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Side effects of chiropractic care are fairly minimal, but they do exist. They can be managed by good communication with your chiropractor.
You Should Tell Your Chiropractor if You Have Experienced These Conditions
If you have osteoporosis or artificial joints, you should notify your chiropractor before beginning treatments. You should also notify him or her about prior back surgeries, any prior negative experiences with chiropractic treatments, or if you’re pregnant. These conditions do not mean you can’t be treated, but your chiropractor may alter the type of adjustments they do or reduce the amount of force they use when doing them. Chiropractors are highly trained on how to use the right level of force and how to avoid pushing a joint beyond the range it can go.
Minor Side Effects You May Experience
Like any other form of treatment that changes something about the body, the body has to adapt to that change. Here are some things that you may experience during or after a chiropractic visit.
- You may experience mild or dull headaches for a while after an adjustment, especially if your chiropractor is beginning to work on a long-standing or severe problem. You may feel like your head is “sitting differently,” because the adjustments improve the alignment of your neck. We sometimes get so used to holding our neck in twisted or tilted positions due to driving, riding bicycles, playing instruments, and other daily activities that we are unaware that our neck has become misaligned.
- You may experience fatigue as a short-term symptom. Your chiropractor will frequently recommend that you limit strenuous activity for a number of reasons. Your muscles and joints have been moved into a slightly different position and may have experienced some stretching. Like a hard workout, a chiropractic adjustment can require some recovery time.
- You may experience pain in a region of the spine or other affected joint after a manipulation. Usually, there was some pain in the joint to begin with, but you may have gotten used to it. Improving circulation to the nerves both gives them a chance to heal in the long run and creates some pain or irritation in the short run, much as a limb that has “fallen asleep” may tingle or be painful as blood comes back in.
If you have concerns about your medical history or what kind of side effects you may experience, talk to your chiropractor.