pain after chiropractor adjustment normal?

**shotokanbjj** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 3:18pm

ok so basically i screwed my back up several months ago (re-hurt a really old t-bar row injury from way back). Took some time off, felt better, rinse repeat rinse repeat, finally gave up squats and deads (they were the culprits). So i'm feeling good for a while, and all of a sudden while doing squat thrusts and 6 inch holds in my MMA conditioning class, i feel it tweak out again.

Go see the family doctor, he suggests a chiropractor.

Well this past monday (2 days ago) i went to one that my fiance recommended (early christmas present, she paid for 4 sessions for me, i paid for 2, so got a good deal) for the first time. He said my hips were uneven more than almost anyone he's ever seen prior.

So long story made short, he cracked and adjusted the holy living hell out of me. Like the sound of bones cracking and breaking in movies don't sound THIS loud lol. I felt a good deal better after this.

Enter yesterday, and i start getting pretty sore, but not just in my lower back in the area it was hurting, all the way on the other side of my lower back, and all the way down my legs, and the front of my hips (like if you did a knee or a knee raise, right in there) and the soreness wouldn't go away. I wake up today and it's just about as bad.

Anyways i'm just curious for those who have had chiro work before, if this is normal? The chiro i went to a while back didn't crack me or adjust me anywhere near the level this guy did, so i'm wondering if it's just so painful because my hips were so out of place, and were almost getting used to being that way?

Anyways thanks for the help, just wanna make sure i'm not going to end up paralyzed and have to fight people with my wheel chair.

**CrackFox** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 3:30pm

Your doctor recommended a chiro?!

**ChenPengFi** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 4:25pm

Fixing ingrained postural problems is often "painful", yet referred pain, which sounds like what you are describing may be cause for concern.
For the pain in the front of the hips, you may have a psoas issue, which can be related to the low-back pain.
All of that said, do not get your medical advice on-line.
Talk to your doc and chiro, not a bunch of strangers.

**shotokanbjj** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 5:20pm

Originally Posted by ChenPengFi

Fixing ingrained postural problems is often "painful", yet referred pain, which sounds like what you are describing may be cause for concern.
For the pain in the front of the hips, you may have a psoas issue, which can be related to the low-back pain.
All of that said, do not get your medical advice on-line.
Talk to your doc and chiro, not a bunch of strangers.

fair enough, i was just curious because i haven't gotten adjusted quite like this before and never had this level of pain, though my back was never as bad before as it was prior to this (i mean my hips were a solid half foot if not more uneven) and i figured some people here would have to had experienced something similar at some point.

I'm due back tomorrow at 3pm for a follow up appointment, and i'm going to let him know exactly where the pain and soreness is now and make sure he understands taht it wasn't in these places before the adjustment.

I talked to someone at the chiro office today on the phone as well to explain what was going on, they said that it's relatively normal after the first major adjustment to feel somewhat worse than you did, especially when it's THAT far off being correct (the hips and back i mean). So i will go in there tomorrow and tell him exactly what's going on, we'll see what he says/does based on the information.

**mrh80** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 6:24pm

I would do some research on chiropractic practice in general. Ask yourself why most chiros will get you in for regular ongoing treatment. Do they give you any massage, trigger point therapy, facia release or stretching exercises as well as cracking your spine? If not whats to stop your spine getting "misaligned" again. Has your doctor given you an X-ray or MRI?

You need to find out the problem (can be hard), do your own research and seek the best relevant professional to fix the problem (get references from trusted sources) not just a guy cracking your spine.

**Shawarma** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 6:47pm

It is not unheard of to be achy after chiropractic treatment, although it's possible that this guy carried out more adjustments than was really needed.

Can't comment on neither your case nor on whether what he did was appropriate in your management, but if he was indeed correct about you having a quite marked difference in your leg length and most likely pelvic height, your discomfort COULD be explained by the fact that your body was stuck in an unnatural position before and had gotten used to that. Now that he freed up the stuck joints a bit, it is possible that you're now relying on muscles and joints in ways you haven't used them in years to keep you balanced and that this is making them scream out in complaint.

Don't worry about anything permanent from that, it's extremely unlikely, and your aches will most likely reduce over the next few treatments. See if the man listens to your concerns and can sound convincing about what he's attempting to do and give it a bit of time. If he fails to inspire confidence in you at all after a few sessions, go elsewhere, but be aware that very chronic problems can take a little while to correct, if that is indeed what you have.

Do you have pain down the BACK of both your legs? Is this pain very sharp and shooting like electricity? Does bending over aggravate it? Are you experiencing any numbness around your anus, erectile dysfunction or incontinence? If you have none of these symptoms, you're fine.

**shotokanbjj** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 7:35pm

Originally Posted by Shawarma

It is not unheard of to be achy after chiropractic treatment, although it's possible that this guy carried out more adjustments than was really needed.

