Teelo, they say that for every anecdote, there is an equal and opposite anecdote.
I hurt my neck while skydiving several years ago (1990). After six weeks, it still bothered me, so I went to a doctor expecting him to recommend some physical therapy. Instead, he found that my C2 vertebra (the Christopher Reeve one) was broken, and opened up wide every time I bent my head down. Further tests showed that I had an additional problem - the bottom tip of my brain extends down into my neck, almost to the third vertebra, so where the second one was broken, it was right around not only my upper spine but the medulla part of my brain.
I can’t say that a DC wouldn’t have found the break (the MD barely noticed the shadow on the first x-ray, then had me take another shot with my head bent down), but it really scares me to think what could have happened had I decided to go that route.
Both of my parents go to a chiropractor on a quasi-regular basis. Both have lower back problems, so every once in a while they do something that throws their back out and he can put things back into place for them.
Back in my college football days, I used to go a couple of times a year, usually just before the preseason starts and just after the season ends, just to make sure everything is in the right place.
The Girlfriend™ was in a car accident a 3 years ago that did something to her hip. Every six weeks or so she has to go to a chiropractor to get her hip put back in place, otherwise the left hip bone ends up about 2 inches above the right hip bone (I’ve felt it personally), and the pain gets intense to the point of being unbearable no matter if she’s standing, sitting, laying down, walking, or whatever.
None of the chiropractors I’ve visited have been quacks. But I know some of them are. And, based on what I’ve seen/heard/read, you can easily tell the two groups apart.
s/he has no interest in Xrays. My Chiro’s office will not do more than shake your hand if they don’t have current x-rays.
I too broke my hip (well, to be honest, I had 2 hairline fractures of the hip), at the ripe age of 25, and was sent home from the ER with the wise advice of “You’ll feel better in 6 weeks. And when you feel better, you are fine” Being the fool that I am, I was limping around on crutches in about a week and forced myself back to my quasi-normal activities without benefit of physical therapy etc… :smack:
After 9 months of ever increasing back pain, which had never been a problem, I headed to the chiro that a VERY choosy friend patronized. It was the best decision I’d ever made. After 20+ years of getting launched off horses, I had done some serious damage to the alignment of my spine. All the natural curves in the spine either curved in the wrong way or didn’t curve at all :eek: My right hip was about 1.5 inches higher than the left and twisted back. The first couple of months I went 2-3 times per week in order to retrain the muscles to hold my spine in place properly and have gotten down to once a month. Within 2 weeks I had much greater flexibility, I could actually see in my blind spots while driving, and my pain levels had decreased greatly.
I have spent a bloody fortune at that office in the past 18 months and it was worth every FREAKIN’ penny. As a matter of fact I should make another appointment.
My girlfriend is a gymnast and has scoliosis. It’s not uncommon for her to have back pains and every time she goes to the chiro she comes back feeling great. So, it really just depends on what you want the chiropractor to do. If you want them to relieve muscular-skeletal pain or soreness, then go ahead, they’ll probably help. However, leave the asthma/allergies/cancer/whatever to the other doctors.
A DC is a Doctor of Chirpractic, which is (I think) what they call themselves. An MD is a Medical Doctor.
The point of my story is that I believe that if I had gone to a chiropractor instead of a medical doctor, there is a significant chance that I would now be a paraplegic or worse.