A good chiropractic adjustment in Jacksonville isn’t a five-minute crack-and-go. At Full Swing Healthcare, we figure out what’s actually going on first with a real exam, then choose the technique that fits your body and your problem. That’s how you get relief that lasts, not just a quick pop that feels nice for an afternoon.
What a chiropractic adjustment actually does
When a joint in your spine or pelvis stops moving the way it should, the muscles around it tighten, nearby nerves get irritated, and your body starts compensating in ways that create pain somewhere else entirely. An adjustment is a precise, controlled movement that restores motion to that stuck joint. Done well, it takes pressure off the nerve, lets the surrounding muscles relax, and gives your body permission to move freely again.
The joints being treated in your spine are the facet joints, the pair of small hinges at the back of every spinal level that guide how far and in which direction that segment moves. They carry a dense supply of pain sensitive nerve endings, which is why a single stiff facet can produce pain that feels far bigger than one small joint should be able to cause. The clinical name for the whole family of treatment is spinal manipulative therapy, and the audible release you may hear is cavitation, gas coming out of solution inside the joint fluid. That sound is a by-product. It is not the goal, and it is not a measure of whether the treatment worked.
The key word is precise. We’re not cracking everything in sight and hoping something helps. Dr. Cody Muren (a Palmer College of Chiropractic graduate, License #CH12412) and Dr. Eric Hall adjust the specific joint your exam points to, and nothing it doesn’t need.
“Dr. Cody is hands down the best chiropractor I’ve ever been to. They truly care about their patients, take the time to listen, and I always leave feeling better.”
Sheri M. Proctor
Google review
The Palmer Package, which is what we adjust with
Dr. Muren trained at Palmer College of Chiropractic, the profession’s founding school, and adjusts using what Palmer graduates call the Palmer Package. It is not one technique. It is the group of adjusting systems Palmer teaches together, so that the technique can be matched to the patient rather than the patient matched to the only technique in the building.
- Diversified (manual, hands-on): the classic, precise hands-on technique for restoring joint motion, the “twist and pop” most people picture
- Gonstead: the most exacting of the group. Its whole discipline is finding the one specific segment at fault, through static and motion palpation and posture analysis, and adjusting that level alone with a contact and an angle chosen for it
- Thompson drop-table: a segmented table that drops a fraction of an inch to move a joint with far less force, ideal for sensitive areas and older patients
- Activator (instrument-assisted): a gentle, controlled spring-loaded tool for a low-force adjustment when a manual technique isn’t right for you
- Toggle recoil: a fast, very light, extremely shallow contact developed for the upper neck, where precision matters more than force
- Pelvic and extremity work: because your hips, shoulders, and feet matter as much as your spine
People are built differently, and so are their problems. A college athlete with a locked-up lower back needs something different than a grandparent with arthritic joints or an expecting mom in her third trimester. Carrying the full package is what makes that possible.
The upper cervical spine, the top two segments where the skull meets the neck, gets adjusted here both by hand and with the Activator, depending on what the exam finds and what you are comfortable with. We do not practise it as a separate branded discipline like NUCCA or Blair, and we would tell you plainly if you wanted one of those systems specifically.
If a traditional twist and pop isn’t your thing, tell us. We have gentle, low-force options that work just as well, and nothing happens until you’re comfortable with the plan.
One technique we do not offer is the strap-and-pull method you have probably seen go viral online. Our Y-strap adjustment page lays out the honest reasoning, and what we reach for instead.
What actually separates one adjusting technique from another
Technique names get thrown around online with no explanation, so here is the plain version. They differ in three things only: how fast the input is delivered, how much load comes with it, and how tightly it is aimed.
- High velocity, low amplitude (HVLA): the quick, shallow thrust behind a manual adjustment, used by Diversified and Gonstead alike. Speed is what does the work, not force, which is why a well aimed adjustment feels like a release rather than a shove.
- Low force and instrument methods: a segmented drop table or a spring loaded instrument delivers a similar input with a fraction of the load. This is the route when bone density, age, acute pain, or plain nervousness rules out a manual thrust.
- Specificity: how narrowly the contact is aimed. A general contact moves a region, while a Gonstead style contact is chosen for one segment after palpation says that segment is the problem.
Age changes the answer too. We see patients across a wide age range, children included when a parent is with them, and the technique scales accordingly: what suits a college athlete is not what suits a seven year old or an eighty year old, and low force options exist for exactly that reason. Our chiropractic care for kids and families answer covers how that works.
What decides which one you get is the exam, not a house style. Segment by segment motion testing, orthopedic tests, your history and your comfort level narrow it down before anything is delivered. A technique that is perfect for a 28 year old with a locked lumbar facet is the wrong answer for someone with thinning bone or a joint that is already moving too much.
