chiropractors....I ain't sure

Factual Questions
1

Ok I have met people that go to chiropactors on a regular basis whether they have anything specific wrong with them or not ( like an injury). But I have managed to make it so far in life without even being tempted to go to one. Hell I am not even sure I spelled it correctly. The one time a DO did manipulation on me I was crippled for a week. So my question is this…is this a TRULY a legitimate medical profession? I don’t think they can even write prescriptions can they? But they are called doctors right? I am not trying to belittle any chiropractors out there just wondering.

“Look honey, there’s the little dipper, I’d show you the big dipper but my zipper is stuck.”
-aha

2

Look, all it is , is a $75 back rub.

Go to a licenced massage therapist, & you can get the same thing; cheaper, & without the crock of BS.

Or, go to the other type of massage place & get some fun for your money.

Either one is a better investment of your cash.

Chiros are not A.M.A. members; & the A.M.A. does not endorse the practice.

'Nuff said.

“Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.”----Jung

3

The site http://www.chirobase.org has a lot of info about this subject. The author is obviously biased, but, as far as I can tell, he’s also pretty knowledgeable.

\\| |/
=== '>

4

Yeah, its a real science, has real practioners. But like some, they tend to embellish on what it can do.

5

Greg used to have frequent ear infections. The doctors and I tried all sorts of stuff to keep them under control. We finally did but in the meantime a friend told me that her daughter suffered from ear infections and took her to a chiropractor. She said that cured the ear infections and suggested I take Greg to one. How do spinal manipulations cure an ear infection?

MaryAnn
No, stupid, it’s a boat!

6

Chiropractic is not, technically, science. It’s based on the idea that all illness is caused by subluxations, or tiny misalignments in the spinal column. (Your chiropractor will no doubt find several of these on your xrays; many chiropractors like to take lots of xrays because it’s quite profitable.) Supposedly, a vital force travels down the nerves from the spine and is responsible for the health of all your organs. Only by frequent spinal manipulations, and often large doses of vitamins (thoughtfully and conveniently sold at the chiropractor’s office) can you remain healthy.

Needless to say, this hypothesis is not based on fact and there is no scientific evidence to prove illness is caused by a disruption in some mysterious vital force.

A chiropractor might tell you he can cure your child’s ear infection; many chiropractors do not believe in the germ theory of disease (which, unlike chiropractic, has quite a bit of evidence to back it up). Occasionally, chiropractors cause severe injury and even death to their patients, such as by rupturing the vertebral arteries in the neck.

Not all chiropractors are frauds, however. Some limit their business to doing spinal manipulations on people with back pain, etc. I’d suggest reading material from some skeptical sources.

7

OK, here’s some personal experience…

WAY back in '96, I was stricken with back problems so severe that I couldn’t work. Hell, I couldn’t walk! I was basically dysfunctional. I asked around, and went to a reputable chiropractor.

I’m not going to say that the DC performed a miracle, but she DID: (1) quickly and relatively cheaply define the problem; (2) alleviate the pain; and (3) get me started with exercise and self-therapy that have enabled me to control the problem.

And YES, DC’s love their X-ray machines, but that’s not always a bad thing! In my case, the chiropractor took an even half-dozen shots, from a variety of angles, during the first visit. One – and ONLY one – of the shots showed a problem that several doctors and one hospital ER had missed: a “split” fracture of L5, the lowermost vertebra in my spine. My best guess is that the injury occurred in 1982 (I remember the incident well), but fourteen years of bitching to various AMA types had gotten me nowhere. (One AMA member diagnosed my problem as being ‘blood clots’ in my right leg. I think he had blood clots in his head.)

I have since been to other chiropractors, and I do think the DC’s tend to ‘pad’ the bill with relatively useless stuff like ultrasonic and electro-muscle therapy. And they love to peddle their organic concoctions, in lieu of prescription medicines. BUT everything ‘Dr. Janet’ told me about my condition and its treatment has turned out to be right on the money.

