Chiropractic: alternative medicine or post-graduate quackery?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I recently went to a chiropracter for the first time because I was having a problem with sciatica. She showed me where I’ve lost some space between two of my lower vertebra (not necessarily the cause of the sciatica [which has now gone away] but something she says needs arresting now to prevent problems down the road). She also took X-rays of my neck because I’ve had problems with stiffness and soreness and she says it’s one of the worst necks she’s ever seen on a healthy person (very little space between the bottom three vertebra, arthritis, bone spurs, odd curvature, much of it possibly the result of a bad horseback (or rather- off horseback) injury 15 years ago. She recommends three treatments per week for the next two months then one per week until the Second Coming or so.

I know that chiropracters have to have four years of post-graduate education and I have no problem believing they can help back pain and perhaps correct minor subluxation, but I have problems accepting a few of the other claims written in the literature in their office. (Essentially they claim to be better than MDs because they “treat the problem rather than the symptoms” and their work involves the entire nervous system, etc. [though I think many doctors might state they treat the problems as well as the symptoms also]). Before undergoing major time consuming series of treatments (which admittedly are far cheaper than conventional medical treatments- my insurance covers all but $11 per visit) I wanted to research the matter, but basically I find as much anti as pro and vice-versa on professional sites.

Soooo… I thought I’d check with Dopers. If you’ve had experience with chiropractic treatment or if you have a medical or chiropractic background, I’d love to hear your thoughts- pro or con- on the value of chiropractic. Thanks (and disclaimer stuff: I understand that nobody is giving medical advice, etc etc ad nauseum).

2

I’m no expert, but there seem to be two kinds of chiropractor- those that accept the limits of their field and those that claim chiro can cure all the world’s ills. At $11.00 bucks a pop, I guess it’s cheap enough and hopefully similar to and as beneficial as massage. You may want to check out Quackwatch.com and its offshoot Chirowatch before getting tooooo involved- for example, there have been some deaths associated with aggressive neck manipulation.

3

I’ve had two experiences with Chiroprators, and while both of them yielded positive results, I have different feelings about them.

The first time was when I hurt my back somehow while in high school. The chiroprator that time was into acupressure (like acupuncture, but just tapping pressure points with a small hammer rather than using pins) and seemed more interested in putting on a magic show for my parents to demonstrate how wonderful this technique was. I got better within a week, although I have no idea how much of that was due to him.

Several years later, I hurt my back again, and went to another chiropractor (the son of the first one, in fact). This one was more interested in showing me how to stretch and exercise my back properly so that everything would heal. I also noticed that the posters and charts his father had, showing all the ailments chiropractic could cure, were gone.

There are good ones, and there are quacks, but a lot of the quacks firmly believe in what they’re doing. I’d advise just talking with one. If they start mentioning “releasing built-up toxins,” or ailments that have nothing to do with muscle problems, thank them for their time and go look elsewhere.

4

It depends.

As Qadgop the Mercotan said in this helpful thread,

5

First there is NO scientific basis for much of chiropractic. All of the crap about “subluxations”.toxins,etc. is rubbish. Chiropractors have caused some patient’s deaths (that “neck snap adjustment” sounds suspect. That said, some chiropractors do provide relief from back pain…however, their treatments are pretty much the same as what amasseuse or physical therapist wouldprovide. You also run the risk of having a serious medical condition, which a chiropractor could not recognize.
So,if you wish to consult a chiropractor, see your doctor first…if the back pain is not due to something other than a simple muscle spasm, then you might try a chiropractor.
Or you could get bed rest and take aspirin. Either course works equally well.
Personally, I don’t think chiropractors provide a worthwhile treatment. I was treated by a physical therapist (for back pain) and had excellent results (toatl relief after 4 sessions).

6

I’ve had tremendous success with my chiropractor. I’ve been plagued with sciatica since college, and when it acted up I’d be debilitated for days - on my back,popping pills. It was awful. One morning I had such a bad flareup that I called my mom who I knew was still at home to take me to the ER. She said she would, but asked if I would consider going to my dad’s chiropractor, since he helped him with his sciatic years ago. I agreed and that first adjustment was a new beginning for me. That afternoon I could sit up straight for the first time in a week, could get up from a chair without screaming in pain, and could even sleep a little. I went every day that week, and by the end of the week the pain was gone and stayed gone. I still go semi-regularly for adjustments or when the sciatic flares up. But I couldn’t imagine just “resting it out” or relying on drugs to get me through it. I know full well people have had bad experiences with chiropractors so I’m not here to debunk anything, but i just know how my doctor changed my problem tremendously.

7

Got a bad kink in my neck one time. I was on my back for a couple days. My mom took me to a Chiro and by the time I left I was all better. So, you might think I am a true believer, right?

Well, not so fast. Until a couple of years ago, nobody had ever suggested the possibility to me that Chiropractic treatment might be quackery. To me they were the same as any doctor. When the idea occurred to me (probably by reading it off Quackwatch or somesuch) I thought back to my miraculous recovery.

• I was taken to a bed, and I lied on my stomach. There was a face hole in the bed so you could lie perfectly flat and breathe.

• A Chiro nurse(?) came and applied heat to my neck.

• After 15 minutes or so, the nurse massaged my neck, then reapplied the heat.

• After another 15 minutes, the Chiro came over and “adjusted” my neck. It made a pretty popping noise.

• Finally, I was allowed to move freely. The pain was gone!

So, which step of the visit cured my pain? The adjustment? I guess I kind of view that as no different than popping my knuckles–makes a neat sound, and is usually harmless. I have concluded that there is nothing special about the Chiro treatment that might not have been as (or more) effective if provided by, say, a massage therapist or physical therapist.

