posted
I've recently started seeing my third chiropractor. When we were little, my mother always bad-mouthed them because she had worked for a bit at the admittance desk at a hospital and saw enough chiropractic-gone-wrong cases come in that she was convinced it was an entire profession of quacks.
What made me try it the first time was a rather serious sacroiliac injury I got while working at a sweatshop sort of laundry business. I woke up one morning and could not move and my roommate took me straight to her chiropractor, a lady who was the mother of a friend of mine, without much objection from the rather immobile me. That initial case was payed for by workman's comp, and in a relatively short time I was feeling fine again. The treatment consisted of moving my legs around until my back made noises and then putting little electric patches on me and letting me chill out on a moving table for a while. After the workman's comp claim was closed, though, I never had the money or inclination to return.
My second chiropractor was chosen by virtue of his office being a block from my apartment last fall. My back started hurting in the same place and my student insurance didn't cover anything other than basic medical care, so I waited until it was bad enough that I couldn't walk and then had to find the money and walk the shortest possible distance. He didn't do any new X-Rays or diagnostics - he took my word on what had happened before and did some things by moving my legs around and then sticking the little electric patches on me for a while. He did give me some papers with back stretches illustrated on them, so I figured that meant he was a pretty good doctor. And I could walk again, so I was fine.
Last week, my back problems were back. Only this time, I really don't have any money, I don't have any insurance, and my Mom doesn't have the money either. I tried doing back stretches the best I could, but when it got to the point that I was taking a pillow with me everywhere I went to make the pressure from sitting a little less acute, she got me an appointment with Dr. Maxwell, a friendly young chiropractor lady that she's pretty good friends with.
Dr. Maxwell is pretty amazing. She took X-Rays (and then let me use an obscure coupon from last year that saved me $80 on the $100 procedure) and explained to me what was going on where and why. She showed me that it's not just the sacroiliac anymore - though that's definitely what hurts - but my whole lumbar region is dramatically swayed and my neck is at a 40ยบ angle and I'm all kinds of subluxated. After two brief adjustments that were far less theatrical than those I'd had in the past and no little electric patches, I'm feeling much better.
The most intriguing thing, though, is all this chiropractic literature I read on the walls of her office and in little pamphlets. It's very anti-medical establishment, and very into exercise and diet and all sorts of things that my other chiropractors never mentioned. It intrigues me because, though I'm uneducated, I've always been leery of medicine (of the hospital sort) in general. I hate taking drugs (I really only ever take Advil, and only for really severe menstrual cramps), prescriptions freak me out, and I come from a family background that is into home birth and trace minerals.
I honestly feel better, and wish I had the money to be able to continue. As it is, I don't know how many adjustments I'll be able to afford. But the more I read about it, the more I want to be an ardent supporter, the type who doesn't eat refined sugars and wears magnets in my shoes.
What I want from you, especially those of you in the medical profession, is your honest knock-down opinion on all of this. Am I just experiencing one of the exceptions to the rule, or is there validity in this chiropractic stuff (if we ignore the electirc-patch happy experiences I've had before)? I've read literature that claims that chiropractic can do things like cure ear infections in infants 95% of the time, significantly reduce problems with fertility and pregnancy and reverse damage on herniated disks. If this has some truth to it, frankly, when I finally get some money I'd like to let this replace doctors and prescriptions. Thoughts?
Posts: 285 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Here's my thought, and I apologize for being so blunt in advance. A good friend in pharmacy school had a sister who was seeing a chiropractor for a neck problem. The adjustment caused a blood vessel to rupture in her brain, and the hemmorhage was minor enough to be missed in the ER and after an admission and a night in the hospital. When Jen went to pick her sister up the next day, she had died that morning.
Does this mean that all chiropractors are harmful? No, absolutely not. I have a friend that is a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) who explained to me that the technique that chiropractors use is what is more dangerous than the discipline he studied. Chiropractors use more "high speed" "high compression" techniques, where DOs make low speed low compressive adjustments.
