What an adjustment is
An adjustment (also called spinal manipulation) is a quick, controlled, specific movement applied to a joint of the spine or another part of the body, usually at the end of its normal range of motion. The aim is to improve how a stiff or restricted joint moves and to reduce pain and muscle tension around it.
You may hear a click or pop. That sound is gas being released from the fluid inside the joint, in the same way knuckles crack. It is harmless, it is not bone moving on bone, and an adjustment works just as well without it.
Adjustments are one tool among several. Depending on what your assessment finds, your care may also include mobilisation (slower, gentler joint movement), soft tissue work, exercises and advice.
Ways we deliver an adjustment
- Manual adjustment (Diversified). The most common technique: a precise, quick push with the hands to a specific joint.
- Instrument-assisted adjustment (Activator). A small handheld instrument delivers a light, quick impulse. Lower force, no twisting, and often preferred by people who are anxious, older, or being treated for the first time.
- Drop-table adjustment. A section of the table drops a small distance as the adjustment is made, so less force is needed.
- Gonstead and Sacro Occipital techniques. Specific approaches to assessing and adjusting the spine and pelvis. Our techniques page describes each in more detail.
You choose. If you would rather not have manual adjustments, say so, and your chiropractor will use lower-force options.
Before your first adjustment
Nobody is adjusted on the day without an assessment first. Your first appointment (30 to 40 minutes) includes your history, an examination, posture analysis for adults, and an explanation of what we found and recommend. Your first treatment follows when it is clinically appropriate.
Part of the assessment is screening for reasons not to adjust, or to adjust differently: osteoporosis, recent fractures, inflammatory conditions, certain medications, a history of stroke or vascular problems, and pregnancy among them. If anything needs a medical opinion first, we say so.
What to expect afterwards
- Common and mild: some soreness or stiffness in the treated area for a day or two, similar to after new exercise, and occasionally tiredness. Moving gently and drinking water helps.
- Uncommon: a temporary increase in your usual symptoms. Tell us if this happens; the plan can be adjusted.
- Rare: serious complications after spinal manipulation are very rare. The most discussed is a type of stroke associated with neck manipulation; the research suggests the association is very small and may reflect people seeking care for the early symptoms of a stroke already under way. We screen for risk factors and use low-force options for the neck where there is any doubt.
- A sudden, severe headache, dizziness, double vision, difficulty speaking or swallowing, or weakness or numbness on one side.
- Loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin.
What the research says
There is no good evidence that adjustments treat conditions unrelated to the spine and joints, and we do not claim that they do. See the research we rely on.
ACC and adjustments
If you are being treated for an injury under an accepted ACC claim, ACC covers part of the cost of your care.