For me, I would try almost any other treatment before chiropractic. Are there “Good” and “Bad” chiropractors? Probably. But why risk it? So in answer to the question: Quackery mostly.

8

Oh, and I forgot to mention, you might try to get a second opinion (not a bad idea regardless of the particular medical discipline). If the first and second chiropractor’s diagnoses are completely different, it would seem at least one is a quack. While your shopping around, check out the physical therapists and massage therapists. Not that these professions are quack free, but why do yourself the disservice of listening to only one opinion? Clients who don’t think to question are the ones that quacks dream of.

9

When I was overweight and having back trouble, I tried physical therapy several times with very little effect. Then I tried a chiropractor who was great! His philosophy was to treat the person a just few times, not three times a week for a couple of months, which in other words is, “I’ll fix you just enough, but keep you coming back–ca-ching!”). This chiro truly did “fix” me in just a few visits. However, I would end up back there every 5 or 6 months because I wasn’t strengthening my back. If I had been doing strengthening exercises after the chiro visits, I probably wouldn’t have had to go back at all.

IMO, a chiro is a good choice but only in addition to an exercise program to strengthen the muscles that keep the spine in alignment.

10

My chiropractor gets mad when I ask for a happy ending…

11

I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for about two months now, primarily because my neck and lower back were all kinds of messed up.

I went twice a week for two weeks, and have been going once a week for the past six weeks since. When I go in, I lay on a bed with a heating pad and these two rollers that move up and down along my spine to help my muscles relax. After that, I get popped for about 10 minutes. Then they ask me if I want any special treatment, like my hands/wrists, or if my neck is still bothering me they might work on that some more.

The range of motion in my neck is vastly improved. My lower back feels pretty terrific. I’ve got much more energy than I used to. My workouts have gotten better also, since my muscles are adjusting to having my bones and joints in the right place.

Then again, I only know of this doctor because my mom is a massage therapist and used to work with them. So I probably got lucky in that I found a good doctor right away.

Bottom line, I think it’s totally worth it. YMMV.

12

I have had terrific results with chiropractors. I have seen 3 regularly since I started. Mostly I only go when I have a problem and one or two visits will fix up even the most extreme problems. Whenever I have been able to remember to go in for a 6 monthly “tune-up” I could go ages without problems.

The worst complaint I saw my chiropractor for was a radiating pain down my arm that was so bad that I couldn’t sleep, lay down or sit still. The night before I saw him I was going to walk to the local hospital at 3AM for drugs until I found the right spot for the TENS machine I had borrowed. He adjusted my neck and back twice in 4 days and I was back to normal.

Anyway none of the chiropractors I have seen has ever suggested that any treatment regime should be more than 2 or 3 visits.

When people talk about chiropractors as quacks they talk about things no chiropractor has ever mentioned to me - fixing diseases by spinal manipulation, “subluxations”???. However I don’t know that that would prevent them over-servicing - it’s pretty common amongst doctors, “Take these 3 times a day and come back next week.”

13

I have had great experiences, and my only word of caution is that you’ll know when its time to stop going, they will never recommend that you stop treatment.
If you don’t like your chiropractor, switch as soon as possible - my current one isn’t nearly as good as the first one I had, and I regret not seeking out someone better for me, although my last adjustment is next week and then I’m all done. She did an adequate job, but I just don’t like the way she adjusts my upper back, she waits too long and I end up with a lot of pressure on my diaphragm that my first chiro NEVER did to me. So shop around if you’re not totally happy with the first one. But I went in about two or three months ago with pain so bad it was keeping me from getting out of bed, I was 90% recovered within about four visits. The rest have been maintenance and I’ve been going every two weeks for the last three visits, to ease myself back into non-chiro adjusted life. Chiro worked for me.

14

I had a quack.

Went in for lower back pain. Discovered I was completely screwed up. It was amazing I could walk! She decided she could cure my infertility. I went to two or three sessions (she was highly recommended by a girlfriend, for whom I lost all respect for in terms of getting medical advice, so I wanted to give her a chance). She never worked on my lower back, instead choosing to work on my sinuses. When I asked, she mumbled something about “all related.”

I do think a chiropractor can help. But if I ever go again it will be on a doctor’s referral. I just had an MRI done for shoulder pain, with the results to be determined, but it sounds like - unless something needs to be corrected surgically - my doctor is intending on sending me the physical therapy route.

15

I broke my neck in 2000. (the year, not pieces!)
Medical doctors put me in a halo cast for a long time, and when I got out offered me lots of pain meds. The pain got worse and worse and the meds got more and more until finally they said, “The next step is surgury: spinal fusion!”

I didn’t like the sound of that, cause I know some folks with spinal fusion. They still have pain and they can’t turn their heads. I looked for alternatives.

By accident I ran into a relatively new chiropractor at my local mall, who used a partitioned screen and a digital camera for an initial evaluation. My hips were tilted, my shoulders weren’t level, and my back curved like a snake in flight!

He convinced me to come in for a further evaluation, via x-ray, and he showed me how I was and a model of how I was supposed to be. My insurance doesn’t cover chiropractic, but I figured it was worth a try.

After 3 months of thrice-weekly treatments I had cut my medications down to about a third of what I was taking when I went in initially, and was working on eliminating them altogether. However, I reached a stabilization point, and our current goal (with weekly visits) is to keep me there at a minimum, or get me better with exercises, positioning, etc.

Not all chiropractors are alike. The science has changed quite a bit in recent years, so I think it worthwhile to find out what training a potential chiro has had, and how recently. I know my chiropractor can give recommendations for a chiro in your area who is a recent graduate of the newest methods, and I’d be glad to put you in touch with him if you make a request by email.

Oh, my xray looks a lot better now, too!