Does the adjustment hurt?
Under normal circumstances, chiropractic adjustments are painless. In cases of recent trauma, such as whiplash, mild discomfort may be experienced due to inflammation. It is also common to feel a brief sensation in the extremities immediately following an adjustment due to the sudden decompression of the affected nerve root.
Typically, no. If one is in so much pain that simply touching the spine hurts, the doctor may apply ice for 15 or 20 minutes and that will reduce the discomfort for the procedure. An adjustment is felt and heard like cracking one’s knuckles. There could be some stretching sensation felt when the lower back or pelvis is adjusted in the side posture position and that is normal.
Typically, no. If one is in so much pain that simply touching the spine hurts, the doctor will apply ice for 15 or 20 minutes and that will reduce the discomfort for the procedure. An adjustment is felt and heard like cracking one’s knuckles. There could be some stretching sensation felt when the lower back or pelvis is adjusted in the side posture position, and that is normal.
Most chiropractic adjustments are painless; in fact, most of the time the adjustment feels good and provides immediate relief. If you’ve had a recent injury, however, adjustments can irritate inflamed tissue and cause minor discomfort. Its during these times that we employ gentle adjunctive therapies in order to prepare your body to get adjusted. I call this phase Pre-hab. Its when you are hurting so much you arent ready for rehab. Using ice after any irritation or acute injury is usually recommended. Some people also experience odd sensations in their muscles or extremities after adjustments. This is a normal reaction to the relieving of pressure on nerves and is usually no cause for concern. It is thought by some scientists to be an increase in circulation once the irritation is removed from the nerve.
The adjustment can sometimes cause some minor discomfort, but it is not usually considered painful. Most of this discomfort will go away after the adjustment is performed several times. That is why several adjustments may be necessary before total relief is seen. Lets face the truth, you wouldn’t expect to take just one of the twenty pills of any prescription to get relief, you shouldn’t expect only one adjustment to do the same. Just as you were given twenty pills to relieve the symptoms of your illness, you may have to have four, five or even more adjustments to do the same!
