During the adjustment, you may be asked to lie down on a specially designed table. By placing the hands in precise places and performing controlled movements, the chiropractor works on one joint at a time. This is to help improve movement and ease pain.
Chiropractic
adjustment is a procedure in which trained specialists called chiropractors use their hands or a small instrument to apply controlled force to a spinal joint.The goal of this procedure, also called spinal manipulation, is to improve the movement of the spine and the body's ability to move. Low back pain, neck pain, and headaches are the most common reasons people seek chiropractic adjustments. You don't need to do anything special before a chiropractic adjustment. During a chiropractic adjustment, the chiropractor will most often place you in certain postures for treating affected areas.
You're likely to lie face down on a special padded chiropractic table. Using their hands to apply controlled force to a joint, the chiropractor pushes the joint beyond their usual range of motion. You may hear popping or crackling sounds when the chiropractor moves the joints during the treatment session. Some people have mild side effects for a few days after the chiropractic adjustment.
These may include headaches or pain in the parts of the body that were treated and being tired. Chiropractic adjustments can ease lower back pain. Depending on the cause of your lower back pain, you may need several sessions. Research shows that spinal manipulation works to treat certain types of low back pain. Some studies also suggest that chiropractic adjustments may work for headaches and other spine-related conditions, such as neck pain.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenues support our nonprofit mission. Donate to our 2025 campaign to cure cancer and transform the way cancer is treated and defeated. Chiropractic treatments can cause mild and temporary side effects, such as discomfort, stiffness, or headache.
Rarely, people also report serious episodes, such as spinal cord injury, arterial dissection, and stroke. Like most treatments, chiropractic care comes with its own risks. However, these risks can be significantly reduced if you see a licensed chiropractor. The extreme risks of chiropractic care are unlikely, but they include bone damage, stroke, and more.
While chiropractic care primarily involves manipulating the spine, neck adjustments are also often part of chiropractic care. Neck adjustments are more delicate and come with more risks. And then there's the financial side of things. While chiropractic care may seem inexpensive at first, it's not uncommon for several sessions to be needed for proper treatment. If multiple sessions are needed, bills can add up over time.
The main disadvantage of chiropractic care is that there is a general lack of scientific consensus on the effectiveness of chiropractic care. Many critics argue that more research is needed to establish its usefulness for many conditions. While no serious side effects were reported, about 10% of those who received chiropractic care described adverse effects (primarily joint or muscle stiffness). Five percent of people who received regular care had similar complaints.
Adverse effects reported in a randomized controlled trial comparing spinal manipulation with spinal mobilization as a treatment for neck pain, 43 of 280 patients, 30% reported at least one adverse effect. Patients who had their spine manipulated were more likely to experience adverse effects than patients treated with mobilization, a more gentle manual technique preferred by many osteopaths. The most common side effects were increased pain, headache, tiredness and pain irradiation. During an initial appointment, a chiropractor can perform tests and examinations to develop a treatment plan.
Plus, chiropractic treatments aren't free (although, fortunately, insurance coverage for chiropractic care is becoming more common). In this age group, patients were five times more likely to have had more than three chiropractic visits with a cervical diagnosis in the month before the event. Chiropractors can argue that years of experience are needed to learn the fine psychomotor control required for skilled manipulations. With chiropractic maintenance, patients will notice a number of health benefits, including immediate relief from back and neck conditions, arm and wrist pain, sleep disorders, arthritis, stress and tension disorders, sciatica, fibromyalgia, bursitis, and much more.
Half were randomly assigned to receive regular care (including medications, personal care, and physical therapy), while the other half received regular care plus up to 12 chiropractic treatments. In patients younger than 45, the chances of suffering a spinal stroke one week after visiting the chiropractor increased fivefold. However, it's important to recognize the limitations of this trial and keep in mind that treatment side effects were more common among people who received chiropractic care. The ideal frequency of chiropractic adjustments can depend on many factors, such as the reason for the treatment, the person's age, etc.
In addition, this review aims to assess the risk of an intervention (spinal manipulation) and not that of a profession (chiropractic). However, more research is needed to accurately estimate the prevalence of serious side effects of chiropractic treatments. Chiropractic adjustments are safe when done by a person who is trained and authorized to perform chiropractic care. Reports of serious side effects of chiropractic treatment include herniated discs, fractures, arterial dissections, and strokes.
The patients were predominantly women (average age 39) who had seen a chiropractor for neck pain or headache. The goal of chiropractic treatment is to improve joint movement and physical body function.
