Pain after treatment at chiropractor? Cause, advice and tips.

Last updated 14/05/2017 by The pain clinics - Interdisciplinary Health

Is - Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Pain after treatment at chiropractor?

Have you experienced pain after treatment with a chiropractor or other physical health professional? Relax, this is very common and called treatment tenderness. Of course, there is a difference between being sore and having a real hurt, but often the saying goes hurt should hurt expel comes to a partial truth during feature-changing treatment.

During treatment of trigger points / muscle knots and joint restrictions, it is quite common to feel some tenderness during the first treatments. This is because the tissue or joints respond to the treatment, often by the muscles starting a kind of healing response - this happens both with trigger point therapy, deep soft tissue work and dry spine. When the function improves in both muscles and joints, you will feel that the treatment is no longer as tender, and that you may no longer need to use cryotherapy / icing after treatment - this is of course very subjective and it is difficult to give any specific advice without see the patient in physical presence. But often the therapist will recommend icing, especially after the first couple of treatments, especially in the acute phase of the problem.

Cryotherapy / icing:

Cryotherapy definition: "Use of extreme cold in surgery or other medical treatment."

As it appears from the definition, one should be careful with icing, as it can lead to tissue damage and frostbite if done incorrectly. It is therefore very important to use a towel or similar around the ice pack / bag with ice, so that you avoid frostbite injuries. A standard phrase among musculoskeletal therapists is that you should use "15 minutes on, 15 minutes off - and repeat this 2-3 times." If you notice any discomfort, it is important that you stop immediately.

Movement:
General movement is encouraged both before and after treatment. This must of course be adapted to your pain and aches, but you should aim for around 20-30 minutes of walking on rough terrain. Forest and field, preferably in the company of another (in case you get acute pain or step over), it is the surface that gives you the best results - especially when it comes to low back pain, but all pains benefit from movement within the pain limit and adapted to the individual pain situation.

- Feel free to share your stories with us if you have experienced treatment tenderness or pain after treatment with a chiropractor, physiotherapist or similar. Also ask if you have any. Please use the comment box below.

What can I do even against pain in muscles, nerves and joints?

1. General exercise, specific exercise, stretching and activity are recommended, but stay within the pain limit. Two walks a day of 20-40 minutes make good for the whole body and sore muscles.

2. Trigger point / massage balls we strongly recommend - they come in different sizes so you can hit well even on all parts of the body. There is no better self help than this! We recommend the following (click the image below) - which is a complete set of 5 trigger point / massage balls in different sizes:

3. Training: Specific training with training tricks of various opponents (such as this complete set of 6 knits of different resistance) can help you train strength and function. Knit training often involves more specific training, which in turn can lead to more effective injury prevention and pain reduction.

4. Pain Relief - Cooling: Biofreeze is a natural product that can relieve pain by cooling the area gently. Cooling is especially recommended when the pain is very severe. When they have calmed down then heat treatment is recommended - it is therefore advisable to have both cooling and heating available.

5. Pain Relief - Heating: Warming up tight muscles can increase blood circulation and reduce pain. We recommend the following reusable hot / cold gasket (click here to read more about it) - which can be used both for cooling (can be frozen) and for heating (can be heated in the microwave).

6. Prevention and healing: Compression noise like that like this can increase blood circulation to the affected area, thereby speeding up the natural healing of injured or worn muscles and tendons.

Recommended products for pain relief in pain

Biofreeze (Cold / cryotherapy)