At the risk of being labeled a goofball, I admit it: I go to a chiropractor. Fairly often, in fact. I’ve found that if I go about once a month, and/or if I go to a very good massage therapist I have, I can pretty much stave off the horrible headaches I’m prone to get. If I decide I’m too broke and skip them both, I start paying the horrible price along about week 5. I’ve been twice this week (see what happens?) but I feel better, finally.
I will say that my chiro is strictly spine-realignment–he doesn’t try to sell me anything, and doesn’t claim to treat all illnesses. One reason I really like him is that occasionally I’ll hear him on the phone saying things like, “No, if you have a torn rotator cuff, you need physical therapy, not chiropractic.” I’ve been to other places that would claim to cure anything, diseases and you name it, by fixing your subluxations or something like that.
I’ve also thought about acupuncture, but haven’t been yet. I had a A&P class teacher who used acupuncture on her horses and had good results. If it would help the headaches, it’d be worth it, I think. And if it’s all a result of self-hypnosis or placebo effect, that’s okay too–as long as I feel better, and at least I wouldn’t be taking painkillers.
Anyone?
I don’t drink the [del]Kool-Aid[/del] herb tea but I was in a car accident in the late 80s and I have a vertebrum that tends to kinda pop more foreward than it oughta (it kept moving when the rest of me was stopped by a windshield & dashboard and never quite got over the inclination to do it again), with goddamned painful consquences. The chiros put it back. I’ve also found they can do nice things for my neck. I don’t have any lumbar spine issues, fortunately, but upper thoracic and neck need a whack & a crack now & then.
Have not tried the needle guys yet but I’d seriously consider it for any persistent pain, I’ve heard they’re good.
Not every practice explained with bad theory is necessarily bad practice.
Last spring, I bent down to reach for a plant and my lower back froze in the most painful manner. It hurt to stand, it hurt to sit, it hurt to lay down. I pretty much couldn’t do anything. Getting dressed was comical (not at the time, but you know what I mean) and driving was nearly impossible. A co-worker recommended her chiropractor. Having never been to one, I was reluctant to go, but I called and made an appointment. One treatment, I could move. Although it wasn’t perfect, I could move. Two appointments a week for three weeks, along with Advil (recommended by the chiropractor), and my back was painfree again.
I’d go in a heartbeat again if I needed to. I don’t know what he did, but whatever it was, it worked.
I have been to both. The important thing to remember is that there are supporters of both of these schools of medicine that believe that they can cure anything from a broken leg to the common cold. Do not believe them! Acupuncture is great for some things, but it will not heal the abcess in your throat. I speak from experience here. Same with the chiropractor - great for chronic back or neck pain, lowsy for, say, digestive issues.
I don’t think that it’s goofy to go to a chiropractor. One day in my senior year of high school I was sitting at my computer when all of a sudden I doubled over in pain. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I seriously thought I was going to die. I couldn’t move right for 2 days afterwards, I knew that it was something with my back. My mom took me to the chiropractor and they were really friendly and helpful. It was very straightforward, they were able to tell me what was wrong with my back (heavy backpacks will ruin your back, kids!) and showed me my x-rays and explained everything very well. I went for a handful of visits (it was always interesting hearing the loud pops) and I felt loads better afterwards. I didn’t continue to go much longer after the pain ended. They did get pretty pushy on followup appointments, but other than that I don’t think I could have recovered without their assistance…as other people had already said, I wouldn’t go to them for the common cold but when it comes to popping joints they seem to know what they’re doing. There must be a grain of truth to their practice, if they’re still in business.
I used to go to a chiropractor when my insurance covered them. It was pretty good as she-- like many chiropractors seem to do around here-- ate the copay and premium. I’d hit her clinic first thing each year, clearing my premium out of the way, then get regular manipulations.
I used to get bad (properly diagnosed by medical doctors) bouts of sciatica (why does typing that make me feel like I’m 80?), every six months or so, oftentimes immoblizing me, or limiting me to a slow shuffle. The chiropractor chalked it up to a side effect of scoliosis, something not diagnosed previously by doctors. Spinal manipulation lessened the pain for a few days after each session, and after a year’s worth of regular visits, I have been sciatica-free for a decade or so now.