The only other advice I can give you from another friend who is a chiropractor is:
If a chiropractor makes an "adjustment", that should fix the problem. The need to come in for continual weekly or regular "adjustments" is almost always unneccessary and meant to make the person rich, not make you better.
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I'm vary wary of chiropractors since my Mother knew someone whose brain was bruised in a chiropractic session... she died within a few days. From what I heard, there was nothing her family could do to stop the chiropractor from practicing.
However, there must be in something that they do, because people do get better. I get the feeling that it's a very variable profession.
EDIT: Basically what Alucard said, only very much more vague .
posted
I was raised by an MD and an RN/OTR. My dad has no use for chiropractors. However, when I had severe stress back pain and all kinds of other problems (at age freakin' 9) my mom took me to her chiropractor, and it helped. In the short term. It made me feel better for a while; kind of like getting a massage.
I don't believe it really can do anything for you other than help your back and neck and such feel better. I'm not into medicating everything, and I do use herbal supplements before medication whenever possible, but I do advocate liscensed physical therapists or massage, if massage is what you need, and if that doesn't help, I advocate going to a doctor. Chiropractors... it just seems to me that often, they claim too much with no real research to back it up.
I would never, never take a child to a chiropractor for an ear infection! Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote: I've read literature that claims that chiropractic can do things like cure ear infections in infants 95% of the time, significantly reduce problems with fertility and pregnancy and reverse damage on herniated disks. If this has some truth to it, frankly, when I finally get some money I'd like to let this replace doctors and prescriptions. Thoughts?
I forgot my thought that was blunt: The above is pure rubbish. Penn and Teller have a wonderful show on the Showtime Network called Bullsh*t that exposed some chiropractors for what they were doing in this area. One such chiropractor was "adjusting" one day old babies.
After seeing nearly every crazy idea that patients and health professionals come up with, I was shocked and horrified.
If you feel or believe that somehow a chiropractor can make your daily life better, then good for you. Just please, for the love of all that is Holy, do not let them touch your children for anything remotely like what I quoted above.
And in closing, I will say this. I am a pharmacist. I see just as many patients over-rely on prescription drugs to make their life better without making the lifestyle changes to acompany their drug therapy plans.
Basically, the door swings both ways...
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I've never seen good studies suggesting that the alternative therapies some chiropracters recommend have any value. I haven't looked up anything recently, though. And I am not opposed at all to alternative therapies so long as they are safe. I do worry about the costs of alternative medicine.
I think some chiropracters can do a good job in certain situations. I trust chiropracters more with low back/midback than with neck issues. I trust them more with younger, healthier patients. I nudge my older patients, especially ones with osteoporosis or risk factors, and patients with neck pain to other avenues.
Posts: 1990 | Registered: Feb 2001
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quote:The most intriguing thing, though, is all this chiropractic literature I read on the walls of her office and in little pamphlets. It's very anti-medical establishment, and very into exercise and diet and all sorts of things that my other chiropractors never mentioned. It intrigues me because, though I'm uneducated, I've always been leery of medicine (of the hospital sort) in general. I hate taking drugs (I really only ever take Advil, and only for really severe menstrual cramps), prescriptions freak me out, and I come from a family background that is into home birth and trace minerals.
Doctors are supposed to be into diet and exercise and shouldn't be prescribing prescriptions for healthy people. I thought home births were pretty acceptable too. Trace minerals is about the only alternative therapy I see you mention, and no anti-medical stuff mentioned. Just curious.
Posts: 1990 | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
My regular doctor when I lived on the mainland was a DO and he did OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine, I think it was called) on me a couple of times a year to help me with some shoulder and neck problems. He basically "cracked" my back and neck and I always got immediate and lasting relief from my pain.
Since I moved to Maui, I've had more frequent and more painful problems with my neck and shoulder and I've considered seeing a chiropractor for the problems. But I've always been a skeptic, and I don't know how to choose a legitimate one in the mass of quacks out there.
