What Happens To Your Body After A Chiropractic Adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is what we do to restore proper movement and function to a joint. As the spine is the protector of your spinal cord/nervous system, it is important to keep it moving and performing to the best of its ability. An adjustment helps to support the joints, blood flow, nervous system, soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, tendons etc) both within the spine, and extremities (arms/legs).
What you can expect following your first chiropractic adjustment can vary based on symptoms, technique, past injuries, even time of day! However, the expectations boil down to 4 things:
Improved movement and decreased pain - restoring proper motion and improving healing in area with poor mobility, awareness, and blood flow in the body is the purpose of an adjustment! So it is no surprise this is a common outcome.
Sleepiness - similarly to a deep tissue massage, we target areas that you hold stress in. Managing these areas creates a release of toxins from the body that are best flushed out of the system with hydration and rest. Better out, than in!
Temporary tenderness - as the body readjusts to the changes in the muscles and joint position following an adjustment, the body can present with some stiffness for the 24-48 hours following an adjustment. It should not impact day to day function and is actually a good thing to show that the adjustment has created an effect of change on dysfunctional areas in the body. Heat and hydration help to mitigate these symptoms.
No change - sounds strange but this is the worst one! Most people come to a chiropractor to create some form of change in their body. With no change to symptoms can call for a reconsideration of style or location of the adjustment. At Fletcher Chiropractic, we use a variety of techniques to suit your preferences; some involve 'the popping sound’ while others do not.
A good adjustment does not always make you feel instantly better but it does make the body heal instantly better. Time plays a role in healing especially if the injury has extended into the chronic time frame (3 months plus!).
I hope this helps bring some clarification about what happens to your body after an adjustment but if you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