I don’t know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free…

T

8

Anecdotal evidence:
I had horrible migraines. I was, quite literally, bed-ridden for much of a year. Doctors eventually diagnosed a partial fusion of the 1st cervical vertebra. Proposed solution: complete the fusion, permanently restricting my neck mobility. Went (because my grandmother made me) to an osteopath. He performed chiropractic manipulation on my neck. No instant relief, but in a matter of weeks I was able to function normally most days and rarely took the massive doses of pain killers to which I had become accustomed. Within 6 months, I had stopped refilling the prescription.

Anecdote 2:
My girlfriend of teh time was experiencing back pain. She went to a chiropractor. Many x-rays later he had diagnosed her with 1 leg shorter than the other and recommended a thrice weekly regimen of masage and manipulation. I demonstrated to her (through the simple act of heving her lie down and marking where her trousers met her ankle) that her legs were very much the same length. I talked her into enrolling in a fitness class and, lo and behold, her back pain went away.

I will be forever grateful for teh relief I found (and for being able to turn my head like a normal person), but caveat emptor – there are some bad people out there with shingles on the door.

The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*

9

This may be of interest.

10

M. Gardner’s “Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science” took on chiropractic, osteopathy, homeopathy, and other quackery almost a half-century ago, and it’s stilla good read.

11

More evidence. Yes, many Chiro’s love X-rays, but not always for the reasons stated. Set aside the bile for a second, ok? The doctors who missed that fracture mentioned above? Why aren’t THEY the frauds? Any good chiro, upon taking a new case, may want some shots. Not because they love the profit( Mine has no imaging machines at all), but because they recognize that there are things-MANY THINGS- that are outside of their purvey. It’s not called fear of lawsuits, I like to think it’s called being thorough, and professional.
I have seen two chiros in my life, different as night and day. The first one followed a fall while wearing the camera harness I use for making my living. It’s called a Steadicam, and forces the spine to rotate in TWO axis as one walks/stands still/runs. I fell down, while running once. Felt pain withing minutes. Was unable to walk well the next morning ( thank god it was a one-day shoot). Went off to Dr X on West XXth ST, in NYC. He was a real " Rack Em, Crack Em" kind. VERY agressive, very tough. I had sprained the ligaments in my middle back. ( Who the hell knew one could do that? Not moi!). I saw him at least twice a week for a few months. The ONLY thing he did that really helped was the electric therapy, whereby a current is passed THROUGH the muscles, from one pad to another. It lets the muscles relax from spasm, and allows the pressures on the nerves to ease up. Pure Heaven. But, I was sore after each visit.
Now, I go ( albeit VERY rarely ) to the Faire Dr. Marie. She has an amazing approach. I don’t even know the proper terms for her approach. She put her hands gently on my daughter’s chest, and pressed in here and there, and announced, " She’s got a stomache bug". We smiled kindly at the insane Dr. Until daughter woke up vomiting that night, and didnt stop for a few days.
She’s gentle, and precise. Her true knowledge of the CNS is daunting ( sure, I grilled her when I first went- I didn’t want to be like one of the poor souls mentioned about, who had their head torn off by some idiot).
Like ANY medical technician, a good one blends the ability to TRULY listen, and watch, with a depth of skill. I would urge people to not blindly throw the idea of chiropractic away. Instead, find one who will always turn to full traditional medicine when it’s called for. Dr. Marie has turned people away in front of me, because she was presented with what was clearly a spinal injury. She’s not interested in being an Ortho, and said as much to the person ( with more grace than I just used here).
It works. Vertibrae shift, and settle, and rotate. A complete and accurate adjustment ought to make you A) NOT sore at all, and B) Feel slightly high. The release of subtle tensions around the spinal cord always make me feel buzzed.

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.
Cartooniverse

" If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel. "

12

(Long post ahead alert)

Our medicine here in the US is the best in the world. However, I strongly beleive they over prescribe drugs and the doctors are 1) so rushed to see patients and 2)fear of malpractice 3) the insurance industry strong arming them that leaves fearful to try anything new.

I don’t believe entirely in Chiropractor. I’ve never gone to one. But two members of my family, both desperate for relief and both had exhausted the conventional methods.

