# Chiropractors-yea or nea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 24, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642 "2011-06-24T00:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/21 "2011-06-24T16:08:58Z")
About 13 years ago, I walked like Quasimodo because of a herniated disc in my back. After my insurance company and I spent thousands of dollars and about three months of time, I was still bent over and all the docs and physical therapists could recommend was surgery. In desperation, I went to a chiropractic office and they got me walking properly. The chiropractors DID NOT keep me coming 3-5 times a week for months or years. They tapered off their visits within a couple of months and I got better. Would I go to a chiropractor for treatment of impotence or cancer? No, but I believe their manipulations can help with back problems. The exercises they showed me do help whenever I have a recurrence of back pain and I have not had to go back for treatment of that lumbar vertebra. As to the assertion that chiropractory is a complete scam, then please explain why my physical therapist at an accredited Terre Haute hospital used some of the same methods to treat my back. As the assertion that chiropractors can hurt and even paralyze their patients, sure. You can also find doctors who amputate the wrong limbs, misdiagnose illnesses, and prescribe the wrong medications ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/22 "2011-06-24T16:11:14Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Cite? > > Wiki gives an overview of chiropractic. [Chiropractic - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic#Evidential_basis) which includes a number of studies with comments on the quality of those studies. Wikipedia starts with the sentence: **Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine**. To quote Tim Minchin. “You know what they call alternative medicine that works? Medicine.” ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/23 "2011-06-24T16:19:34Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > As to the assertion that chiropractory is a complete scam, then please explain why my physical therapist at an accredited Terre Haute hospital used some of the same methods to treat my back. Person 1:Let me give you this water that is guaranteed to make you pee and quench your thirst. : Person 2: Let me give you this “special liquid cure” that is guaranteed to cure your cancer, make you pee, and quench your thirst. Is person 1 right? Yes. Is person 2 right, well, the liquid will make the last two happen just as well as the second one’s. Person 2 is using the SOME of the same methods as person 1 as well. > [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > As the assertion that chiropractors can hurt and even paralyze their patients, sure. You can also find doctors who amputate the wrong limbs, misdiagnose illnesses, and prescribe the wrong medications There’s a HUGE difference between a med mal claim and a fraud claim. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/24 "2011-06-24T16:19:56Z")
I always left my chiropractor feeling very relaxed and limber. I only stopped because I came off of my parent’s insurance and moved an hour away from the guy. Side story, when I originally went in I had x-rays done. A week later, I was t-boned at the intersection in front of his office. After handling the police protocol, I went to his office and he took more x-rays to see if any immediate damage was done. My spine had shifted slightly. Out of shear luck, I had in my posession x-rays one week prior and one hour after the accident. After arbitration, and finding the other driver at fault, the other driver’s insurance company was VERY eager to make sure any of my claims were handled promptly. I think my mother let them know about my “ace in the hole” and our willingness to use it unless we were compensated for what we had to pay out of pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/25 "2011-06-24T16:33:44Z")
Your ace in the hole was pre-accident X-rays, not a chiropractor. I think chiropractic medicine is okay as a last resort, like most other “alternative” medical practices. I wouldn’t go to one until I had exhausted all conventional options, including surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/26 "2011-06-24T16:39:19Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Cite? > > Wiki gives an overview of chiropractic. [Chiropractic - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic#Evidential_basis) which includes a number of studies with comments on the quality of those studies. Did you read what your cite said about those studies? It’s really not terribly removed from **jamiemcgarry’s** statement. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/27 "2011-06-24T16:39:44Z")
Never been to one, never would consider going to one. [I’ll bet this woman wishes she hadn’t gone to one as well.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/toddler-crushed-to-death-at-minn-chiropractors-office-while-mom-was-strapped-to-table/2011/06/10/AG3ZzGPH_story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/28 "2011-06-24T16:42:01Z")
Occasionally, I’ll pop my back by twisting in a seated position, or pressing my lower back against a counter in just the right way. Boy, that feels really good. As for chiropractic, there will always be a market for woo. When my son was first diagnosed with type I diabetes at the age of 3, an asshole chiropractor tried to get my wife to bring him in, claiming that chiropractic treatments could treat his diabetes. Fortunately my wife is woo-resistant. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/29 "2011-06-24T16:48:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [I’ll bet this woman wishes she hadn’t gone to one as well.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/toddler-crushed-to-death-at-minn-chiropractors-office-while-mom-was-strapped-to-table/2011/06/10/AG3ZzGPH_story.html) I’m not _quite_ sure that crushed babies are a solid argument against the chiropractic care model. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/30 "2011-06-24T17:05:47Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Did you read what your cite said about those studies? It’s really not terribly removed from **jamiemcgarry’s** statement. Yeah, I read it. It is skeptical, but there are certainly lots and lots of studies. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/31 "2011-06-24T17:14:25Z")
I was pretty confident the benefits they might provide would be fleeting and superficial. Last year when my neck had been bothering me for awhile I went ahead and visited a Chiro that’s the daughter of a family friend. In all honesty, I left that place a little beat up and feeling thankful I hadn’t actually sufferered some permanent harm. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/32 "2011-06-24T17:23:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m not _quite_ sure that crushed babies are a solid argument against the chiropractic care model. I agree, but heck. . .crushed babies! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/33 "2011-06-24T17:40:38Z")
