Question
QUESTION: Hello! After my last few neck adjustments my face has felt funny on one side for a second. It was almost like a rush of feeling. Everything I can find online says "stroke!!". I asked my Chiro and he said it was normal. It was just nerves working correctly after not for so long. Does this make sense to you or should I be alarmed? Thank you!

ANSWER: Dear Alison,

Thank you for your question about your facial sensations.  In order to answer it properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on the chiropractic profession.

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as strenuous physical activity, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to what may cause facial sensations you describe in your questions or if they may be related to a vertebral subluxation.  Even if it were possible to guess at what may be causing them, it is not pertinent to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask, too, would be, Is someone who has the experiences you have described be better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  You need to understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

It is impossible for me to tell you with the limited amount of information at hand if the chiropractor you are now seeing is a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor.  You may simply ask, 揂re you a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor?? If the answer is yes, go on to ask, 揥hat do you take care of?? The answer you抮e looking for, of course, is vertebral subluxation (or some reasonable description of vertebral subluxation).  Without this information, it is not even possible to know if the procedure done to you is the equivalent of a chiropractic adjustment.  

Additionally,  your question about facial sensations and the matters you have raised deals with the limited objective of therapeutic care.  Remember, what we抳e covered here is about non-therapeutic matters and the two objectives are not the same.  Further, and quite importantly, even though this is not a service that I would provide in my field, I would say to you that diagnosis under the best of circumstances is something of an art.  It would be irresponsible for anyone to give you a guess by e-mail or the web about your situation.  Diagnostic work and therapeutic advice is difficult enough when done properly.  It becomes a riskier proposition when done poorly.  You would still be better served getting opinions from someone with first-hand knowledge about you, not a limited acquaintance through internet correspondence.  Anyone who is willing to speculate about your situation by e-mail is providing you little more than a guess and perhaps a dangerous one, at that!  

That doesn抰 mean I agree with the chiropractor抯 opinion, either, that it is normal to have alarming, stroke-like facial sensations following a visit.  I want to make it clear that I do not feel it is normal or usual for that to occur.  I have no idea how the chiropractor arrives at that conclusion.  It is certainly not possible to know, however, through e-mail whether you are experiencing something harmless and transient or quite serious and life-threatening.  This format is not the place for you to get information on which to base such a potentially critical decision.  

If the professional you are visiting is not a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor and you are interested in finding out how to locate one in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].

Alison, please understand the seriousness of my words to you.  Understand that you are not best served by internet opinions on this.  

I wish you the best in understanding what chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response. The chiropractor I see does practice "straight" chiropractic. I know to never rely on the internet for diagnosis. My issue was not severe and only lasted a minute or so. Please know that if I had severe symptoms that were very uncomfortable I would seek medical attention right away. I know it's common for someone with neck problems to have tingling down their arm or sciatica for example can cause tingling. It made sense to me that if my neck has been so out of whack for so long that opening up blocked pathways could cause a little sensation in my face. I was just wondering if it was a common known thing or if I should be a little more concerned. What would you tell one of your patients if they experienced some facial sensation after an adjustment? Is it totally unheard of? Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Answer
Dear Alison,

Thank you your follow-up and the questions in it.

Let's address those questions individually, starting with the last.

- "Is it totally unheard of?"
I had mentioned in my initial response to you that I was not at all of the opinion that it was normal or usual.  The fact that you have experienced it, however, is evidence enough for purposes of our discussion that it could happen.  

- "I was just wondering if it was a common known thing or if I should be a little more concerned."
Again, my opinion is that it is not common or typical.  
The question of whether you should be alarmed is a far different issue and relates to the matter of internet diagnosis.  You seem to indicate that you understand it to be a poor way of judging your circumstance.  

- "What would you tell one of your patients if they experienced some facial sensation after an adjustment?"
I'd tell them pretty much the same things I'm telling you, particularly the complete information from my initial message to you regarding the non-therapeutic viewpoint, the rationale for addressing vertebral subluxation and how the complexity of the nerve branching makes it "... exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to what may cause facial sensations you describe in your questions or if they may be related to a vertebral subluxation," as I wrote to you.  

Alison, I hope this is information helpful to you.


Sincerely,
James W. Healey, DC