A chiropractic adjustment is a precise, controlled force applied to a specific joint to restore normal movement. That’s the simple definition. The more useful explanation — the one that actually matters to a new patient deciding whether to try this — is what an adjustment feels like, how much it hurts (usually not at all), how Dr. French decides what to do with your specific spine, and why this approach has held up over more than 20 years of treating patients in Norwalk, CT ranging from 90-year-old women to 300-pound men.
The Core Philosophy — Balancing Joints That Move Too Much and Too Little
Every spine has roughly 50 moveable joints, not counting the discs. In a healthy, balanced spine, movement is distributed evenly across all of them. But joints can become restricted — from injury, posture, repetitive stress, or simply not being used through their full range — without you ever noticing it happening. When that occurs, the joints around the restricted one start picking up the slack, moving more than they’re designed to in order to compensate.
Dr. French’s approach to every patient starts from this principle: some joints are moving too much, and some are moving too little. The job of an adjustment isn’t to “crack the back” generally — it’s to identify specifically which joints have gone quiet and get them contributing their share of movement again. When the restricted joints start moving normally, the overworked joints stop being overworked, and the pain that came from that imbalance resolves.
This is also why self-cracking your own back rarely solves the problem long-term. When you twist or bend to pop your own spine, you can’t direct the force to a specific joint — the joints that pop are the ones that are already moving freely, not the restricted ones causing the problem. It feels like relief because movement happened somewhere, but the actual imbalance remains untouched.
What Happens During an Adjustment:
Dr. French first examines the muscles and joints throughout your spine to identify exactly which segments aren’t moving properly — this isn’t guesswork, it’s a specific physical examination assessing the mobility of each spinal level. Once the restricted joint or joints are identified, he applies a precise, controlled force to move that specific joint through its normal range. The technique used throughout the spine is diversified technique — a manual, hands-on adjustment method, applied directly by hand rather than through an instrument or mechanical device.
The popping sound that often accompanies an adjustment — cavitation — happens when the joint surfaces separate and the pressure change causes dissolved gas in the joint fluid to form a bubble, the same mechanism as cracking a knuckle. The sound isn’t what produces the benefit. The benefit comes from the joint actually regaining normal movement. Some effective adjustments produce no sound at all.
Theragun percussion therapy is frequently used alongside the adjustment to address the muscle tension holding a joint restricted. Learn more about Theragun therapy →
How Much Force Does an Adjustment Take?
This is one of the most common questions new patients ask, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on the patient and the joint. Over more than 20 years of practice, Dr. French has adjusted patients across the full range of human bodies — from a 90-year-old woman with osteoporotic bone density to a 300-pound athlete with dense, well-developed musculature. The force appropriate for one would be entirely wrong for the other.
Calibrating that force correctly requires experience — knowing how a joint feels when it’s genuinely restricted versus when it’s simply guarded from muscle tension, understanding how bone density and tissue mass change what force is needed to reach the joint, and reading how a patient’s body responds in real time during the examination. This is not a one-size-fits-all technique applied identically to every patient. It’s adjusted to the specific person on the table.
Patient comfort level matters just as much as physical factors. Some patients love the adjustment and look forward to it. Others are understandably apprehensive — particularly with cervical adjustments — and that apprehension is respected, not pushed through. Dr. French adjusts his technique, his pacing, and his explanation based on each patient’s comfort level. A nervous patient on their first visit gets a different conversation and a different pace than a patient who’s been coming for years and knows exactly what to expect.
Does It Hurt?
Almost never — and there’s a specific reason why. An adjustment targets a joint that is stuck or restricted, and freeing a stuck joint is inherently relieving, not painful. Patients consistently describe the sensation as a release of pressure or tension rather than pain. The “ow” reaction some people expect almost never happens because the mechanism of an adjustment works with the body’s relief response, not against it.
Some patients experience mild soreness in the surrounding muscles for 24-48 hours after an adjustment, similar to the feeling after a workout — this comes from the muscles around a previously restricted joint adjusting to their new, more normal range of motion, not from the adjustment itself causing injury.
Is It Safe?
Adjustments are among the safest treatments in healthcare. Every medical treatment carries some possibility of adverse effects, but the risk profile for chiropractic adjustment is substantially lower than NSAIDs (like ibuprofen), opioids (like Norco or morphine), injections, or surgery — the alternatives most commonly offered for the same musculoskeletal conditions.
