew out of clinical research and was refined as a way to deliver chiropractic corrections that are specific, gentle, and reproducible from visit to visit. Rather than chasing pain or treating one region after another, TRT seeks the primary subluxations: the points where the nervous system is most disturbed and the correction will have the greatest whole-body effect.

The technique is best known for its instrument, the Integrator. The Integrator is an FDA-cleared adjusting instrument designed specifically for TRT. It delivers a fast, light, torque-and-recoil thrust at a precise contact point and direction, mimicking the gentle, specific adjustment an expert hand might give but with a consistency a human hand cannot reproduce exactly each time.

To find where to adjust, TRT uses a leg-length and stress-testing protocol in the tradition of Derefield-style analysis. By comparing functional leg length under specific challenges, Dr. Calloway identifies the primary subluxation and the precise vector for correction, then uses the Integrator to make a low-force, targeted adjustment.

TRT is described as tonal because its goal is to influence the overall tone of the nervous system rather than to push individual joints into a new position. The body is viewed as a tensioned, self-regulating system, and the correction is aimed at releasing the points of greatest neurological tension so the whole system can re-balance.

Mechanistically, the Integrator's fast, specific thrust is a precise sensory event. Like any chiropractic adjustment, it floods the nervous system with a burst of well-defined proprioceptive and mechanoreceptive input at the corrected segment. In the Haavik model, this clean afferent signal travels to the brain, where it is integrated by the brainstem, cerebellum, and cortex that build the body's internal map and govern muscle and autonomic tone.

When that input is restored, the brain's efferent output normalizes. Reflex muscle tone rebalances (which is why functional leg length often equalizes immediately after a correction), postural distortion eases, and the autonomic balance between sympathetic stress and parasympathetic repair can shift toward recovery. The light, reproducible nature of the Integrator thrust is intended to give the nervous system a clear, consistent signal without the higher force of manual adjusting.

From a vitalistic standpoint, TRT is about reducing interference so the body's Innate Intelligence can express more fully. The Integrator does not add anything to the body; it removes a specific source of neurological static so internal regulation can improve.

TRT is well suited to people who want a very gentle, instrument-based correction, including children, older adults, patients in pain or in spasm, and anyone apprehensive about manual adjusting. Because it is tonal and neurologically focused, it is used not only for musculoskeletal complaints such as neck pain, low back pain, and headaches, but also for patients seeking better overall nervous-system function, sleep, and stress resilience.

It pairs naturally with upper cervical care and is appropriate across a broad range of ages and body types. After examination, Dr. Calloway determines whether TRT, on its own or alongside other techniques, is the right fit.

Your visit begins with the TRT analysis. While you lie face down, Dr. Calloway compares functional leg length under a series of specific positions and challenges. This is how the primary subluxations and their correction vectors are identified; it is a quick, painless process that you can often feel responding as the analysis proceeds.

The corrections are made with the Integrator at the indicated contact points. Each delivery is a quick, light tap-like impulse. There is no twisting, and most patients feel only a gentle click from the instrument. Because the thrust is so specific and low-force, the experience is comfortable and reassuring, even for nervous or sensitive patients.

A typical session is brief. Early in care, visits may be more frequent to stabilize the corrections, then taper as your nervous system holds its tone. Dr. Calloway re-analyzes each visit and corrects only what the analysis indicates, so no two visits are necessarily identical.