Chiropractor Questions Chiropractic Adjustment

Is it normal to have pain after first chiropractic adjustment?

I'm 29 years old. After my first chiropractic adjustment for back pain yesterday, I still feel some pain and soreness. Is this normal?

18 Answers

Sometimes yes. But let your doctor know.
Absolutely. I always tell my patients it’s common to feel more sore after the first few treatments but the pain should subside within a day or two.
Yes, this is normal to have some pain. It should go away.
Physiological soreness is very common following a patients initial treatment, especially if it's their first treatment ever. Similar to going to the gym and working out extremely hard after not going for awhile. If the soreness persists for longer than 36-48 hours I would let the Chiropractor know as the adjustment technique may not have been tolerable for your body or condition.
Have you ever hit your thumb with a hammer? You move the hammer off the thumb, thumb still hurts. When a chiropractor starts making structural changes, sometimes there is some post procedure soreness. Kinda like when a child has braces put on, by golly they're sore at first. By far, the vast majority of chiropractic procedures are painless.
Most definitely. A first adjustment is like a new exercise at the gym because you are putting motion into an area that has been locked up for some time. Use ice for 20 minutes on and off and keep getting adjusted.
This should not be, but there may be some discomfort after a corrective adjustment.
Yes. Remember how it feels to work out for the first time or get a massage for the first time? Soreness can be normal. Be patient and let your body heal through regular chiropractic care.
It might be normal to have a little bit of discomfort, but you should not have pain.
It is perfectly normal to have some soreness after an adjustment, especially the first time. Even when there is a long lapse of time between care there after. Your body has to adjust to the spine being in better alignment. Remember, an adjustment is the first step in facilitating a healing response, not necessarily instant relief.
It is not unusual to have pain in the form of muscle soreness after your first adjustment. Typically, it resolves that afternoon or the next day. If it doesn't, be sure to call your doctor to let him know. This usually only happens after the first or second treatment. It is due to the muscles relaxing. They have been overworking in response to the spinal problems. Once they relax, it is like you have been over-training at the gym. You get sore.
Hope that helps.

Dr. Payne 
It can be totally normal to have some pain or soreness after your first adjustment. Your chiropractor just unlocked some joints that have not been moving and so just like if you go to the gym and do a new exercise, you use the muscles differently and get sore. Now things are moving in a new way and can make you sore. Also, you may have a fair amount of inflammation and correcting your spine can make you sore from that as well. Healing is not a quick fix but a process that takes time and repetition.

Best of luck!

Dr. John G. Vilkelis
It is very common to feel some pain after an adjustment, or even worse. The body is used to its current alignment, even though it is wrong. As correction is made some muscles muscle tighten and some must stretch. It is a lot like the soreness after exercise, because exercises make changes to the body.

Dr. David
Yes, that is normal. Especially after your first visit. Your body isn’t used to the structural corrections that the chiropractor is trying to make. Each visit should get easier and your body will be more used to the motion and shouldn’t be as sore.
Normal 10% of the time
Yes. Usually, the adjustment does not erase the pain after one treatment. The problem that has been causing your symptoms will likely take a series of treatments. If you are more sore after the first visit, you may ice the affected area and take ibuprofen if you can.
Yes, it depends on the severity of your spinal damage
Yes this can be normal and should last no more than 2 days. Sometimes the body will need an adjustment period to treatment.