The adjustment, and what goes with it.

What an adjustment actually is.

Your spine is a stack of joints. Each one is built to move a small, specific amount. When one of them stops moving the way it should, the joints above and below take on extra work, the muscles around it tighten to protect it, and the area gets irritated. That is the pattern behind a lot of everyday back and neck pain.

An adjustment is a quick, measured force applied by hand to one of those joints. It is aimed at a single level, not the whole back. The goal is to get that joint moving again so the muscles around it can let go and the irritation can settle.

The popping sound people expect is gas leaving the joint. It is not bone cracking and it is not a measure of how well the adjustment worked. Some adjustments make the sound and some do not.

Dr. Christopher Boss has been adjusting spines in The Woodlands since 2001. He adjusts by hand, and he adjusts differently depending on who is on the table. An eighty-year-old with thinning bone and a thirty-year-old with a locked-up mid back do not get the same amount of force, and they should not.

Why we do not stop at the adjustment.

Getting a joint moving is one half of the job. The other half is the soft tissue around it. Muscle that has been guarding for weeks does not relax because the joint moved once. It has to be worked on directly, or it will pull the joint back into the same position by the next morning.

That is what the therapies below are for. Which ones you get depends on what the exam found, how long the problem has been there, and how the tissue is responding as you go. Most people get one or two, not all four.

Cold laser

Cold laser puts low-level light energy into the tissue. It does not heat and you do not feel much, if anything. We use it on tendon and joint irritation, on stubborn shoulder and elbow trouble, and on areas that stay sore after the joint itself is moving fine. A session takes a few minutes and you can do it on the same visit as your adjustment.

Electrical muscle stimulation

Muscle stimulation sends a light electrical current through pads placed on the skin. The muscle contracts and releases on its own, over and over. It feels like a firm buzzing. We use it on muscle that is in spasm and will not let go, which is common in the low back after a lifting injury and in the neck after a crash. It also helps take the edge off pain enough that you can move again, and movement is what actually gets you better.

Interferential current

Interferential current uses two currents that cross each other inside the tissue. That lets the effect reach deeper than surface stimulation without the surface itself getting uncomfortable. We reach for it when the sore area sits deep, like the lower back or the hip, and when a patient finds standard stimulation too sharp on the skin.

Microcurrent

Microcurrent runs at a much lower level than muscle stimulation. Most people feel nothing at all during it. It is used on sensitive areas and on patients who do not tolerate stronger current well, including some older patients and people early after an injury when everything is still angry.

What a visit looks like.

1. 01

   We check before we treat

   Dr. Boss looks at how the area is moving that day. The plan can change from one visit to the next, because you change from one visit to the next.

2. 02

   Tissue work if you need it

   Stimulation, laser or current on the muscle first, so the joint has a chance to move when we get to it.

3. 03

   The adjustment

   Hands on the specific joint that needs it. It takes seconds.

4. 04

   What to do until next time

   Usually a stretch or two, sometimes a thing to stop doing. This part matters more than people expect.

How many visits.

A recent strain in someone who is otherwise healthy often settles in a handful of visits. A problem that has been building for ten years takes longer, and the visits usually spread out as things improve. You will get a number and a cost at the start, not a plan that quietly keeps going.

If you are not improving the way we expected, we change the plan or we tell you it is time to look at something else. Insurance covers this care under most major plans, and self-pay is available. Coverage varies by policy, so we check yours before you come in.

Reviewed and approved by Dr. Christopher Boss, DC, Doctor of Chiropractic since 1998 and the treating chiropractor at Boss Chiropractic. Last updated September 11, 2026.

This page is general information, not medical advice. What is right for you depends on your exam. Dr. Boss will tell you straight whether we can help, and where to go if we cannot.