Pain
The other day, I had a patient tell me they felt a little sore right after the last treatment, but it was just a little, and the next day she felt great. This is something I hope to explain to people who might be afraid of the Chiropractor causing more pain. I like to compare it to working out. Can you go to the gym for a workout and not cause any pain? Yes you can, but you may find improvement comes a lot quicker if you make the muscle work a little harder and feel a slight discomfort afterwards. If we don’t push the muscle to learn to do more, it has no reason to grow in size.
So, as far as Chiropractic treatment goes, we often need to find the sore tissues in order to release the tension causing your pain. Our regular patients know it will help to work on the sore muscle so they call it a ‘good pain’. The muscles are likely a little tender around a sore, inflamed joint which may also be a little swollen. If the joint is stiff, it needs to be mobilized in order to help it get back to normal. If the muscles are tight, they are often tender as well and need to be released in order to stop the strain on the joints, nerves, and other surrounding tissues.
‘No pain, no gain’ is often heard in gyms and musculoskeletal treatment rooms, but it is not always true. There certainly doesn’t have to be a lot of pain, in order to have a gain. Some of the pain is likely from the discipline of pushing yourself to where you feel a little exhausted after a workout but usually happy for the accomplishment. As long as the pain is slight and short-lived, it is usually for the good. So, when we encourage you to follow up at home with pressure and stretching sore muscles, there may be a little pain afterwards, but the end result is better function, more mobility and less irritation. After the pain has settled down, then you are able to work on exercises that strengthen by lifting, pushing and pulling. This shouldn’t cause any real pain, just a little soreness from a good workout.