Can a chiropractor treat me without adjusting me?

If by adjustments you mean the “crack” and “pop” sounds, the answer is yes. Not all chiropractic adjustments need to result in those startling sounds to prove their efficacy.

In the field of chiropractic treatment, there are many patients with questions about the chiropractic treatment and its procedures. People who are not familiar with the chiropractic treatment tend to have a lot of misconceptions about the methods of this field of healthcare. Among the plethora of questions they have, the most common question is about the “popping” or “cracking” sound produced during adjustment. 

So, it’s high time we answer this question and put an end to this mystery. Yes, it’s okay to hear those popping and cracking sounds while a chiropractor adjusts your spine, but it’s not necessary. Similarly, not hearing any such sound doesn’t mean you aren’t getting treated. There are some treatment techniques, called low force techniques intended for those patients who don’t like getting twisted at certain parts of their body, such as neck and lower back. Almost all chiropractors perform both types of techniques, the ones that involve adjusting spine with a popping sound, and those that include low force techniques. So it becomes a prerequisite that the patient and the chiropractor discuss these concerns in advance so that they can proceed in a more systematic approach that suits the patient’s requirement while also enabling the doctor to treat the patient efficiently. 

All this being said and discussed, what patients need to understand that there are certain conditions that require adjustments through twisting, and thus, the cracking sound is inevitable. If there’s a restricted movement in the body, the chiropractor will need to restore the movement. For this, the adjustment may be required, or maybe not. It depends on the condition and severity of the underlying issue.