Can't comment on neither your case nor on whether what he did was appropriate in your management, but if he was indeed correct about you having a quite marked difference in your leg length and most likely pelvic height, your discomfort COULD be explained by the fact that your body was stuck in an unnatural position before and had gotten used to that. Now that he freed up the stuck joints a bit, it is possible that you're now relying on muscles and joints in ways you haven't used them in years to keep you balanced and that this is making them scream out in complaint.

Don't worry about anything permanent from that, it's extremely unlikely, and your aches will most likely reduce over the next few treatments. See if the man listens to your concerns and can sound convincing about what he's attempting to do and give it a bit of time. If he fails to inspire confidence in you at all after a few sessions, go elsewhere, but be aware that very chronic problems can take a little while to correct, if that is indeed what you have.

Do you have pain down the BACK of both your legs? Is this pain very sharp and shooting like electricity? Does bending over aggravate it? Are you experiencing any numbness around your anus, erectile dysfunction or incontinence? If you have none of these symptoms, you're fine.

That's what a few other people i've been talking to have said also, i can imagine if it really was THAT out of alignment (i mean he showed me my legs and how off they were before he adjusted me), that this pain could be from that, i just am praying to god that's all it is, because it hurts just as bad in the same spot as it did before, except now the other side hurts even worse and the hips are so sore.

As far as your last paragraph, no real pain in the back of my legs (hamstrings are a little sore but that's normal from my training methods). It's not so much sharp as it is dull and achy, and it's pretty much staying in the same places (as in not shooting like when you bang something in a door. Bending over seems ok as long as i don't do it violently. Can't say i've ever had my anus go numb but i don't THINK so lol, my junk seems to be ok for the most part, and i can pee pretty normally.

So hopefully there's no big issue :) If it's not feeling a bit better tomorrow, i will inform him of all this when i go in (i will either way honestly) and see what he says. I hope you're right.

**Shawarma** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 7:40pm

While that's probably way TMI about your very private functions, we've now established that you're unlikely to have any disc issues, which is a good thing.

Do you have a scoliosis? If you do, that would be a pretty major contributing factor to your back pain and uneven leg length. Chiropractic management may reduce the symptoms of your scoliosis but that's really more of a physiotherapeutic/self-management issue or even a surgical one if it's really bad.

**shotokanbjj** · Posted On: 12/14/2011 10:07pm

Originally Posted by Shawarma

While that's probably way TMI about your very private functions, we've now established that you're unlikely to have any disc issues, which is a good thing.

Do you have a scoliosis? If you do, that would be a pretty major contributing factor to your back pain and uneven leg length. Chiropractic management may reduce the symptoms of your scoliosis but that's really more of a physiotherapeutic/self-management issue or even a surgical one if it's really bad.

lol TMI indeed ^_^

Nope no scoliosis. What happened was many years ago our gym installed a metal plate for the t-bar to slide up (the hole in the wall it was in before worked just fine ugh), and the first day this plate was there, i didn't pay it any mind (never had one like that before). I put my 5 plates on the bar and went to row it up, the back of the bar flew up and folded me in half super fast. Messed that back up pretty good. At the time i was too young and pig headed to get it taken care of, so eventually it just cleared itself up.

Rewind to a couple months ago. I was working on getting strong again, was doing deadlifts and all of a sudden had a horrible tweak in my back in that same spot from all those years prior (no doubt my form was part of the issue as was the weight for me at the time i think). I ignored it and rested, and a few days later it was ok. Went back and cut my weight in half, decided to try again, boom same problem, so i established it wasn't the weight, it was the exercise period, my body didn't like that motion. So i rested a week, and went in and started bent over rows (which never caused me a problem before). Went to row it up and was ok, on my last set, 6th rep in boom same issue again.

Finally went to get it checked, seemed to be just inflammation, another chiro at the time adjusted me and i seemed ok, stayed away from squats and deads for a solid month and 1/2. The other week i was doing squat thrusts and a 6 inch hold in my MMA conditioning class, and during the hold i felt some back pain so i let it go and rested a bit. From then on the lingering pain was there, no matter what i did or adjusted or anything it was always there.

Finally got sick of and saw the doctor the other day and then this new chiropractor on monday, got adjusted and all that jazz i mentioned earlier, starting last night that pain in the other side began and was still in the original side, and then boom today it's been horrible all day. My hips are feeling a TINY bit better than they were earlier, probably a combo of ice, soaking my body and the tylenol i took lol.

But yes sorry to rant, there is no scoliosis to be concerned about for me ^_^ I will say that the pain seems to be on both sides a bit and then RIGHT above the crack of my butt like in the center, but it's not shooting at all.

Hopefully you're right and it will get better as the days go on :D