How to Get the Most Out of Your Chiropractic Adjustment

By Dr. Molly Casey

The way we show up to and engage with any activity in our life plays a role in the results we achieve or benefits we reap from that activity. If you show up to work, the gym, or even a family party irritated, not really wanting to participate, and/or confused, it is quite likely that your work won’t be of as high quality as it could be, you won’t push as hard on your last few reps, or you may simply bail early because you don’t feel like you know what’s going on. You may or may not be conscious of this behavior, but a lack of clarity and expectations for optimal performance will affect your results. Same goes for going to your chiropractor and getting the most out of the adjustment. Here are some guidelines below in order for you to reap the greatest rewards when you visit The Joint Chiropractic.

Consistency

I don’t care who your chiropractor is, where they are located, or how incredible they are at their craft, if you are not at the office receiving adjustments with regularity, then you are not reaping all that chiropractic has to give you and your care. This is absolutely no different than the gym or eating healthy; while engaging in these activities once is great, it is the consistency that actually provides the results.

Poor spinal health negatively impacts optimal nervous system function. Your nervous system is your body’s communication system and when this system is impeded in any way, your level of health, regardless of how you actually feel, is not as full and robust as it possibly could be. So to reap the benefits of optimal health, one must include optimal spinal health as a top priority.

Your body is a machine. You have certain behaviors and ways of doing things in your daily life that create certain patterns of wear and tear on that machine whether you are conscious of it or not. So as long as you keep living, your machine -- in other words, your body -- relentlessly deals with daily life stress. The chiropractic adjustment helps mitigate the stress and improve spinal health, thus fostering optimal nervous system function and communication. Like any machine, your body needs consistent tune-ups and maintenance to provide optimal function.

So be consistent with your chiropractic adjustments.

Relax

When you are at the office getting adjusted, get on the table and do your very best to relax as much as possible. The more relaxed you are during your adjustment, the better your body is able to move because of the lack of resistance. The better your body moves, the greater the effect of the adjustment. One point of the adjustment is to induce or restore motion. Another point of the adjustment is to stimulate proprioceptors in the joint. Proprioceptors are sensory receptors that receive stimuli from within the body that responds to position and movement. Motion and stimulation of the proprioceptors of the joint occur with greater ease when the one receiving the adjustment is relaxed.

Get into your own routine of taking a few breaths and turn your palms facing up (this will drop your shoulders and you’ll stop unknowingly resisting). Lastly, simply rest and try to be present in the moment. Finding your own practice here can turn these few minutes into a few moments of respite during your day. That, in and of itself, can be deeply healing.

Engage

Talk with your chiropractor. Ask questions, be curious as to how you can promote health and longevity with certain practices in your daily life. Let them know what is going on with your health and ask if there are additional things you can add to your routine to boost the effects of the adjustments and mitigate the stress of your daily life. Then listen, truly listen, to the doctor’s response. Then go home and apply the recommendations. Optimal health is a journey and it requires active participation. Continuing the same patterns and behaviors that have not served you well this far in life aren’t going to create a new result no matter how often you get adjusted. So engage with your chiropractor to learn new patterns and behaviors that will serve you well.

Best patient practices are like playing a competitive sport: show up to the game having practiced with regularity, have an attitude of wanting to be present, be willing to do the work, and then actively engaging and correcting your course as needed. Chiropractors want to help you live your best life. Your body has an amazing ability to help you carry that out. But in order to do that, you need to support your body in the process. Stop into The Joint Chiropractic and let doctors help you help yourself in the journey.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.