Can you adjust your own neck?
Randomly popping/cracking your (or someone else’s) back or neck without proper training will many times make a joint worse. It can also potentially cause side effects, such as joint instability.
A chiropractic adjustment differs from randomly cracking a back. Chiropractic treatment aims at a specific, problematic spot that has lost motion and alignment. Restoring the proper motion to misaligned joints results in better brain-to-body connection. Good connection between the brain and the body is a key for a healthy nervous system functioning. Consequently, the joints move better and commonly feel better. Moreover, your entire body should feel better.
To make an adjustment, an Austin chiropractor must first assess the problematic joint. The assessment methods include:
- Static palpation
- Motion palpation
- Muscle tone assessment
- Gait analysis
- Or other chiropractic-specific tests