Chiropractic care -- your thoughts?

In My Humble Opinion
1

On Friday I’ll be going in for my first chiropractic visit. I’ve read up on what to expect for my fist visit, and have a few anecdotal accounts of results, but I’m curious to hear from those of you who have in the past or are currently going to a chiropractor.

For some backstory, I injured my shoulder 7 years ago and it resulted in a severly broken collarbone. It healed improperly and had to be re-broken and re-set. I’ve had problems with it on and off, and over the years my back pain has increased as well. I’m hoping to at least get some relief for my neck pain.

So tell me …

What kind of results did you expect and what kind of results have you noticed?

Did you find that it helped?

How long was your treatment?

Are there any questions I should ask, or anything I should know ahead of time?

Thanks!

2

I would be very leery. If they tell you you’ll need regular “upkeep” visits or mention the word “subluxation,” run—don’t walk—for the door.

3

Personally, I would start running NOW.

Massage therapy and chiropractic adjustment are legitimate holistic avenues for treatment of pain, but be aware that MANY chiropracters are not doctors, and have no medical degrees. Be particularly careful in the arena of neck injury - my physical therapist explained that improper chiropractic neck adjustments can release calcium deposits into the bloodstream which can and often do result in aneurysm. I found this out when I mentioned to the PT that I was afraid of chiro, because I know of THREE people who died within two days of a chiropractic treatment - and his FIRST response was “Did they have aneurysms?” – and yes, all three did.

I would personally recommend staying far away from any chiropracter, and seeking out a physical therapist instead.

4

LifeOnWry,

Were they brain aneurysms? Or elsewhere? I ask because my Mom survived a brain aneurysm and used to go to chiro.

5

Yes, brain aneurysms. Actually, I didn’t know there was any other kind of anuerysm.

6

There’s heart aneurysms too. Thanks. That they all 3 went to chiro & had brain aneurysms too startles me.

7

If you’re leery, you might want to go to a multi-disciplinary practice, in which a Chiropractor and Medical Doctor work together as a team. You can find these listed under Physicians, usually noted as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation practices. The Chiropractor is technically under the supervision of an MD.

8

OK, now for the non-scary chiropractor stories.

I don’t think all of them are quacks and I don’t beleive in seeing just a chiropractor exclusively. I don’t think they can cure everything from ear aches to ADD. I think a good many of the doctors prey on the gullible.

**#1 **
My mom - then about 70 - could barely walk ten feet without pain in her hips. Convinced she a) needed either hip surgery or back surgery b) refused to go to the doctor because she didn’t want A confirmed c) just got worse and worse. d)and in her mind if she ignored it it would go away and e) *this is what happens when you get old and there is nothing you can do about it. * (Direct quote, what fun.)
When I threated to shove her in a nursing home (this is not your mother we are dealing with. Big guns were needed and I dropped the A bomb on her) she went to the Doctor, who naturally, found nothing wrong with her. But prescribed Physical therapy and drugs. After religously doing it for weeks, she was not much better.

She asked around, asked her doctor and was recommended to a Chiropractor who treats the doctors at our hospital ( William Beaumont, for those in MI) . She went, had xrays and found out that her hips are out of alignment and causing the problem. Why the regular doctor didn’t even see this is beyond me. (She had a back injury years ago and naturally, never went to the doctor. She’s also had a broken ankle for nearly 20 years that she’s never had set.)

After her first adjustment, she could walk without the aid of a walker. She goes faithfully once a week and if she misses, (busy or on vacation) she can feel it.

#2
My cousins third child, when he was an infant, cried nonstop. From birth on. These were veteran parents, both from large families. They tried everything to get this child to sleep for more than forty minutes at a stretch. Nothing worked.

They went to specialist at Children’s Hospital and were told he had an immature digestive system, he’ll grow out of it at 6 months. Six months came and went and he was howling constantly. Seven, eight, nine months and no sleep for anyone.

Went back to the specialists at Children’s Hospital and basically, they were stumped. Not much comfort to two walking zombified parents. ( older kids weren’t sleeping too much either.)

At their wits end, they decided to try their neighbor’s chiropractor, who is also this guys brother. One manipulation…one… and this child slept in the car ride home (soemthing he’d never done before , as it never calmed him down), slept in his crib for 12 hours afterwards. He probably had a pinched nerve from coming down the birth canal ( he was 10 pounds or so.)

**#3 **

Me.

Before kids, my left back/hip area would bother me. Doing stretches kept it from becoming a nuisance. After #1 was born, as my body got back to normal, by the 8th month after, I could barely touch my knees, let alone my toes by the end of the day. After several months of doing yoga and stretches, I could not releive this extreme tightness.

I did PT and the guy there ( who worked on my FIL ) and he did a move that cracked my back perfectly and I was fine. Then I was pregnant with my daughter and repeat back troubles after she was born.

I had a fight with the insurance company over the PT bills before ( and lost) and decided to try Chiroprator as it was cheaper over all, and my mom and several friends had just good success.

