Are you putting bones back into place?
NO.
Putting bones back into place is an old fashioned way of looking at it. I can see why some chiropractors might still allow their patients to believe this is what’s happening, as its a much easier way to explain things, but it’s simply not accurate.
I get it, it can sometimes feel like something is out of place and needs to be crunched back into position, but these days we focus more on movement and function. When you feel me gently pressing up and down your spine, I’m feeling for what parts aren’t moving as well as others or as well as they should/could be moving.
When a joint isn’t moving as well as it can it can give the sensation like it feels “out” compared to the joints that are moving normally. The aim of the adjustment is to use gentle force to restore normal* movement (*emphasis on the word normal. This is why I always tell you - particularly when I’m treating necks, that I’m not going to take your joints further than they can normally go!)
So why do I think it’s important to make the distinction of restoring movement vs putting a bone back into place? To give people a better understanding of how their body works, and how tough our bodies actually are! Joints such as spines, hips, and the pelvis are generally very strong and it takes a lot of force to make it truly go out of place (think, car crash level of force). When a joint is truly out of place, we call that a dislocation, or if it is partially out of place it is called a subluxation*.
*(the word subluxation has a different meaning to some in the chiropractic world, but that’s a topic for another day!)