How do chiropractors know where to adjust?
When you go to a chiropractor for your regular adjustment, you might wonder how do chiropractors know where to adjust your spine. After all, your spine is covered in muscles and other soft tissues, making it impossible for them to see the bones underneath. So how do they know where to apply pressure?
As surprising as it may seem, your chiropractor can feel where your spine is misaligned just by feeling your neck, back, and other areas of your body. These subtle checks are the only way to determine if further examination is necessary or if there’s a need for an adjustment.
These subtle checks are called neurological indicators because they’re based on changes in the nerves beneath the skin that communicate pain and discomfort directly to your brain. By watching for these indicators, a chiropractor knows exactly where to adjust you without needing to cut into you with a scalpel or scope.
What Is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is a manual manipulation of the spine. Chiropractors use their hands, elbows, and wrists to adjust the vertebrae of your back. This can help relieve pain, improve range of motion and reduce inflammation in areas that may be affected by poor posture or stress.
Chiropractors train in spinal manipulation as part of their professional practice. However, they also study other forms of manual therapy, such as massage and Feldenkrais practitioners.
4 Ways a Chiropractor Determines Where to Adjust
- Range of motion
- Joint and body palpation
- Gait and posture assessment
- Symptom and Lab Analysis
1. Range of Motion
The first step in assessing your range of motion is to evaluate the range of motion at each joint and vertebrae. This includes the spine and all other joints in the body that is moving. Next, the chiropractor will ask you questions about how far you can move each joint or bone and any restrictions (such as pain) you may be experiencing about movement within those joints or bones.
The next step is to assess how much flexibility you have between two adjacent spine segments. For example, if there’s no space between two vertebrae, but there is room on either side for them to slide into position without touching each other—and compare it against what might be considered normal limits for a given individual
2. Joint and Body Palpation
When it comes to joint and body palpation, the goal is to identify areas of pain or discomfort. The key here is to start with your hands on different parts of the patient’s body, then move up until you reach their head or neck area. Once there, feel for points where there could be pain or tenderness to determine if adjustments will help alleviate this problem. Suppose there isn’t anything wrong with what you’re feeling—and, by extension, any other body part—then congratulations! You’ve just completed one assessment session!
3. Gait and Posture Assessment
To determine if a patient is a good candidate for chiropractic care, you must assess their gait and posture. For example, if someone has been experiencing lower back pain for several months or longer, it may be time to seek treatment from a chiropractor. Doing this assessment ensures that your patient gets the most from their sessions at your office!
4. Symptom and Lab Analysis
- Symptoms
- Lab Analysis
- X-ray, MRI, or other imaging tests
Conclusion
In short, chiropractors must consider all of these factors when determining where to adjust their patients. The fourth method is an excellent example of how a chiropractor can determine where they should be adjusting based on the symptoms displayed by their patient. For example, if there isn’t enough motion in one joint, they may need to adjust elsewhere with more force than usual. This way, they can get better results from their treatment and help your spine heal faster!
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