Why She Cried After That Adjustment
The energetic side of chiropractic they don't teach in school (but should)
Ever adjust someone and they suddenly start crying?
Not from pain. Not from relief. Just... tears. Out of nowhere.
I used to think I’d done something wrong. Pinched a nerve. Applied too much force. But after twenty-plus years in practice, I know better.
Your body keeps the score. And sometimes, an adjustment settles it.
The Vertebral Vault
D.D. Palmer called it “tone”—that perfect tension between structure and energy that allows the body to express life. When tone is disrupted, the nervous system can’t do its job. But here’s what most modern chiropractors miss:
Tone isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. Spiritual. Energetic.
When someone experiences trauma—a car accident, a betrayal, a loss—the body doesn’t just remember it cognitively. It “stores” it. And not randomly. Specific emotions tend to lodge in specific segments:
C1/C2: Fear, hypervigilance, the weight of “holding it all together”
Mid-thoracic (T4-T7): Grief, heartbreak, unexpressed sorrow
Lumbar spine Survival stress, financial anxiety, feeling unsupported
Sacrum: Sexual trauma, boundary violations, shame
This isn’t woo-woo. It’s neuroscience meeting metaphysics.
What Happens During The Release
You’re making an adjustment. You feel the segment move. And then—the flood.
The patient’s breath changes. Their eyes well up. Sometimes they laugh. Sometimes they sob. Sometimes they just go quiet and distant.
Here’s what’s happening:
When you restore motion to a fixated segment, you’re not just moving bone. You’re releasing stored charge from the nervous system. That emotional energy has been locked in a holding pattern—sometimes for years—and your adjustment just opened the gate.
The vagus nerve kicks in. The parasympathetic system finally gets permission to reset. And whatever they’ve been carrying in that spot? It comes up and out.
This is the adjustment within the adjustment.
The Pattern Recognition Protocol
After a while, you start to notice patterns:
The executive who “doesn’t do emotions” always needs upper cervical work—and always resists it
The people-pleaser with chronic mid-back pain who can’t say no
The entrepreneur with low back issues who’s terrified of going broke
Your hands know before your brain does. You palpate that segment and you can
“feel” it’s not just tight. It’s locked down for a reason.
Here’s my protocol:
1. Palpate with intention: Don’t just feel for restriction. Feel for what’s *guarding* underneath.
2. Ask the segment: Sounds weird, but pause. Listen. What does this area want to tell you?
3. Warn the patient: “This might bring something up. That’s normal. That’s good.”
4. Adjust, then hold space: Don’t rush to the next segment. Let them integrate.
5. Offer the silence: Sometimes people need to talk. Sometimes they need you to shut up and just be present.
The Integration Work
Here’s where most docs drop the ball. They get the release, then move on like nothing happened.
Wrong.
When someone has an emotional release on your table, they need tools to integrate it. Otherwise, they just re-store it somewhere else.
Give them this:
The 3-Breath Reset (Post-Adjustment Meditation)
1. First breath: Notice where in your body you feel lighter
2. Second breath: Thank that part of your body for finally letting go
3. Third breath: Imagine filling that space with light, warmth, safety
Simple. Effective. Takes 30 seconds.
And if they’re open to it? Suggest they journal that night. Or sit in silence. Or cry in the car on the way home if they need to.
The release isn’t the end. It’s the beginning.
Guard Your Own Energy
Here’s the dark side nobody talks about: when you facilitate these releases, some of that energy tries to stick to you.
You finish the day exhausted. You’re irritable at home. You wake up with neck pain you didn’t have before. Sound familiar?
You’re absorbing what they’re releasing.
Stop it.
Here’s my detox protocol:
- After every emotional release: Drink some water or wash your hands with cold water. Visualize their energy going down the drain.
- End of day: 5 minutes of breathwork. Box breathing works great.
- Weekly: Epsom salt bath. Sea salt.
- Set the boundary: You’re a conduit, not a sponge. Their healing is *theirs*, not yours to carry.
The Bigger Picture
Modern chiropractic is obsessed with pain scores and ROM measurements. Fine. Track your metrics.
But don’t lose the forest for the trees.
You’re not just adjusting spines. You’re releasing stored trauma. You’re helping people shed layers they’ve been carrying since childhood.
That crying patient? They just unburdened something they didn’t even know they were holding. And you—whether you realize it or not—just practiced the highest form of healing.
D.D. Palmer knew this. The old-timers knew this. Somewhere along the way, we sanitized it out of our profession.
Bring it back.
Your Assignment
This week, try this:
Before you adjust, take one conscious breath and *ask* the segment what it’s holding. Don’t overthink it. Just listen.
And when someone has a release—emotional, energetic, whatever—don’t apologize. Don’t minimize it.
Just hold space. Be present. Let them know: this is part of the healing.
Because it is.
Guard your fire. Honor the release. Trust the process.
Live Long and Prosper
-Dan
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