I am suppose to go twice a week for X amount of time, but financially it isn’t doable and it is an hour’s drive for me. With kids.
So, I go once a month.

When I go, I have relief instantly, which is from the endorphins being released, but I have no tightness for at least ten days. He cracks my back and my neck, and it is divine. This is key for me because it means I don’t sit in a chair wiggling around because it is getting tighter and tighter as I sit there.
I explained that I am faithful to stretching and yoga and he ( as well as the PT said) that a) all the stretches I do are not going to get right into the target area because a) I’m too flexible b) it isn’t muscle related, it is bone related. ( My hips are out of alignment, I have the xrays to prove it and my regular doctor didn’t catch it either.) And they are right, because I have always felt it out of sync down there, espcially doing specific moves. Not painful, just you notice it, unlike anything else.

So, if you haven’t lapsed into a coma by now from this, JetGirl, I would say definately give it a try. The doctor will probably recommend a heat pack before doing anything, and while it is a great feeling, it possibly not necessary. ( On my bill, the heat pack is $25 for maybe ten minutes. That’s alot for an out of pocket expense. Regular visits are $5 with my copay.)

Give the adjustments a try. If you don’t feel comfortable with him/her and feel they are pushing tons of visits to help you reach superb maxim inner-organ health. Bail. Most inner organ ( as opposed to *outer organ * :smiley: health is hereditary anyway, unless you are a lead paint eating, freebasing coke junkie. Then, if you were, you would just do some more heroin to numb the shoulder pain. ( Which probably is much more fun, but you will look like Keith Richards in a month.)

Most decent doctors will give you an option. Lots of visits for optimum health, semi-regular visits and call-me-when-it’s-bugging-you-again.

Good luck.

9

I just recently finished a series of chiro visits. I’m currently writing my thesis, so I spend most of my time on the computer. In addition, I missed about 3 weeks of workouts, and the accompanying stretching exercises. I woke up on Monday about three weeks ago and could hardly move my neck, reach for things with my right arm, and was generally miserable. I went to three chiro appointments (I’d never been to a chiro before) the first week. At each visit, they used an ultrasound machine for a heat/massage treatment on my neck where the muscles were all knotted up. He then did an adjustment on my back, and neck. The second visit he was able to unlock my neck (it was physically impossible for me to tilt my head to the right), which hurt like a bitch. He did the adjustment again two days later, and that time it didn’t hurt.

I went back once this week because I couldn’t quite get the rest of the pain out of my neck. I’m now really close to being pain-free and don’t think I’ll need to go back.

Also, I haven’t died yet. :eek:

10

I had back pain while running -
Chiropractor number 1 saw me a few times. Adjusted me and my back felt better (good, even) and then claimed that I needed to keep seeing her several times/week for months and possibly years. I have sublaxations, it seems.

As my back was better, I stopped going. It felt as though she was trying to take my money.

Then, it started up again.
Chiropractor number 2, saw me. Adjusted me. Handed me a sheet of stretches to do before and after I ran and told me about ways to make it easier on my back while running. (Also handed me some more stretches for my neck)
Saw me a few more times and then said not to come back unless it hurt. And to do the stretches in the meantime.

Because this made sense and he didn’t seem to be taking my money, I’d say he’s trustworthy (Chiro #1 seems like a quack.)

11

I have been going to the chiropractor for 12 years now. I started after I was in a car wreck and was pregnant w/my youngest. I couldn’t sit, stand, lay down, walk for more than a few minutes at a time. The Doc did wonders while I was preggers and after she was born I healed up faster than w/my 1st. I love it.

Both my kids go, it helps w/their growing pains and straightens them out after all the sports, running, jumping ect. They love it.

Nothing has happened to us, my sisters go to the same one I go to. The main thing you have to look for is experience and if you like them. I have been to others and didn’t care for them one bit.

The guy we go to has been practicing for over 25yrs. If you can find a Chiropractor that is an MD would be really wonderful, or works closely w/one would work also. But shop around, if you don’t like him or her, try, try again

12

They took a nine-month-old baby to a chiropractor? Yikes.

13

**Eve ** I understand your apprehension. But they were desperate and had tried every medical thing, over the counter thing and decided to try chiropractic a go. They only had one visit and that, as they say, was that. Out of all my cousins, these are the ultra conservative types, so when they told me what they did, I was more shocked they did something so…*different *

And with infants, they don’t crack the spine like adults. they use a little tool that gives a gentle tap.

14

The problem with chiropractic is that while there are good, solid chiros out there who know their limits and are honest about what they can and can’t treat, there are also a disproportionate number of quacks who claim they can treat EVERYTHING but you have to come in two or three times a week for the next fifty years.