Caveats: I’m quite willing to accept that the chiropractor was loopy-- she was the kind who’d prescribe colloidal silver to folks-- and that her diagnosis of scoliosis was incorrect. I’m also willing to accept the idea that her manipulations were only helpful in the sense that a massage would be helpful; I don’t buy the “manipulation of energy” explanations, and am doubtful many chiropractors are able to cause permanent (beneficial) changes in muscle structure. I even will accept the idea that my lack of sciatica is due to lifestyle changes, not a chiropractor. But, insurance covered it, the “manipulations” did temporarily alleviate pain, and if nothing else, her exhortations to have better posture, sit better, etc., have helped me avoid whatever physical conditions were apparently responsible for the sciatica.
You know, it’s just recently that I’ve heard of people thinking going to the chiropractor was “odd”. I’ve been going to my chiropractor since I was about 12, and before that both my mom and grandma went to him. My mom swears by him, as he was the first person to notice that the reason why she kept having terrible lower back pain was because one leg was slightly shorter than the other, despite her having visited multiple doctors for the very same thing. He had her get a heel lift for that foot, and problem solved.
Anyways, he was the first person that told me that my spine is a little crooked, and was always able to get the knots out of my back (until recently, when apparently my back muscles have gotten so tight that he can’t get my bones shifted). I usually go a couple times a year when the pain gets particularly bad and has lasted for about a week or so. The next time I’m back in town, I’ll call him up.
Note: my chiropractor really is a professional. None of the loopy crystal-gripping, new agey energies type stuff. He does the manipulations to alleviate pain, and will give you some basic exercises and posture tips to try to keep it from coming back, but that is it. My family is one of those very traditional types of people, so the fact that nearly everyone in my immediate family as well as my grandparents and aunts and uncles go to him is saying something.
Well, my Chiropractor might be considered a little loopy by some in that he deals with emotions, herbs and a bit of Chinese Medicine; but no crystals, “energy manipulation”, Colloidal Silver or other pure quackery. He’s also pretty damned effective.
Has a waiting list of patients more than a year long. How many others can say that? Schedules appointments every monday for the week two months later. Yup, you’re making your appointments two months in advance.
None of this “come back in two days (repeat 5 times)” bullshit that I got from my previous guy, who never seemed to be able to clear up any of my back problems. Just kept trying to get me to come back, over and over, milking my insurance and my patience, while the problems persisted.
One of my Big Red Flags for quackery is the word “Subluxation”. If you’re tempted to see a Chiropractor and you see this word anywhere in his/her office or speech, run like hell.
Accupuncture? Sorry, not for me. I hate needles with a passion learned from long experience with Dentists*. No way I’m voluntarily seeking out someone to stick them in other parts of my body!
- Worthy of a Pit thread in it’s own right. Pull the needle out and stick it in somewhere else, jackass. Turning the needle to hit another spot while it’s still in my gum is destroying tissue and increasing my pain!
I have had both and can say that each helped with different pains.
I would not hesitate to go again, if the situation warranted it.
I was childhood friends with my chiropractor. He agrees that the majority of the chiropractors out there are wacky, give me your money, I’ll cure your cancer, type of artists. He also will admit that to make a living, you have to at least claim that people need more manipulation that they really do. For me he says, “when your back hurts, and hurts like there is a kink in there, and it hurts like that for a few days, call me. Otherwise, I don’t want to see you.”
He charges me what he charges for other people. However, unlike other people, he does not want to schedule visits.
Chiropractors can work out the neck and back kinks that otherwise take time. I see him about once every two years when I get a neck kink that really hurts and lasts long enough that I decide I need to get it cracked. That said, by the time I phone him and book an appointment and finally get out to him, the pain has usually worked itself out. YMMV.
More things I love about my Chiro:
He runs his own office, no secretary, no appointments except new intakes. It’s all walk-in.
I think he does file insurance, but I don’t have it, so I pay his regular fee of $35 per visit.
He never tried to set me up on one of those schedules to come back umpteen times over the next three months, etc, like some other places have done.
My friend asked him if she should come in every day for a week or so after she injured her back, and he told her no, it wouldn’t be any more helpful and would just waste money. (Wow.)
AND, he has a really cool turtle in a big fish aquarium. Remember, maybe 20 years ago, when you could buy a little turtle in a plastic dish at KMart? His is the only one I know of that survived.
No, I don’t go to chiropractors or accupuncturists. I also don’t go to witch doctors, voodoo priestesses or Christian Scientists.
