11 Types of Chiropractic Adjustments and How They Work

How Do Chiropractic Adjustments Work?

A chiropractic adjustment is a specific spinal manipulation technique a chiropractor uses on the vertebrae to treat unusual joint placement or subluxation. It involves the use of hands-on manipulation along with other alternative therapies.

An adjustment is a highly skilled and accurate movement designed to improve function in a joint. It helps to provide pain relief and restore normal movement in the body. This allows you to enjoy everyday outdoor activities as quickly as possible.

Adjustments help to reestablish a proper range of motion to a joint. When a joint is adjusted, the pressure is released from within the joint. In the process, a cracking sound may be heard.

The vertebral column is one continuous structure made up of many parts. Chiropractic treatment may be necessary to effectively reestablish good alignment and function throughout the connections of those parts in the spine. I can recommend a course of treatment that fits your specific needs.

Chiropractic techniques include joint mobilization, muscle release, muscle stimulation, and therapeutic exercises. Specific treatments may vary depending on the needs of each patient. Each of the techniques has a specific procedure to reinstate the spine to its normal function. Your next question might be, “How many adjustments do you need?” Find the answer here.

Characteristics of an adjustment:

• A specific form of joint manipulation
• Involves long or short leverage techniques
• Low amplitude dynamic thrust of controlled direction and velocity
• Audible articular crack

How Does a Chiropractor Adjust Your Back?

 There are many different ways that a chiropractor can adjust your back. Adjustments will only be made to the spine or other joints after you provide a detailed medical history and have a diagnosis with a doctor of chiropractic. He or she may order X-Rays or other tests to determine the best course of action. 

In general, a chiropractor will adjust your back by applying a precise, controlled amount of force to certain spinal segments of your back. This can be done with the chiropractor’s hands or with the help of special instruments made specifically for spinal adjustments. 

There are two types of techniques that you should be familiar with: specific and general spinal adjustments.

Specific Adjustments: These techniques include procedures that apply force to one’s joint or articulation individually. They include the application of short leverage exchanges. The established adjustments work with the affected joint with precision.

General Adjustments: These techniques include processes that are presumed to have wider sectional contacts. They are effective at mobilizing more than a single joint at a time. General adjustments are associated with multiple contacts.

Here are the various types of adjustments you should be familiar with:

1) Direct Thrust Technique

Direct thrust is also referred to as high velocity, low amplitude method or mobilization with impulse. It is one of the oldest and most popular types of manual therapy used by doctors of chiropractic. There are different categories of thrust techniques, including high amplitude and low velocity.

The use of direct thrust adjustment means the chiropractor will engage the restrictive barrier, which consists of pulling instead of pushing against body structures. The physician will monitor the increased restraint.

Then he or she will position the joint to engage the barrier effectively. Most joints show movement in flexion and extension, translation, side bending, and rotation. Then the joints are tested individually to properly diagnose the restriction.

For a direct thrust adjustment to be effective, the chiropractor has to ensure that each plane of the barrier is engaged at the same time. This will help create a solid feeling before applying the thrust. The efficacy of this process depends mainly on the experience of the physician and the patient’s initial pain condition.

Direct Thrust is used for:

• Spinal realignment
• “Cracking” or “popping” the back
• Relieving pain
• Reducing inflammation
• Improving range of motion

2) Spinal Mobilization

Spinal mobilization is a type of technique that is made up of passive movement of a specific spinal section. The goal of this treatment is to obtain a therapeutic effect. Experts associate the procedure with passive, gentle movements that help to improve range of motion.

Largely, the aim of mobilization is almost similar to that of spinal manipulation, which is to reinstate proper joint function. Your doctor may choose this method with respect to your personal preference, the sensitivity of your nervous system, a pain condition, or obesity.

Spinal mobilization is used for:

• Decreasing pain in the spine
• Increasing range of motion
• Re-aligning spinal segments

3) Articulatory Technique

 This is a type of chiropractic adjustment performed by a chiropractor for therapeutic purposes. Your physician will make use of high to moderate amplitude forces and low velocity to restore a dysfunctional joint by engaging its full range of motion.

To successfully achieve the full range of motion, your doctor will engage the restrictive barrier repeatedly. He or she will ease off every now and then before reengaging the restriction. To be precise, this chiropractic adjustment introduces a specific motion into a specific joint space.

The Articulatory Technique is used for:

• Improving range of motion in joints
• Decreasing pain

4) Myofascial Release

 This type of chiropractic adjustment refers to a group of manual procedures that are used by a chiropractor to alleviate the tension in the fascia of the body. A doctor of chiropractic will apply sustained pressure with his or her hands in order to relieve stiffness and pain. According to research, Myofascial release is a very resourceful treatment in sports medicine.