There was one chiropractor (what are they? DCs?) who had a booth at the Maui county fair last fall. I stopped at the booth and had an "instant reading"... they put a probe on different parts of my back and then he consulted with me about what was wrong with me. At the time, I had been having severe neck pain (my MD told me she thought it was a pinched nerve and had referred me to a physical therapist, but I hadn't had my first appt yet) so I was interested to see what he said.
He did pick up that my neck was stiff, and approximately where, but then he started trying to correlate that with all kinds of other symptoms that I wasn't having at the time.
My insurance has recently added chiropractic coverage, and I've been considering seeing what can be done for me, but I'm afraid of getting sucked into something.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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I was in a messy car accident a few years ago and the insurance paid for me to see a chiropractor for my back and neck pain.
I felt *so* good everytime I went, but I feel like it was almost addictive. I had to go once or twice a week, or my back would start to cause me pain again.
My parents used to go to a D.O. and he did some things similar to a chiropractor, but he was a doctor. They were very wary when I told them I was seeing a chiropractor.
I haven't seen one since I moved to Dallas three years ago. My back is still very painful, esp. when I'm stressed. I long for the days of adjustments and massages paid for in full by someone else's insurance.
Posts: 862 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I have many family members that go to chiropractors, and whenever I even begin to question I get shot down with all this talk about how chiropractic is so natural and wonderful and established medicine is evil and all about profits for the drug companies.
Strangely, I seem to see that my family is contributing heavily to the profit margin of the local chiropractor, and I don't see any of them getting "better." They all have long-term problems that require them to go to the chiropractor every week, for now until forever.
One insists that all the medical doctors had missed something after her car wreck that would have had her crippled inside of a year, if she hadn't had the good fortune to go see the chiropractor. So eight years later, she is still paying money out of pocket ever week for him to "save" her from her supposed crippling injury.
Personally, I have very little use for chiropractors, I don't see them doing anything for my family members except lightening their pocket books. Maybe that's what makes them feel so much better.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I had really, really bad arm inflammation back in '97 that kept me working for several months. Going to a chiropractor is what finally helped. I still go every month or two (if I'm bad and don't do exercises to prevent my nerves from getting pinched in my neck/spine).
That said, I've also heard stories of weird gonzo chiropractors that I'd never want to go near. I always get multiple references before trying a new chiropractor.
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
The one time I went to a chiropractor was on the recommendation of my doctor. I had murderous sciatica during my last pregnancy. The twice-weekly chiropractic manipulation made my last trimester mostly bearable, instead of constant torture.
After the birth, the chiropractor encouraged me to continue (at least until my insurance, which only covered a certain number of sessions per year, ran out). I went once, which was helpful with dealing with some lingering sciatica-related pain, and never felt the need to go again.
I think chiropractors who treat musculoskeletal stuff (especially lower back issues) can be wonderful, IF AND ONLY IF they don't try to do things that chiropractic really canNOT do; and are used not as a replacement to "traditional" medicine, but in conjunction with it.
The ones who claim to be able to cure ear aches, cancer, etc. make me run for the hills.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Funny you should mention this Annie. I finally broke down and went to my parent's chiropractor today for some chronic neck problems that cause my tension headaches, and numbness/tingling in my upper right shoulder. I was worried that I had carpel tunnel.
Anyway, I was wary because I didn't want it to become something that I HAD to do in order to feel normal...I was worried that I would start depending on him for adjustments weekly or something terrible like that.
He was so amazingly wonderful. He did an exam of my whole back, all my reflexes, checked all the nerves in my arms and fingertips, and all this after he had listened to me explain my problem for at least 10 minutes. He continued to listen as I remembered new things and was so gentle...I could tell he was checking into everything, including my funky carpel tunnel theory.