#1 - My mom ( very common sense person), 72, woke up one day and could barely walk. Thought it was the sciatic, but only in the back area. No accidents or falls at all recently. Her back was killing her. Regular doc took xrays found nothing wrong and prescriped RX figuring it was an inflammation of something. For weeks the pain was so bad it took her minutes to get from her bedroom to the kitchen. RX wasn’t working. WEnt back to doc. more xrays and decided for her to go to therapy. She did. Didn’t really help. (This is where old age pessimistic thinking kicks in)
She decided it was her back going and refused to have back surgery and would have to learn to live with the pain. After a very frank discussion with her ( by me), and having a few friends of hers talk to her, she went to a Chiropractor that was highly reccommended. She had to use a walker to get into the office she was in so much pain. She was not optimistic at all. Frankly, I think she was figuring this was the ‘one foot in the grave’ time for her.

After the x-rays, it was discovered her hips are not aligned ( she had an accident as a teen that probably threw them out of whack, and four pregnancies that didnt help either. Her regular doctor and xray technician had no comment of why they missed this during two previous xrays.)
and he did the massage/adjustment stuff. She was able to walk without the walker out of the office. She goes now once a week and is 95% better. If she skips a week, she starts getting crippled up.

(As for the hip alignment, pregnancy threw mine out of whack and I gave myself 10 months of tightened muscles in my lower back to get back into shape before going to my doctor. I was recommended for therapy ( I was already doing stretches, yoga, hot packs to releive the tightness.) Went to a great therapy place ( that my father in law goes to) and just by looking at my naked lower back, could see it was out of alignment. Two weeks later and faithful to exercises, I was fine. I can tell this time around with pregnancy, I will have to do it again because I am carrying lower.)

#2. My cousins had their third son. From the get go, this little guy would bring his knees up to his chest and wail like a banshee after every breast feeding. He cried all the time, except for thirty minute or so cat naps. Ruling out dietary things that momma was eating, and tired of being told it was colic and he’d grow out of it ( most colic is at a certian time of day, not 24/7). Most colic ends at 3 months. Three months came and went and no relief. They went to a variety of doctors and specialists and were all told it was “an immature digestive tract” and that at about 6 months it would straighten itself out.

At the seven month mark, the kid is screaming like a hot poker is shoved up his butt still and no one in the house has slept since his birth. They tried every trick in the book and even old wives tales. There was something definately wrong with their son and they were being pooh poohed by the Doc’s as nervous parents. (After two kids, they ain’t nervous, they were exhausted and frustrated.) Finally, in desperation, they went to a friends brother who was a chiropractor. Couldn’t hurt, nothing else was working.

The guy listened, they said very intently to the symptoms. Didn’t take any xrays and did a deep tissue massage in one area. Their son, for the first time since being born, stopped crying and slept through the night. Haven’t had a problem like that with him since.It is speculated he had a pinched nerve that was causing the problem. They refer to him now as Glenn2, the nice one and the early months as His Evil Brother.

another quickie for you. The reason my mom finally caved in was the story of her friends daughter who had a 2 year old that was chronically constipated to the point of sickness, severe bloating and misery. Nothing the pediatrician and specialist did helped her. It was a problem from birth on, apparently. After exhausting all normal avenues, they went to a chiropractor. I’m not sure if he did a massage or an adjustment, but on the way home, that little girl pooped so much it blew out her diaper, filled up her pants AND half of the car seat. She has never been constipated since.

I think there are quacks out there in this feild, just like any field, but with this one , since it does seem so rampant, it is best to chose a chiropractor by a recommendation of someone you trust.

13

Be careful with the back-snappers! A former co-worker of mine went to one to take care of some pain he was having (I think he was in an auto accident). The chiropracter made the problem even worse. Completely ruined his ability to lift heavy objects.

“I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island

14

As has already been indicated, there really are two different types of chiros – those who recognize that they can treat back and neck problems, and those who think they can treat ear infections, cancer, asthma, etc. The first are, IMO, fairly close to physical therapists who specialize in one area. If you have a back problem and go to them, you will get much the same treatment as if you go to a physical therapist. The second are quacks of the lowest order and should be avoided at all cost. These are also the folks who want insurance companies to allow them to be designated as “primary care physicians.” I’m sorry, but that’s utter baloney. I would not take my son to see a physical therapist for an ear infection – I’m sure not going to take him to see a chiropractor.

