Chiropractic Adjustment

What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?

The First Chiropractic Adjustment

Davenport, Iowa 1895

If you've never been to a Chiropractor before you're probably wondering... "what is a chiropractic adjustment?" Chances are you also have a few other questions about our procedures, such as:

What does a Chiropractic Adjustment do?
Does it hurt to get a Chiropractic Adjustment?
How often do I need a Chiropractic Adjustment?
How old does someone need to be to get a Chiropractic adjustment?
What are the benefits of a Chiropractic Adjustment?
Are there different methods of giving a Chiropractic Adjustment?
Once adjusted, do I need to continue to be adjusted?

These are all good questions, so let's spend a little time answering them and give you the power of an educated patient.

WHAT IS A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - A Chiropractic adjustment, also known as a "Manipulation" is the application of specific forces to a vertebrae in your spine for the purpose of mobilization and/or alignment. To put that in simpler terms, and adjustment serves to loosen up a stiff or locked up vertebrae in the spine giving it the ability to settle into a more appropriate position.

WHAT DOES A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT DO? - A Chiropractic adjustment restores mobility and alignment to misaligned or "fixated" vertebral segments of the spine. In other words, the individual segments of your spine, known as vertebrae, can become stuck in place or fixated. When they do they can appear to be out of alignment. In Chiropractic we call these areas "SUBLUXATIONS." A Chiropractic adjustment reduces or removes subluxations. Subluxations are bad because they create a whole complex of negative effects on the local nerves and other tissues which in turn has a negative impact on our health and well being.

DOES IS HURT TO GET A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - If you have never been adjusted adj-mid-back-600x you might be wondering if the procedure hurts. The answer is no, but let's go a little further. Most of our new patients come to us for one reason, they are in PAIN! When you have back or neck pain, any movement hurts. So during this acute stage of your condition there might be a little pain involved with the adjustment however rest assured that a Chiropractor is specifically trained to apply just enough force to get the job done while keeping the patient comfortable. When the acute stage is over and you are feeling better, an adjustment is a very pleasant experience and feels quite good.

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - You're probably wondering ..."how often do I need to get adjusted to fix my problem?" The frequency of your adjustments will depend on your body, the intensity of your pain and how long you have had the problem. Obviously if you are in severe pain or have had your problem for a long time you will need to be adjusted frequently in the beginning. However as the condition improves the frequency of your visits will be dramatically reduced. We see all of our patients on a "reduced frequency basis" which means that as the condition improves the frequency of their visits are reduced. I make you a promise, that I will only recommend that number of visits needed to fix the problem....no more, no less.

HOW OLD DOES SOMEONE NEED TO BE TO GET A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - There are no age limitations to getting a Chiropractic adjustment. You can be 2 days old or 92 years old. If you have a misaligned or subluxated segment in your spine it needs to be adjusted ....plain and simple. Regardless of age, the longer the spinal segment stays misaligned, the longer the patient is going to suffer the ill effects. Due to the potential stressful events surrounding the delivery of a child, the very vulnerable neck may sustain a misalignment or subluxation necessitating an adjustment as soon as is possible. A young toddler may have a fall off a bicycle or a back yard trampoline, misaligning a spinal segment, necessitating a Chiropractic adjustment as soon as is possible. A 92 year old grandmother may struggle to get out of bed or out of a car and sustain a misalignment or subluxation necessitating an adjustment as soon as is possible. Age is never a factor that determines whether or not someone needs an adjustment, the important factor is do they have a subluxation/misalignment? ....if they do they need an adjustment!

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - Of course the initial benefits of a Chiropractic adjustment or manipulation, stim-mid-back600x is relief of your pain. The long term benefits are an increase in mobility and range of movement of your back and neck, making it easier to do simple things like turning your head around to back you car out of a parking spot. You will also find it is easier to assume a more up-right posture, in other words you will not be as "slumped over." The joints of your spine will not wear out as fast when aligned, just like the tires on your car will not wear out as fast when they are aligned. The nerve signals coming from the spine and going out to all the regions of your body will function better giving your body vitality or what us Chiropractors call ...."turning on the lights!" All in all you just function better, move better and feel better.

ARE THERE DIFFERENT METHODS OF GIVING A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT? - There is a wide array of different adjusting techniques and numerous ways to deliver an adjustment. Also, every Chiropractor is different in height and weight, so getting an adjustment form one Chiropractor can be different than getting and adjustment form another Chiropractor. A well trained Chiropractor will determine which adjusting method is best for your body and your condition. Adjustments can be given by hand, known as a manual adjustment or manipulation or they can be given by various adjusting tools and adjusting tables. In general terms there are three levels of Chiropractic adjustments:

Light Force - Given with an adjusting instrument (e.g. Activator, Arthrostim)
Low Force - Given by hand or with the use of a specific table (Drop or Thompson Table)
Standard Force - Given by hand only

The adjustment methods used for your particular case may vary, in other words multiple adjusting methods may be used on any given visit. As your Chiropractor, I may find that your particular body responds better to a certain adjusting method, such as instrument adjusting, so this will become the method primarily used on you.

ONCE ADJUSTED, DO I NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE ADJUSTED? - This is a common question asked in our office and the answer is simply NO. Once you are out of pain and feel like the full benefits of Chiropractic care in your case have been reached, you will be dismissed. If you have a chronic or degenerative spine, or a history of spinal damage, injury or arthritic wear and tear, then you may need some ongoing care to keep you feeling good. However the decision is yours. Just like your car has a "maintenance schedule", we can design one for your spine. You can get adjusted on a "maintenance schedule", or just come on an "as needed basis."...The decision is totally yours!

Getting adjusted is a wonderful experience. It is a fantastic form of prevention for spinal related problems and a way to be proactive in your quest for good health. Personally I have been getting regular adjustments since I was 15 years old. My wife and five children get adjusted on a regular basis keeping them strong and healthy. A Chiropractic adjustment should never be something that you fear or have apprehension about for either you or any family member. I look forward to the opportunity of giving you a Chiropractic adjustment so you too can experience the healing benefits of this wonderful health giving procedure.