I don't expect your first adjustment to fix you

You read that title right. I don't expect your first adjustment to "fix" you. 

Even writing that, I'm thinking to myself, "Gosh it sounds like I just don't even try at the first adjustment." But that's not the case. There are several factors that I have to consider at that first adjustment:

• Are you in pain? How much pain?
• Is this a recurring problem?
• How long have you been in pain?
• How long has this particular pain been a problem for you?
• Is this your first adjustment ever, first adjustment by me, or has it been a while since you've been adjusted by me or anyone else?
• Have you experienced domestic violence or abuse of any kind?
• What type of injuries have you had in the past - car accidents, slips/falls, concussions, sprains/strains etc.?
• What kind of inflammation is your body dealing with? Do you eat a healthy diet and limit your exposure to toxins?
• Are you under a lot of stress even in the absence of pain?
• How degenerated is your spine? Can movement even be achieved in certain regions?

Part of the first adjustment is a mutual building of trust. It's been reported that women can actually halt the progression of labor if a person they're unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with enters their space. I think the same goes, albeit on a lesser level, with being able to relax your muscles and not guard against an adjustment with a chiropractor who is new to you. So if you are extremely nervous at that first adjustment we may not get as much movement as we will at subsequent adjustments. Similarly for those in a lot of pain, I may not be able to get you to relax enough to get the best adjustment on you that first visit. I may even have to recommend massage or other pain reducing techniques to enable you to relax enough for your next visit. 

Let's say we did get great movement, though, what then? Should you expect to feel better immediately? The answer is no. I would say I predominantly see some degree of improvement in pain in most patients, if not that first visit then only a few after. There are some people who don't feel better or even feel worse after their first adjustment, and that's okay. Your body benefits from every adjustment whether your feel your best or you feel your worst when you receive that adjustment because it allows the brain to better monitor the conditions inside and outside of your body and make the minute changes that have to take place for the body to function.

It didn't take your body one day to get to this point, it won't take it one day to get better.

We all undergo stress from our environment in the form of emotional, physical, and chemical stressors which create subluxations in the body. Subluxations are the misalignments that prevent the brain from sending info to and receiving info from the body. When the brain cannot send/receive information appropriately we experience dysfunction that ultimately leads to dis-ease. So you want your spine moving its best and possessing the correct amounts of curvature in each region so that you adapt to your environment well and move well. 
What you do daily either supports or subluxates your spine. If you are working toward health you are never moving further away from it. The inverse is true as well so it should be our goal to work each and every day to support and empower our body to function as best it can!

Understandably, we want that first adjustment to be a good one! I spend time with patients making sure we're not only clearing the issues I found in the spine but listening to their body about what is going on to ensure we're getting the best adjustment possible. Each and every time.