When a spinal adjustment is not the right call
Not every spine should be adjusted, and an honest clinic says so out loud. The findings that count as contraindications, meaning they stop an adjustment before it starts, include acute fracture or suspected fracture, significant osteoporosis, joint instability, bone infection or a suspected tumour, an active inflammatory arthritis flare in the spine, recent spinal surgery with hardware, and any sign of cauda equina syndrome, meaning saddle numbness or new loss of bladder or bowel control. Those last ones are a same day emergency, not a chiropractic case.
That is the real reason the exam comes first. Most of these are ruled out in minutes, some send you for imaging before anyone touches you, and a few mean the right care is somewhere other than this office. Being told no is a service too.
On imaging: we do not take X-rays here. When the exam says an image is medically necessary, we refer you out for it and work from the report. Bring any X-rays or MRI results you already have to your first visit and we will go through them with you. Our chiropractic X-rays page explains why routine spinal filming fell out of favour and which findings genuinely call for a scan.
What adjustments help with
- Low back pain and stiffness that won’t let go
- Neck pain, tension, and the “I can’t turn my head” mornings
- Sciatica and radiating pain down the leg
- Tension and cervicogenic headaches that start in the neck
- Postural strain from desk work and long commutes
- Sports and overuse injuries in surfers, runners, golfers, and lifters
- That general “everything feels locked up” feeling
Your Jacksonville spinal adjustment clinic
Full Swing Healthcare sits at 13770 Beach Blvd, minutes from Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach, so quality spinal adjustment care stays close to home for the whole east side. Same-day appointments are often available, and because we keep chiropractic, soft-tissue work, and rehab under one roof, you can handle a combined visit in a single trip instead of driving all over town. We treat patients from all over Jacksonville, from Southside and Baymeadows through San Marco and Deerwood, and out to the beaches. Coming from the coast? Our Neptune Beach chiropractor page has the beaches rundown.
What to expect on your first visit
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We assess first
Your first visit includes a full exam: movement testing, orthopedic checks, and a real conversation about your history. We find the root cause before we touch your spine, and we never adjust on the first visit without that exam.
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We explain the plan
You’ll hear, in plain English, what’s going on and what we recommend. No mystery, no pressure, no endless-visit sales pitch.
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We adjust, and often more
You’ll usually get your first treatment the same day. Many people feel looser and lighter walking out the door.
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We re-check and adjust the plan
Bodies respond differently. We track how you’re doing and change course if we need to.
“Dr. Cody is the best chiropractor I have ever had. Hands down, highly recommended.”
Robert Crawford
Jacksonville
Assessment first, always. Your first visit is $115 and includes the full exam. Follow-up adjustments are $50, and an adjustment paired with soft-tissue work is $75. Same-day appointments are usually available, and we accept Florida Blue, United Healthcare, Humana, Cigna, Florida Medicaid, and VA benefits. Call (904) 539-3352 and we’ll check your coverage for you.
Adjustments work even better with backup
An adjustment restores motion, but tight muscles and stubborn fascia can pull a joint right back out of place. That’s the whole reason we built a clinic with the full toolbox under one roof. Pairing your adjustment with therapeutic massage, dry needling, or cupping relaxes the soft tissue holding the problem in place, so the adjustment holds longer and you get back in full swing faster.
“My wife and I have gone to a chiropractor for 35 years, twice a month. Dr. Cody Muren is very professional. We are very satisfied with his chiropractic adjustments and he goes above and beyond with advice.”
Patrick Olivier
Google review
Common questions
Is a chiropractic adjustment safe?
Yes. For the vast majority of people, adjustments are safe and gentle. We start every relationship with a full exam precisely so we know your body is a good fit, and if a forceful technique isn’t right for you, we use a low-force or instrument-assisted method instead.
Does getting adjusted hurt?
It shouldn’t. Most people feel a quick release of pressure and a sense of relief, not pain. You might feel a little tender afterward the way you would after a good workout, but that usually fades within a day.
How many visits will I need?
It depends on what’s going on and how long it’s been going on. After your exam we’ll give you an honest estimate, not an open-ended package you can’t get out of. Some people feel great in a handful of visits; longer-standing issues take more.
Will you adjust me on the first visit?
Only after a full exam. We don’t adjust anyone before we understand what’s driving the problem and confirm an adjustment is the right call for your body. Most people do get their first treatment the same day, right after that assessment.
What does the first visit cost?
The first visit is $115 and includes your full exam. Follow-up adjustments are $50, and an adjustment paired with soft-tissue work is $75. We also accept Florida Blue, United Healthcare, Humana, Cigna, Florida Medicaid, and VA benefits.
Can a chiropractor in Jacksonville help with knee pain?
Yes, and the key is that we rarely treat the knee in isolation. Most knee pain we see in Jacksonville patients traces back to a problem at the hip, the SI joint, or the ankle that has never been addressed. Correct those mechanics and the knee stops taking the punishment that was wearing it down.