Taking a Closer Look at the Chiropractic Adjustment

By Dr. Molly Casey

Regular chiropractic adjustments can improve your health and your life in many ways. What are the benefits and effects of the chiropractic adjustment? In short, there are a lot. Although the list could go on and on, there are two main types of effects from seeing your chiropractor: structural and physiological.

Structural Effects

Structural effects refer to what occurs to the actual body, bones, joints, and tissue. It’s referring to the structure of your body.

Increased joint motion - A joint is where two bones meet. There is a capsule of tissue that contains fluid and ligaments wrapping around the meeting point of both bones. This, in its entirety, is the joint. The chiropractic adjustment addresses, on a structural level, spinal joints that are subluxated -- which means they are not moving through the full range of motion that is intended for that joint. The chiropractic adjustment induces a quick thrust to the joint that helps restore the range of motion of the joint. In layman's terms, the joint is stuck, restricted, “misaligned” or not moving fully; the adjustment restores that range of motion.

Increased muscle function - When a joint is subluxated, or not moving through the full range of motion, it puts tension on the muscles that originate from -- or attach into -- those bones that are part of the joint. The muscles can be stretched too tight, bunched too short, or have decreased information from the brain being received. All of these things will decrease the ability of the muscle to function properly. When the chiropractic adjustment is performed and the joint motion is increased or potentially fully restored, the effect yields increased muscle function either through a decrease in muscle tension, a repositioning of muscles length, or increased information from the brain.

Physiological Effects

The chiropractic adjustment also has physiological effects that refer to the healthy, normal functioning of processes within the body.

Decrease in inflammation - When joints are subluxated or not moving through their full range of motion, other internal processes are disrupted. If one function of the joint is obstructed or operating less than optimally, other functions will be affected and, ultimately, this dysfunction takes a toll on the joint. Inflammation occurs as a result. Inflammation is a natural process of the body to clean up damaged tissue and repair in order to help the body move forward as healthily and best as possible. When inflammation is uncontrolled, it can cause more damage than benefit. When the chiropractic adjustment is performed and the joint motion is restored, it naturally helps control -- and even decrease -- the inflammation process.

Facilitates improved nervous system function/flow - The brain speaks to the entire body by sending messages down the spinal cord and out miles of nerves to every cell, system, structure, and organ within the body. Those cells, systems, structures, and organs also send information back through the nerves, up through the spine, and to the brain. You live your life through this communication system. It’s called the nervous system. The spine houses and protects the nervous system. When the spine is not moving properly or has become degenerative in any way, it is logical to infer the functioning or flow of the information that the nervous system transmits will be interfered with in some way. The chiropractic adjustment restores the range of motion and improves the health of the spine. In turn, this will facilitate optimal levels of nervous system function and flow. This can affect every single thing the nervous system interacts with -- every cell, system, structure and organ within the body.

The effects of the chiropractic adjustment can be profound. The list can go on and on. Categorizing the two main types of effects into structural and physiological help one get a better grasp of the true benefits. Breaking it down to increased joint motion, improved muscle function, decreased inflammation, and improved nervous system function make the effects even more tangible and pertinent to your daily life. Regular chiropractic adjustments are about improving the quality of your health and life. Get into The Joint Chiropractic to let our doctors help you help yourself, your spine, and your nervous system.

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