The advantages of this technique are not limited to fascia and muscle, but it extends to joints, bones, tendons, cartilage, blood, skin, and ligaments along with soft tissues of your body.

The advantages may be both long-term and immediate. The myofascial release does not involve entering a body cavity or puncturing the skin. Therefore, it can be considered as one of the safest adjustments with virtually no side effects.

Myofascial Release is used for:

• Muscle relaxation
• Improved tissue recovery and reduced soreness
• Reduction or suppression of trigger point pain and sensitivity
• Reduced adhesions along with scar tissue
• Increased joint range of motion
• Improved neuromuscular efficiency
• Regulation in the production of cytokines
• Decreased neuromuscular hypertonicity
• Promote growth and repair of muscle tissue
• Decreased effects of stress

5) Muscle Energy Technique

This is a chiropractic adjustment of soft tissue that incorporates directed and controlled constrictions tailored towards reducing back pain and improving musculoskeletal function. Muscle energy procedures can be used by your doctor of chiropractic to help stretch a muscle.

Muscle energy techniques are most effective when used on patients with unbearable discomfort from acute somatic dysfunction. This may include a whiplash injury due to a car accident or a person with severe muscle spasms from a long fall.

The Muscle Energy Technique is used for:

• Stretching tight or weak muscles
• Increasing mobility
• Promote healing
• Reduce muscle spasms
• Relieve soft tissue pain (as in whiplash)

6) Spinal Manipulation

The term manipulation is usually used to describe a range of manual therapy techniques, but our focus is on the rapid thrust or impulse used to correct misalignments. 

Through palpation, the physician is assessing each individual vertebra for movement. He or she will be trying to determine whether or not one or more spinal discs are not moving properly in affiliation with the ones below or above.

Some chiropractors may conduct cervical spine manipulation to help get rid of back pain. Your doctor may adjust your cervical spine in the supine position where you rest flat on your back while facing up. Some adjustments may also be made while you are sitting on a special chair.

Spinal manipulation will seek to address the smallest details that may be causing abnormalities in your body by applying a gentle force on the affected joints. When you experience spinal misalignment symptoms, spinal manipulation is often a required treatment.

Spinal Manipulation is used for:

• Stop muscle spasms
• Relieve localized inflammation
• Re-align spinal segments

7) Functional Technique

This particular adjustment targets affected joints in order to free them from restriction and improve mobility. Your chiropractor will use gentle force as he moves the affected joint through its specific natural range of motion.

A doctor of chiropractic will move the joint until it meets any restriction, then he will hold the joint on this restrive barrier until it releases. Like all forms of chiropractic adjustment, this functional technique must be conducted by a highly qualified practitioner. Like all forms of joint cracking, chiropractors will use this functional technique only when required.

Functional Technique is used for:

• Restoring function to various joints
• Relieving pain
• Reducing inflammation

8) Flexion-Distraction

While some other adjustment techniques require force around the spine, flexion-distraction isn’t one of those. Instead, this method is all about gently stretching the spine out and allowing the chiropractor to use a gentle (and some say relaxing) pumping method to align the spine. 

Flexion-Distraction is used for:

• Sciatica relief
• Increased disc and joint motion
• Herniated disc treatment
• Pinched nerve relief. 

9) Gonstead Method

The Gonstead method is a hands-on technique that nearly all chiropractors use. It is highly effective in relieving long-term back pain and getting the spine back in alignment. It’s named after its creator, Clarence Gonstead, and it involves a very safe and precise set of steps that the chiropractor performs to ensure the method will help their particular patient. 

This method is performed while the patient is either sitting up or lying on their side. This method can be used in different ways at different parts of the spine to improve mobility and relieve pain. 

The Gonstead Method is used for:

• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Hip or pelvic misalignments
• Inflammation
• Chronic pain

10) Activator

During some chiropractic adjustment techniques, the muscles of the body have a tendency to tense up. Tense muscles can resist adjustments, prolong healing, and make the session unpleasant. 

Enter the Activator device. This is a unique, spring-loaded device that’s used to perform localized low-force pulses to certain joints of the spine. The device is fast, so the body doesn’t have time to tense. Using the activator device can help the doctor of chiropractic perform effective treatments. 

Since the device allows for pinpointed force, it’s ideal for keeping the rest of the spine or other joints from moving into compromised positions. 

The Activator Method is used for:

• Headaches
• Back pain
• Neck pain

11) Thompson 

 Also known as the Drop-Table Technique, the Thompson method utilizes a special table to perform low-force, low amplitude, and high velocity adjustments. The table has platforms and is made specifically to drop these platforms while the chiropractor applies low amounts of force to the spine for adjustments. 

The Thompson Method is used for:

• Chronic back pain
• Pregnancy chiropractic care and adjustments
• Pediatric chiropractic adjustments
• Correcting neck curvature