What To Expect After Your First Adjustment In Richmond

You can expect to feel one of three things after a chiropractic adjustment from our Richmond chiropractic clinic.

1. Better
2. Worse
3. No Different

Feeling Worse Is Not A Negative Response

If you feel WORSE, you usually feel sore. This is not a negative response but rather a sign that things are changing and moving differently in your body.

When your bones are restricted or misaligned, the muscles that attach to these bones may not be working as much. Now that you have motion restored to your spine bones, those muscles need to work again. And that may result in soreness.

Much like exercising at the gym, your muscles may feel sore due to the increase in activity and use. Additionally, blood is now able to enter the previously restricted region and this increased blood volume is a type of inflammation. Inflammation can cause some pain or soreness.

If you experience soreness, please use ICE on the sore region for about 20 minutes. Then remove the ice for 40 minutes. This is a one-hour cycle. You may repeat this every hour if needed.

Tingling, numbness, or sharp shooting pains are not typical responses. If you experience these symptoms and HAD NOT prior to your adjustment, please call Dr. Green or our office. We will have you return to the office as soon as possible or call you to discuss the next steps in your care plan.

Feeling Better In Richmond

If you feel BETTER, as most patients do, WONDERFUL! It may be short-term, however. This is typical of chiropractic care. Initially, the relief is short term but as you stay consistent with your care frequency, the length of relief increases.

You might experience the same pain but in a smaller region. This is also a sign of positive progress.

You may have the same pain, but it may take longer for it to present. For example, you might be able to stand for 15 minutes before you have pain, instead of the 5 minutes you could stand prior to care. This is a sign of progress.

No Difference At All

If you feel NO DIFFERENT, this is not a sign that treatment is not working for you. One adjustment may not be enough to initiate relief, or we may need to perform a slightly different type of adjustment on your next visit.

Each visit we assess your progress and add in any treatments we feel are appropriate based on your tolerance to care so far. We typically will try one or two new things with you each visit until we feel your body has become fully functional.

Your feedback is helpful and welcomed at our office. We adapt your care to your body's response. Each person has a different tolerance to treatment. Your feedback will help us get you feeling better as quickly as we can.

Our goal is to help you meet your goal. For most patients, the initial goal is pain relief. We are happy to help you reach this goal. Thank you for communicating with our doctor.