What are Chiropractic Adjustments?

If you’ve never seen a chiropractor before, you might be hesitant to see one. After all, the work these professionals do sounds pretty intimidating thanks to terms like “chiropractic adjustment.”

However, a chiropractic adjustment is a simple, non-invasive procedure that improves spinal function and your body’s overall physical function. It forms the basis of all chiropractic care. Discover how it can help you below.

Reasons You Might Need Chiropractic Adjustment

A chiropractic adjustment can help alleviate pain in certain parts of the body and enhance physical range of motion. It’s a popular treatment option because it doesn’t require surgery or pharmaceuticals.

Here are some of the most common reasons people opt for spinal chiropractic adjustment.

Back or Neck Pain

When the spine is misaligned, the surrounding soft tissues may become stressed and inflamed. An adjustment helps to properly align the spine and gets rid of the stress responsible for the pain.

Pinched Nerve

Gel-like discs sit between the vertebrae of the spine, acting as a cushion. When a disc bulges, it may result in pressure on a nerve root, causing radiating pain and even numbness down through the leg and foot. An adjustment alleviates the pressure on the nerve.

Limited Range of Motion

A misaligned spine not only causes inflammation in surrounding tissues, but it also strains the back muscles. This can result in limited motion in the arms, shoulders, neck, and hips. Spinal adjustment helps to loosen the tension and restores mobility.

These are only a few conditions a chiropractor can address with chiropractic adjustments. You may also seek chiropractic treatment for problems like herniated disc, migraine, or sciatica, to name a few.

What Can You Expect from a Chiropractor Appointment?

When you see a chiropractor for an adjustment, they will start by asking you about your symptoms as well as collecting a general medical history. For the chiropractic adjustments, you may be asked to sit or lie face down on a chiropractic table. You stay clothed the entire time, though you may remove your shoes.

The chiropractor uses their hands or a special tool to exert a short, controlled gentle force onto the joints. This improves the spinal range of motion and the body’s overall physical function, by ensuring the spine is properly aligned and not stressing surrounding muscles, nerves, and soft tissues.

Do Spinal Adjustments Work?

Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to be effective in many scientific studies. One trial examined participants with lower back pain. Some subjects in the study were treated by chiropractors, while others received general medical care, including pharmacological treatments. In the end, those who received chiropractic care reported less pain than their counterparts and were happier with the results.

More generally, a broad scientific overview of research examining the effectiveness of chiropractic care concluded that it is both safe and effective. The researchers also noted that chiropractor treatments are becoming increasingly popular as they become an accepted staple of modern medicine.

The research is there to assure you: chiropractic care is worth giving a try.