Spinal Adjustments: An Interns Perspective

Before our current Social Media and Functional Nutrition Assistant Jorell started working with us, he started out as our summer intern during the summer of 2019. The following is the retelling of his first-ever adjustment! 

Jorell & NSPAH

I’ve been interning at North Shore Pro-Active Health for 4 weeks. I was given the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Jordan Leasure in assessing lifestyle solutions for patients seeking functional medicine services. But in the midst of observing these appointments, I’ve watched Dr. Jordan perform spinal adjustments on a few of her patients. Admittedly, prior to working at the clinic I have never sought out chiropractic or retaliatory services and never knew how powerful a healthy spine is in the context of a person’s overall livelihood in preventing chronic disease. 

History, Examination & Treatment

The full first-patient examination was both quick and comprehensive. Dr. Jordan asks questions regarding my current and past health concerns, what those health concerns are attributed to, my exercise patterns, my water drinking regimen, any family history of disease, and any history of drinking or smoking. She then goes through a whole upper body assessment that looks at my reflexes and resistance strength. After that, I was taken through a lower body assessment to look at any more possible physical stressors when my legs are lifted while on my back and stomach. Then came the actual adjustment starting with my neck. I am one of those people that tend to crack their necks from time to time and so this procedure was different in the sense of how my neck was cracked but also familiar because I didn’t feel anything after the adjustment. What I was most concerned about was the adjustment on my spine. At first Dr. Jordan had me lay on my stomach and take a deep breath. Surprisingly, after the exhale, I did not feel my spine crack despite clearly hearing it. This was followed by a second spine adjustment and an adjustment on my right leg.

Overall the process was painless and very easy. After walking around with my newly adjusted back and leg, I did feel a bit looser but really nothing else outside of that. I did go in the appointment slightly sore from exercising the day before and that may have hindered my ability to notice the full effects of the adjustment. I also did not go into the adjustment feeling any significant spine problems. Despite these small details, I was able to learn the importance of the adjustment and feel little benefits from it. I definitely recommend new patients to get adjusted and keep getting adjusted as preventative means towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle!