What to Expect After Your First Adjustment

If you were adjusted today and you are stiffer or achier tonight than you were this morning, you are in the right place. Mild soreness after a first adjustment is common, and on its own it is usually not a sign that anything went wrong. This page picks up where two others stop. Your first visit covers what happens inside the office, and does a chiropractic adjustment hurt covers what the adjustment itself feels like. This one starts when you walk out the door.

What is common in the first day or two

The most frequent report is mild soreness in the area that was worked on, and often in the muscles around it rather than in the joint itself. It usually shows up within the first 24 hours and settles within a day or two. People describe it as achy or tender rather than sharp, closer to how you feel the day after a workout you were not used to.

Other things people commonly notice:

• A loose or light feeling in the area. Sometimes right away, sometimes not until the next morning.
• Tiredness for the rest of the day. Plenty of people go home after a first visit and want to sit down or nap.
• A temporary increase in awareness of the area before it improves. A back that had gone quiet and stiff can feel noticeable again for a day once it starts moving.
• Nothing much at all. Some people get on with their evening and notice no aftereffect, which does not mean the visit did nothing.

Why soreness happens

In plain terms: joints and the muscles around them that have been guarding and moving poorly are being asked to move differently, and the tissue responds to that change. Muscles that have held a protective pattern for weeks or months do not go quiet the moment that pattern is interrupted. It is the same reason the first day back at the gym leaves you sore and the tenth does not.

What to do the rest of the day

Move normally. This is the most useful thing on the list. Holding still, resting rigidly, or babying the area tends to leave you stiffer, not looser. A short easy walk in the evening does more for most people than sitting still on the couch. Drink water and eat normally too. People who have been in pain often stop doing both, which does not help.

If you want something for comfort, ice or heat is reasonable. Which one, and how long to use it, is covered on ice or heat for back pain.

Do not put your hardest physical day right after your first adjustment if you have any say in it. Moving furniture, a full dive day, or a long shift of heavy lifting is worth pushing back. Not because it is dangerous, but because you will not be able to tell what is soreness from the visit and what is soreness from the day.

What one visit realistically changes

Some people feel a clear difference walking out the door. Others feel nothing at first and only notice a change later on. Neither one predicts how your case will go, and neither is a sign of failure. A problem that took years to build is not usually undone in one appointment, and any clinic that suggests otherwise is selling you something.

What happens after your first visit is decided at your exam, by the person who examined you, based on what he found and how you actually respond. Dr. Keys is the Chair of the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners, a member of the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Society, and the International Chiropractors Association representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands. See how many chiropractic visits will I need for how that decision gets made. If your soreness is not settling the way this page describes, call the office and say so. That is useful information for the doctor, not a complaint.

When it is not ordinary soreness

Some things are not post-adjustment soreness and should not be waited out overnight.

Call the office if pain is severe, or if it is escalating over the following day instead of easing. Call if you have new numbness, tingling, or weakness, or if symptoms are spreading further down an arm or leg than before.

Go to the nearest emergency room or call 911 for loss of bowel or bladder control, numbness in the saddle area, or weakness that is quickly getting worse. After neck treatment specifically, a sudden severe headache unlike any you have had before, changes in your vision, slurred speech, or weakness on one side of your face are 911 situations. Do not drive yourself and do not wait to see whether they pass. See when back pain is an emergency for the full list of warning signs, and is chiropractic safe for a direct discussion of chiropractic risk.

Getting seen

Call (340) 690-4994 with questions after a visit, including the ones you think are too small to bother anyone with. We take walk-ins and same-day appointments. We are at the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, USVI 00802, just east of Charlotte Amalie and a short drive from the Havensight cruise port and Yacht Haven Grande. Hours are Mon, Wed, Thu: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Tue, Fri: 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. Closed Sat and Sun. New patient forms are at forms. Tradewinds Chiropractic has more than 180 five-star Google reviews.

Questions patients ask

I'm sore after my first chiropractic adjustment. Is that normal?

Mild soreness in the treated area or the muscles around it is common after a first adjustment, and by itself it is usually not a sign that anything went wrong. It tends to feel achy rather than sharp, similar to soreness after exercise you were not used to.

How long does soreness last after an adjustment?

For most people it shows up within the first 24 hours and settles within a day or two. Soreness that is getting worse over the following day instead of easing, or that is severe, is not ordinary post-adjustment soreness and is a reason to call the office.

What should I do the rest of the day after my first chiropractor visit?

Move normally rather than resting rigidly, take an easy walk if you can, and drink water. Use ice or heat if you want something for comfort. Avoid making that day your heaviest physical day, so you can tell what your body is actually reacting to.

Should I feel better right away after my first adjustment?

Some people do and some people do not, and neither says much about how the case will go. A long-standing problem is not usually resolved in one visit. What happens next is set at your exam by the person who examined you, based on the findings and how you respond.

When should I call instead of waiting it out?

Call if pain is severe or escalating rather than easing, or if you have new numbness, weakness, or symptoms spreading down an arm or leg. Loss of bowel or bladder control, or after neck treatment a sudden severe headache, vision changes, slurred speech, or facial weakness, mean the emergency room or 911 rather than a phone call.