Chiropractors complete extensive postgraduate training to understand spinal anatomy, biomechanics, and the appropriate clinical decision-making for when adjustment is and isn’t appropriate. Dr. French has 5 years of postgraduate training beyond his undergraduate degree and more than 20 years of clinical experience. Doctors of Chiropractic complete a course of study comparable in rigor to medical school, with a specific focus on the musculoskeletal system. Self-cracking your own joints doesn’t damage them either — multiple studies confirm habitual knuckle cracking doesn’t increase arthritis risk — but it also doesn’t fix the underlying joint imbalance the way a targeted adjustment does. Read more about self-cracking your back →
Why Diversified Technique — Not Instrument-Assisted Adjusting
Some chiropractors use handheld instruments (like an Activator) to deliver adjustments instead of, or in addition to, manual technique. Dr. French uses diversified technique exclusively — direct, hands-on adjustment throughout the spine. This approach allows him to feel exactly how each joint is responding in real time during the adjustment itself — the tissue tension, the end-range feel of the joint, and the patient’s response — and to calibrate force and direction precisely to what that specific joint and patient need at that moment. Twenty years of doing this by hand, on thousands of different spines, is what makes the force calibration described above possible.
What Adjustments Treat
Beyond preventative and wellness care, chiropractic adjustments are used to treat:
- Back pain — lumbar joint restriction, disc-related pain, and sacroiliac dysfunction
- Neck pain — cervical joint restriction from posture, injury, or sleeping position
- Headaches — particularly tension and cervicogenic headaches originating from upper cervical restriction
- Sciatica — nerve compression related to lumbar and sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Whiplash — cervical joint restriction following auto accidents
- Shoulder pain — particularly when driven by cervical referral or rib dysfunction
- Upper back and rib pain — costovertebral and thoracic joint restriction
- Numbness, tingling, and arm or leg pain related to nerve compression
- Pregnancy-related back and pelvic pain
A Note on Conditions Chiropractic Doesn’t Treat
Adjustments are specifically appropriate for musculoskeletal joint and nerve conditions. Some conditions sometimes associated with chiropractic — fibromyalgia, for instance — involve a complex mix of central nervous system sensitization, sleep, and systemic factors that go well beyond joint mechanics. Dr. French is honest about the scope of what adjustment can and can’t achieve for any given condition, and refers to the appropriate specialist when a presentation falls outside what chiropractic adjustment can meaningfully help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chiropractic Adjustments
Almost never. An adjustment frees a joint that’s stuck — and relieving a stuck joint feels like a release of pressure, not pain. Some patients experience mild surrounding muscle soreness for 24-48 hours afterward, similar to post-workout soreness, but the adjustment itself is not typically painful.
Force is calibrated to the individual patient and the specific joint — based on body size, bone density, muscle mass, the degree of joint restriction, and the patient’s comfort level. Over 20+ years Dr. French has adjusted patients from 90-year-old women to 300-pound men, and the appropriate force differs significantly between them. This calibration comes from clinical experience, not a standardized protocol applied to everyone equally.
It’s called cavitation — the same mechanism as cracking a knuckle. When the joint surfaces separate, the pressure change causes dissolved gas in the joint fluid to form a bubble, producing the sound. The sound itself isn’t what produces the therapeutic benefit — restoring normal joint movement is. Some effective adjustments produce no sound at all.
Self-cracking doesn’t damage the joints — studies confirm habitual cracking doesn’t cause arthritis. But it doesn’t fix the underlying problem either. When you twist to pop your own spine, the joints that pop are the ones already moving freely, not the restricted ones causing your pain. A chiropractor can target the force specifically to the restricted joint, which self-cracking cannot do. Read more →
No — Dr. French uses diversified technique exclusively, meaning all adjustments are delivered by hand. This allows him to feel each joint’s response in real time and calibrate force and direction precisely during the adjustment itself, an approach refined over more than 20 years of hands-on practice.
Yes, when force and technique are appropriately adjusted for the patient. Dr. French has extensive experience treating elderly patients, including those with reduced bone density, and calibrates technique accordingly — the force used for an osteoporotic 90-year-old is very different from the force used for a young, dense-boned athlete.
Apprehension about cervical adjustments is common and entirely reasonable. Dr. French adjusts his approach, pacing, and explanation based on each patient’s comfort level — a nervous first-time patient receives a different conversation and pace than an experienced patient. You can always ask questions or request a gentler approach before any adjustment is performed.
It depends entirely on the condition, how long it’s been present, and how your body responds. Dr. French reassesses progress at every visit and recommends only what’s needed — there are no predetermined treatment packages. Learn about your first visit →
Schedule an Adjustment in Norwalk, CT
If you’ve been dealing with joint stiffness, recurring pain, or simply want an evaluation of how your spine is moving, Dr. French’s Norwalk, CT office offers a thorough assessment before any treatment begins.
Call (203) 939-9700 or book online. Located at 148 East Avenue, Suite 1D, Norwalk, CT 06851 — I-95 Exit 16, free parking.
Serving patients from Norwalk, Westport, Wilton, Darien, New Canaan, Weston, Stamford, and Fairfield County, CT.