I have a weird orthopedic condition. I wouldn’t let a chiropractor adjust me in a million years – and several reputable ones have told me they wouldn’t, so if I ran into one who would, I’d run the other way FAST – but my mom over the years has gotten quite a bit of help from them. One guy she went to in California went so far as to provide me with a great pair of orthotics (which have unfortunately vanished in some subsequent move) and he had a WONDERFUL massage therapist working out of his office that I saw a few times.

Keep your eyes open, and you’ll know the quacky ones when you see them.

The baby story weirded me out, but if no harm was done and it worked, then I can’t really argue, can I?

15

i’ve had very bad back pain since was a child.
occult spina bifida and an old riding injury compounded things.
then add studying at desks which are the wrong height, and the big boobs, and you get horrible stuff happening.

it worked.

3 visits, daily ice packs, a daily stretching routine, and i’m pain free.

i had 3 lumbar adjustments and one thoracic at each visit, plus 20 minutes of massage.

don’t EVER let anyone adjust cervical veterbrae without an xray. un-detected cervical ribs can pinch nerves and cause pain, adjustment could fracture them and paralyse you.

16

Thanks Shirley. I’ve read a whole lot on quackery and chiropractic, and what I really wanted to know is if there was anyone out there who’d been helped/hurt by it.

The reason I’m considering chiropractic (in addition to consulting with an orthopedic surgeon) is that it was a series of mistakes and negligence on the part of medical doctors and my orthopedic doc that put me in this position in the first place. I don’t want to put myself through surgery that may or may not do any good unless I feel I absolutely have to.

I would never think of consulting a chiropractor for anything other than back problems, and I probably wouldn’t even bother going to a doc over it if it weren’t for the fact that my cervical vertebra feel like a jenga tower mid-game.

17

Hey, I know people who have hired a chiropractor to come “adjust” their horse’s spines. Oooookay.

18

I had a back injury and decided to go to a chiropractor. He gave me a few adjustments and kept saying, “Just a few more sessions and you’ll be as good as new”.

I wasn’t getting any better so I went to a neurosurgeon. In 2 minutes he diagnosed me with a ruptured disk. A CAT scan confirmed his diagnosis…even I could see it on the film, and I know nothing about CAT scans.

Maybe I had a poor chiropractor with a large house payment, I don’t know. I just came away with a low opinion of chiropractors after that.

YMMV

19

I have gone about 2-4 times at a shot, roughly every 1.5 to 2 months for the last few years, due to spinal pain, mostly caused by my thrashing around in my sleep and ending up in all sorts of bizarre, twisty positions.

It does help, but I occasionally have to “pull the plug” on my chiropractor’s insistence on “just a few more visits”.

I like the guy for the most part, but between that and all the times he’s left me sitting waiting for him (like 45 minutes to 1.5 hours - when I’m supposedly on my lunch break and need to get back to work), I probably won’t go back.

Next time I plan to check out my wife’s chiropractor, who sees her once or maybe twice, about every 3-5 months - and has never kept her waiting more than 20 minutes.

20

This is a very smart way to think, XJETGIRLX. Two stories to share to contribute to the “Not All Chiros are Quacks” school of thought.

My dad has had persistant and horrendous back pain for years. At one point 5 years ago, it was so awful he was crippled with pain. He was examined by his doctor and was told after several visits that back surgery would be necessary. This didn’t exactly thrill my dad, as he can’t sit still for a minute and having to recuperate from back surgery would just as soon kill his spirit. The week before surgery he decided to give a chiropractor a try that his boss had been using for years, if anything to help ease the pain until the day of surgery came. After his first adjustment he walked upright for the first time in weeks, after his 5th adjustment he was back to riding his bike 20 miles every weekend. That was 5 years ago and he’s never had any problems since, by keeping up semi-regular appointments and doing strength exercises.

My story. About 2 weeks before I was leaving for vacation to New Mexico I started having some lower back and leg pain. Like my dad, I have sciatica, so usually a day of rest in bed with an ice pack will bring me back around. Well NOTHING helped this. It was friggin excruciating as hell… like giant iron hands squeezing all the nerves at the base of my spine and stabbing razors in my upper legs. I couldn’t lay down, I couldn’t sit up, the only position that was comfortable was semi-standing while I leaned forward on something. Three days before the day I was supposed to leave, I woke up and just couldn’t move at all… the pain was in my arms, legs, upper back, etc. I couldn’t reach my husband and he was either on the way to work or caught up at the office and not answering his pages. I called my mom who was thankfully still home and begged and cried for her to take me to the emergency room. She agreed, but asked if I would be interested in seeing a chiropractor first, like dad did. I was EXTREMELY skeptical but definitely not thinking as clearly as usual so I agreed to go. She made me an appointment, drove me to his office that morning, and I had my first adjustment. That afternoon I was able to sit at the computer chair, walk up and down stairs, and lay down comfortably. I went every day until my plant to NM took off, and by day 2 of my vacation I hiked 3 miles down the Rio Grande. I go about every 6 weeks and I feel like a million bucks.

That’s just my story… but our doc probably saved us from surgery.