There are many different scenarios that can happen post adjustment varying from person to person. A patient may feel immediate relief, no relief, relief after a few days or more pain. There are several things to do if one or more of these scenarios occur.
If you experience immediately relief, congratulations! Now it is important to monitor if the problem comes back, how long it took to come back, the quality of the relief, is it the same location or is your body calling attention to new places? Continue to be aware of what makes the issue dissipate rather than aggravate.
If you experience no relief, go ahead and relay that to your chiropractor. They will probably say something along the line of “give it 24 hours or more and see where you’re at”. This is true, sometimes an adjustment needs to “settle”. This means that the nervous system needs time to process and organize the input it was just given. Monitor your issue and follow up with any changes at the next visit.
Sometimes as your body releases stored tension, this can manifest into physical illness such as flu like symptoms. It’s important to drink lots of water so that it will hydrate your muscles, joints and body. If you experience more pain bring this to the attention of your chiropractor. Muscle soreness is relatively common and if is present icing the area is advised.
Is there anything you can’t do post adjustment? The short answer is no, typically you can resume day to day activity. A lot of people are afraid of working out after an adjustment, but it is actually good to retrain muscles to a new state of alignment. If anything is uncomfortable or causes pain, do not proceed with doing such activity. Overall, there really is not much to post adjustment care. The biggest takeaway is awareness of the state of your body post adjustment and relaying that to your chiropractor at your next adjustment.