He then said "I want to make sure we do this right, so I'm going to take 3 x-rays and ask you to come back tomorrow for a few minutes so we can see what they mean." When I told him that I was worried about the dependency he said "Manipulation is only a temporary fix. If we can fix you for good, then I want to do that." That was the first time I had heard anyone mention the possibility that my problem could be fixed for good. I envisioned my life without these headaches or the pain in my upper back...and I almost cried. I decided that a good chiropractor is the chiropractor that wants to help you so that you never have to return to his/her office again. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:I decided that a good chiropractor is the chiropractor that wants to help you so that you never have to return to his/her office again.
In my experience, then, there are no such things as good chiropractors.
When I first started reading this thread, I began thinking about all the friends and family I have that see chiropractors. I even went so far as to make a list so I could be sure I knew them all. Both my grandparents did, two of my three aunts, five of my cousins, my brother, and at least 10 other friends and acquaintances.
All of them have had stories a lot like yours - wow it was so wonderful! He really cared, and he's going to fix everything for good!
And yet, they are still going years later.
I'm not trying to say I know anything about your chiropractor, obviously you're in a better position to know than I am, but I just have to tell you why I'm so skeptical.
I'm not professional like Theca or Alucard, so all I have is anecdotal evidence. As we all know, that doesnt' equal much.
What I'd like to know (and I'm genuinely curious, here) is are there good, legitimate, reputable studies done that show long term benefits from chiropractic care? What I'd really like to see are studies that show patients with diagnosed problems going to chiropractors, and another group going to conventional medical doctors for the same type of condition and then a comparison of the outcome. Who got better faster? Who felt better at six month and 1 year checkups? Who spent the most money being treated for their condition? That kind of thing.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote: I think chiropractors who treat musculoskeletal stuff (especially lower back issues) can be wonderful, IF AND ONLY IF they don't try to do things that chiropractic really canNOT do; and are used not as a replacement to "traditional" medicine, but in conjunction with it.
That pretty much sums it up for me.
I've had lower back problems since I was a teenager. In my early 20's, it would get so bad I could barely walk much of the time. The first time it actually went out on me, I went to see an orthopedist. He gave me some muscle relaxants and told me to stay in bed for a week. I've since learned that is absolutely the wrong thing to do.
I went to another othopedist to try and find out exactly what was wrong. He took X-rays and had me have a bone scan and an MRI. He finally threw up his hands, said he couldn't help me and referred me to a chiropractor. He fixed me almost immediately.
It was not a permanent fix and he never tried to tell me it would be. Depending on how active I am, I go every 2 to 6 months. Since I don't have much time for tennis, etc. anymore, I only go about twice a year these days.
My chiropractor has never, ever tried to tell me that he could cure my cold or anything like that. I couldn't trust anyone who tried to convince me of that.
As far as the electrical patches go, he has used them on me several times after my back has gone out. He will not do any adjustments after that has occurred until he feels that the muscles have healed sufficiently, which he says the electic stimulus speeds up. I don't know the mechanics of it, but I will say that it works. Comparing times when I've had that done vs. just waiting it out myself, I was back to normal much sooner.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I also read that chiropractors have a much lower occurance of malpractice suits, which would make me feel better about the few horror stories I have heard. I wonder if this is at all accurate.
Posts: 285 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I would hope they would have fewer malpractice suits! They ought not be doing much that can have drastic bad effects.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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(((Katie))) Thanks dear. I feel all warm and fuzzy now.
Belle, I totally see your point. My parents are chronic visitors to the chiropractor as well. But, in my experience, my medical doctor couldn't help me. He didn't even refer me to a chiropractor, even after he couldn't figure out my problem. He just said "Ah. Stress." And I think he's a pretty good doctor in all the other areas...
*shrug* Who knows? I'm going back this afternoon for him to tell me what he thinks of my x-rays and what his plan is. I trust him because he's already mentioned exercise as part of my 'fix it' plan and that makes good sense to me. But we'll see.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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