My First Chiropractic Adjustment Cracked my Back and Changed my Mindset

There was a time I thought going to the chiropractor meant your back was so messed up that the only way to fix it was to crack it back into place. Painful. Agonizing. Expensive.

Can you blame me? The first encounter I ever had with a chiropractor wasn't even my own experience and I was just a child. I was in the backseat as my dad drove with my mom riding on the passenger side, barely able to move. I remember her delicately limping while leaning on my dad for support as he guided her through the parking lot. It was the first time I saw my mom in debilitating pain. It looked like every step she took was her careful effort not to step on a landmine.

From that moment forward, I thought the chiropractor was a last resort to rehabilitation. As I got older, I made attempts (not always successful) to be mindful of my posture when sitting for long periods, standing, and making sure to lift heavy objects from the knees. It's no joke what they say about your thirties, though—the snapback seems to take longer than when I was in my twenties. One wrong move is a pulled muscle and aches and pains that didn't exist before. The snapback becomes literal because your knees, back, and joints start snapping in ways you didn't know were possible.

Okay, it's not all bad; most of these issues come from natural wear and tear that progresses over the years but can be reversed through consistent exercise, hydration, and giving your body the minerals it needs. I feel best when I work out consistently, include more fruits, whole foods, and vegetables in my diet, and stay hydrated. Doing nothing for your physical being assures prolonged physical health issues that could be avoided.

So when it became my turn to visit the chiropractor at 33 years old, I took it like a rite of passage. Like a car, I reached the age when my body needed a tune-up.

Lifting heavy boxes, restocking shelves, and doing other physical labor are part of the routine at work. Sometimes, the loads are light, and other days, I come home and sit down for the first time in the day, and all of the exhaustion and aching muscles hit me at once. It takes a toll on your body, which inevitably happened to me.

It started with a sharp pain in my lower back. At first, I shrugged it off as the result of the constant lifting, but I guess my back pain needed an accomplice because it shot up to my neck. I even had sciatic nerve pain that ran down the side of my left leg. Don't let me forget about the migraines; the throbbing in my right temple would penetrate to my eye. Although it was my first time experiencing these symptoms, after a couple of weeks of hoping they would subside on their own, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands—or should I say the hands of a professional.

Those who truly know me know that I advocate taking care of yourself, so when these symptoms formed, I used my mom's pilates reformer and massage gun to soothe the tension. Both these techniques were a temporary fix, but the discomfort and pain persisted. My family had already been initiated into the back-cracking club, so when my brother-in-law told me he had discounts for The Joint Chiropractor, I knew I could not avoid it any longer.

Social media can have you going down a rabbit hole if you let it, and boy, did I dive right in. After watching videos of chiropractors cracking backs and legs, necks and hips, I wasn't sure if I was going to be relieved or if my body was going to sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies. I was comforted by the fact that chiropractors have been successfully adjusting people since 1895, with the first adjustment given by D.D. Palmer, who restored a deaf man's hearing.

The chiropractor who adjusted me looked like me which diverted my anxiety from wondering if one crack would leave me crippled to silently admiring her as a Black woman in the field. She started with my neck. I braced myself for the pop or crackle sound, and it went as fast as it came. My back and hip were also adjusted, and my nervous energy was eased. The experience was fifteen minutes and pain free.

I was given a detailed survey to complete before my adjustment for an assessment. After my adjustment, my chiropractor suggested exercises to practice at home to strengthen my core and help relieve the pain.

My second appointment is still pending, but I now view going to the chiropractor as a form of self-care, an appointment that everyone in their early thirties and older should incorporate at least a couple times a year.