A place I once worked had a health fair where they brought in nutritionists, chiropractors, massage therapists and the like, including an accupuncturist of several years’ experience. I was curious but skeptical so I let him stick me. I felt nothing but the sticks. I asked him why, if the points on the ear represent points on the body, having pierced ears doesn’t constantly stimulate the corresponding body part. He had no answer and had in fact never thought of the question. Conclusion? Accupuncture is bullshit.
I don’t go to a chiropractor for two reasons, the risk of stroke from chiropractic spinal manipulations and the lack of evidence of efficacy.
I don’t go to an accupuncturist because for it to be even 1% right we would have to re-examine fundamental scientific and medical priniciples.
I always wondered what a spinal adjustment consists of. I have chronic upper back pain (extreme tension between the shoulder blades mostly). My office chair is good for leaning back quickly to induce pops. It makes me feel better for an hour or so and then I did it again. I try other things several times a day when I am out of the office. What would a chiropractor do that is different from this? If it sounds effective enough, I may go to one.
What’s a vertebrum?
(not snark- I thought it might be a given set of vertebrae or something but I can’t find a definition for it)
My experiences:
Chiropractor: one visit, helped back pain (slightly); did not go back
Acupuncture: never tried, am told of one guy who helps back pain
I have been to both. I wouldn’t bother with acupuncture again, but I felt the chiropractor was helpful.
[anecdote time]
My father’s ongoing back pain was dismissed as “mild scoliosis” by a doctor who told him to try “anything that you feel gives you relief” to deal with it. He went to a chiropractor and the chiro asked if he’d mind if he organised a few extra tests. Dad said sure, and within a couple of weeks the chiropractor told him he had arthritis. Dad went back to the doctor and told him what the chiropractor had said, the doctor sneered, organised his own tests… and confirmed the diagnosis. Since then, that chiropractor can do no wrong in the eyes of either of my parents and I exempt him from my automatic contempt for any alternative medical practitioners.
If I had a chair like yours, I might not need a chiropractor. My doc does a series of manipulations that make my spine pop top to bottom, basically. I have a sticky spot just below my skull that sometimes requires another manipulation, and although it’s the one I really dislike the most, sometimes it’s one only one that gets rid of my headache.
I can literally feel when my neck is out of whack; if I run my fingers up my spine, it’s palpable. After an adjustment or three, it’s back where it belongs, and the pain is gone.
If I could get to the massage therapist every couple of weeks, I would, and it might be just as effective for me. But it’s also more time consuming and more expensive.
As to witch doctors and voodoo priestesses…if it got rid of my headache, I’d be willing to let 'em paint me with chicken blood or wear something smelly around my neck. If it meant relief without the long list of side effects from most meds, you betcha.
Then again, if I could find a medication that would cure me, without knocking me out or making me feel weird or ruining my already-bad kidneys or whatever, I’d do that too. I’m not against standard medicine, but I don’t have health insurance and I do get killer headaches and gotta do what works.
Someone in another thread suggested I need to be tested for diabetes; I’m working on that one, too.
I used to work with a guy who claimed to have severe headaches pretty much every day. He was finally fired from the job just before I left, because he had only worked two days in the preceeding month. He had called in sick, sometimes two days in advance, the other 19 working days of that month. Given the nature of the position and that they’d been working with him for a good six months to get some help and so forth, no one was particularly surprised.
The deal with the rest of us was that we didn’t see him doing everything possible to get help. This was a position where we carried guns, and several of my co-workers openly stated that if they had headaches so bad that they couldn’t work, they’d eat their pistols.
(And here is where this ties into your post) On my end, I stated that I would be doing everything possible - seeing witchdoctors, voodoo priestesses, accupuncture, chiropractors (he wasn’t even seeing a chiropractor that we knew of), Neurologists, Phrenologists, Palm Readers, the fucking Mayo Clinic. ANYTHING to get that resolved and be free of the pain. And he clearly wasn’t, which was why they were able to fire him.
I have several bad discs in my back. On a lark, I visited a chiropractor who came highly recommended.
As part of the initial visit, he showed me a machine that he said he would use in the diagnosis and treatment. The machine operated under the theory that since our nervous system works on electro-chemical impulses, he could use it to identify areas with bad “connections” and then use manipulations to correc them. I understood the theory and said, “OK, let’s give it a try.” He then started to ask about my symptoms, where was the pain, etc. My response: “Wait a minute - you said this machine would tell you where the bad connections are located. You do an examine, tell me what you’ve identified, and I’ll tell you whether you’re right or wrong.” He declined and I walked. I’ve never trusted chiropractic claims ever since.