What Does a Chiropractic Adjustment Do?

So, what is a chiropractic adjustment? And what does a chiropractic adjustment do?

The chiropractic adjustment is a procedure when chiropractors use their hands or a small instrument to apply exact force to a spinal joint.

The goal of this procedure is to correct the alignment of the spine, improve spinal motion and function of a vertebral joint and remove the interference of the nerve exiting the area that’s being adjusted, which improves your body’s overall physical function.

That’s quite a bit of information, but there’s even more to it than that!

Consider this idea: the nervous system controls and coordinates all the systems and functions of your body. It’s like the super-duper computer that has not yet been developed — and probably won’t ever be developed! The wiring alone for this computer would take many years for an electrician to string together and connect. And, truthfully, it probably could never be done.

In fact, the wiring and connectors would be so big and cumbersome no one would even recognize what the electrician was trying to do.

And yet, your complex nervous system is very portable and does almost everything without you even realizing it. Pretty neat!

But what does this have to do with a chiropractic adjustment?

Well, the primary effect of a chiropractic adjustment is to remove nervous system interference.

That’s essentially what an adjustment does and it’s one of the reasons patients feel better after receiving an adjustment!

Wrist, hand and finger pain? Gone.

Difficulty breathing? Gone.

Constipation, bladder problems, menstrual problems? Jaw pain, lower back pain?

All gone or significantly improved following a chiropractic adjustment, and it’s because the nerve interference was removed. Pretty cool.

The idea of the chiropractic adjustment and subsequent correction of the subluxation of the spine (vertebra out of alignment and pinching a nerve) was best stated by Dr. B.J. Palmer:

A slip on the snowy sidewalk in winter is a small thing. It happens to millions.

A fall from a ladder in the summer is a small thing. It happens to millions.

The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a small thing.

The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. The pressure is a small thing.

That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a big thing to that man.

Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city.

Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation.

So the slip or fall, the subluxation, pressure, flow of mental images and dis-ease are big enough to control the thoughts and actions of the nation.

Now comes a man. And one man is a small thing.

This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a small thing.

The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a small thing.

The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a small thing.

The released pressure restores health to a man. This is a big thing to that man.

Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up the physical and mental welfare of a city.

Multipy that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a state.

Multiply that well man by a hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy and better race for posterity.

So, the adjustment of the subluxation to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is big enough to rebuild the thoughts and actions of the world.

The idea that knows the cause, that can correct the cause of dis-ease, is one of the biggest ideas known. Without it, nations fall: with it, nations rise.

This idea is the biggest I know of.

B.J. Palmer, 1944

If you have any questions about what chiropractic adjustments do or how they work, please feel free to contact me.