Recent studies have shown that in terms of long-term outcome chiropractic manipulation is about as effective as physical therapy or medication for most types of back and joint pain. Of course, those same studies showed that doing nothing was also about as effective as physical therapy or medication for most types of back and joint pain too. YMMV, of course. Some folks get great results from one modality but not another. Overall however, it looks like it all evens out. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/34 "2011-06-24T17:53:02Z")
My visits to a chiropractor haven’t done much - at least not the adjusting - but the exercises I’ve been given have been identical to the ones given to me by the physical therapist - which does work if I do the damn exercises. I worked for an insurance company in the mid 90s and one of the projects I supported was a study on chiropractic care. The results there was “if the problem can be resolved by chiropractic, it will generally be resolved within six visits - if it takes significantly more than six visits, it isn’t going to get better by seeing a chiropractor” They used the data to determine which chiropractors they covered - they figured anyone who had a track record of seeing their patients twice a week for MONTHS was probably a charlatan - or at least not someone they wanted to encourage through coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/35 "2011-06-24T18:12:54Z")
Never been to one myself, but I could see enjoying it. The way my mom puts it (she loves her chiropractor), they’re basically just massages that your insurance company will pay for. The value of human touch is substantive, especially for people who are older and/or single that don’t get touched very often at all anymore. Is there a placebo effect? I don’t know. I don’t really care as long as it seems to work, and it does seem to work for a lot of people. My mom is into woo in general, though. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/36 "2011-06-24T18:17:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Your ace in the hole was pre-accident X-rays, not a chiropractor. Given that it was spurred on and re-evaluated by the chircopractor (who insisted that I take the post-accident set), I’ll give him credit. First and only set of xrays I’ve had in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/37 "2011-06-24T18:19:32Z")
“My chiropractor is a miracle worker-I’ve been going to him every month without fail for years!” Every time I hear this I get a sharp pain at the very base of my spine. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/38 "2011-06-24T18:25:15Z")
Depending upon the problem, depending upon the chiropractor, I’ve had results that range from “meh” to “wow”. I’ve been to quite a few of them. The modality that works better for me is Feldenkrais. Truly amazing results for back, neck, hip problems. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/39 "2011-06-24T19:06:15Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’ve been trying to figure this out myself. > > I pinched a nerve or something in my lower back about a month ago and it’s only slowly been getting better. Yesterday, we did this rock-wall-climbing team-building outing at work and that’s pretty much made everything worse – at least last night I felt like I was dying. This morning, I’m just sore … the usual sore that happens when a man who’s 45 and 15 to 20 pounds overweight pulls himself 30 feet up a rock-wall. > > I’ve had various people insisting that I need a chiropractor, but I’m leaning heavily toward the yoga joint down the street from my condo that offer’s $30 massages. In the IANOD spirit of things I’ve found that exercise after throwing out my back does a lot of good. Laying in bed is the worst thing to do. Last year I had thrown my back out but needed to do some outdoor work to earn money. At one point I had to lay on the ground because my back was going out again and after it was good enough to stand up I was back on a ladder working which is essentially what you just described. Prior to that, when working a desk job, I would go to a chiropractor to get me through the day because I really couldn’t do much exercising in an office environment. For me, the first thing I do when crap happens is to lay flat on my back with feet on the ground and lift my butt in the air. That seems to be the best first line of defense to getting things back on track. I’ve also learned to avoid slouching in chairs and while driving because it’s a natural thing to do when in pain but that makes it much worse over time. It’s a negative feedback loop to slouch and lay in bed when back pain starts. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642/40 "2011-06-24T19:07:48Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > As the assertion that chiropractors can hurt and even paralyze their patients, sure. You can also find doctors who amputate the wrong limbs, misdiagnose illnesses, and prescribe the wrong medications There’s a whole separate discussion to be had about mistakes or negligence involved in providing care in general. My reference to effects of chiropractic neck-cracking relates to the procedure itself and the lack of indication for performing it. If there are any negative consequences to receiving evidence-based care (including side effects, poor response based on patient-related factors etc.), at least the therapy was indicated. If the treatment has not been shown to be useful, _especially_ if it’s for a relatively minor problem, then there should be essentially zero risk of a life-threatening consequence. If you have potentially fatal sepsis and are given a powerful, effective antibiotic that can cause your kidneys to shut down, that may be an acceptable risk to take. If you want to lose weight and are given an unproven Chinese herbal mixture that causes irreversible kidney damage\*, that is unconscionable. If there isn’t a good indication for having your neck cracked by a chiro (and such indications are few and far between), then any severe harm that results is also unconscionable, whether or not the chiro supposedly did the cracking properly. Proponents of woo often fail to make this distinction. \*[this has actually happened](http://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/alerts/ucm096388.htm) - for instance in Belgium when a weight-loss clinic used a Chinese herbal mixture containing aristolochia, a nephrotoxic and carcinogenic herb. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiropractors-yea-or-nea/586642.md?page=3)