Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead was born on July 23, 1898 in Willow Lake, South Dakota to Sarah and Carl Gonstead. At the age of 19, he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The debilitating pain caused him to seek out chiropractic care from a local chiropractor, Jacob Olson. Inspired by how chiropractic changed his life, he enrolled at Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. During his time in school he was involved in the development of the neurocalometer, a device designed to measure heat to detect the presence of nerve pressure. The neurocalometer is still used in the Gonstead System to this day.

     In 1939, Dr. Gonstead built the first Gonstead Chiropractic Clinic in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. Patients traveled from all over the world seeking care. Because of this, an airstrip as well as the Karakahl Country Inn were constructed next to the clinic to accommodate patients visiting for care. It is said that Dr. Gonstead worked twenty-three hour days and treated over 1.2 million patients over the course of his fifty-one years of practice. He sold his clinic in 1974 and passed away in 1978. Both the Gonstead Chiropractic Clinic and Karakahl Inn are still standing today.

      Dr. Gonstead's contributions provided the most scientific and biomechanically sound chiropractic method used today. This method includes: visualization, static/motion palpation, instrumentation, x-rays, and case management. In fact, this is what lead the Gonstead System to become the gold standard of chiropractic care.