15

Incidentally, there have been some recent studies on the effectiveness of chiropractic. In some cases, they haven’t been terribly successful even for lower back pain! Anyway, I summarized one article in the following; page down to the second segment: http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v07/n06/reallity-check.html

Also check out this summary, paging down to the very bottom segment: http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v06/n09/reallity-check.html

16

Personal experience:

The coach of my crew team in college was a Chiropractor, which was great because rowers tend to get a lot of back injuries. He would give us free workups, fixing our backs if there was a persistent problem. If it was anything minor, though, he told us to just ‘work it out.’ (He wasn’t the most sympathetic coach in the world…).

Anyway, he seemed to know what he was doing as far as back and neck problems go. As long as it was limited to physical (as opposed to biological or chemical) problems, he was able to help us out a lot. He did tell us, though, on more than one occasion that we shouldn’t bother to see most chiropractors, because they were, in his opinion, quacks.

Also, he always said that as soon as something became critical (broken born, torn muscle or ligament, infection), we should see a real doctor and forget about the witch-doctor stuff (as he liked to refer to his line of work sometimes).

17

David B, on Chiropractors:

Thank me David, as I save you from the wrath of my wife ;). She, being a PT, would have a fit if she saw that statement! While a D.O. may prescribe some exercize and/or self therapy, as TBone2 noted, that is pretty much where the similarity ends. A Physical Therapist would never “manipulate” a spine (or any other bone structure) or claim to heal any disease. While it is true that the ultimate outcome of a PT regimen vs. a D.O. regimen may be the same, the methods and theory are vastly different. It is also worth stating that one cannot legally visit a PT without a perscription from an MD, but one can visit a DO anytime (another source of consternation for PT’s).

Anyhoo, I’ll save you this time - next time you’re on your own!

The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik

18

Too sum up: If you have back pain, go to a chiropractor. If you have any other type of physical injury or maladie, go to your G.P. and he or she will prescribe you where to go. In fact, he or she will probably send you to a reputable chiroprcator.

Personally, I find it’s nicein Canada because the doctors aren’t out to make a buck off the patients - they get paid by the government. I go to a chiropracotr regularly for ack pain, and find that he happens to be fairly knowledgeable about the rest of my healthcare issues, none of which I trust him with solely - but he is helpful.

The key here is to find a good chiropractor. One who would actually tell you wen the problem you have canot be cured by spinal manipulation.

Cheers.

“C’mon, it’s not even tomorrow yet…” - Rupert

If you need a graphic solution, http:\ alk.to\Piglet

19

It’s important to educate yourself and be alert for con artists. Certainly, as has been noted before, many chiropractors are honest. Unfortunately, the field is not well regulated so you must watch out for yourself.

My in-laws all go to a chiropractor instead of a physician for every illness except for life-threatening situations, such as car accidents. At the chiropractor’s direction, they avoid traditional medicine at all costs, refuse to have their kids vaccinated, and gobble hundreds of dollars worth of vitamins every month. He has flatly stated that germs do NOT cause disease, and they believe him.

One of my sisters-in-law has had kidney stones removed three times; analysis of the stones revealed they were composed of Vitamin C and calcium. I don’t think it was a coincidence that she was taking (on the chiropractor’s advice) fifty or so tablets each of Vitamin C and calcium every day. I don’t know the exact dosage of the tablets but it was some godawful amount. She refused to stop taking the vitamins.

My other sister-in-law went to the chiropractor for a viral infection; he advised her to stop wearing metal jewelry for one week. Her cold went away before the week was up, so she views this as proof of a cure.

I will be the last person to argue that traditional medicine is perfect. It’s not; doctors can’t cure everything, they sometimes make mistakes, and their bedside manner is often terrible. Still, this does not imply that chiropractic is therefore safe and effective.

20

For the best of both worlds find an osteopathic physician. A D.O. is as qualified as any M.D., and legally recognized as such, but takes a more holistic approach to health without being new age. They prescribe medication as needed but tend to do so less than an M.D. As for spines they can crack backs with the best of them.

“Popeye? Hm? He’s not much of a judge of women!” King Blozo