# Is Chiropractic pure woo? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498 "2012-12-09T08:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/21 "2012-12-09T16:50:48Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > And I really hate the term “woo”. It’s infantile. > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Are we all four years old? Can we use grown-up words please? We have a perfectly fine term in “pseudoscience” and do not need to revert to baby talk like “woo.” I agree. Nobody can be taken seriously when they habitually use such words. How about “quackery”, can everyone accept that? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/22 "2012-12-09T16:56:23Z")
Personally I think the word ‘woo’ is a little infantile, but does adequately describe certain things. I think there’s an old ATMB thread on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/23 "2012-12-09T17:01:57Z")
I can’t speak to chiropractors in general, as I only have experience with two practices, but neither one tried to convince me that chiropractic treatments would do anything other than help with back pain, and both seemed to genuinely want my condition to improve enough that I would come in less frequently or not at all. During bad times I’ve gone in for an adjustment once or sometimes even twice a week, but after a few weeks of that I’m always feeling well enough to stop having regular appointments and just schedule one when I feel that I need one. I’ve sometimes gone for most of a year without having an adjustment, and my chiropractor hasn’t seemed desperate to lure me back in. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/24 "2012-12-09T17:02:20Z")
Some years back, I was involved in a business networking group that met for lunch once or twice a month. A member of the group would speak for a bit about his or her business. One month, the scheduled speaker was a chiropractor. He’d brought a PowerPoint, but the projector didn’t work. So he punted and talked about poop while we ate. Based on his talk, I’m actually kind of grateful that the PowerPoint didn’t work. Now whenever I pass by his office, I think of this presentation and can’t think of him any other way than “Dr. Poopy”. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/25 "2012-12-09T17:10:13Z")
> [@minionkat](#): > > My mother goes to the chiropractor every week. She swears she feels relief. That’s good enough for me. I have been to his office (waiting for her) and seen the woo he pushes. She does not partake of any of his other “services”. She acknowledges that they are crap. But she gets in so much pain in her back, that even if his manipulations are purely placebo effect, that’s fine. Relief is relief. And her insurance covers most of it, so win/win. Perhaps just plain vanilla massage would work for her as well. And I go along with our illustrius SDAB SeniorBeef - so much woo and an occasional nugget of valid. Me personally? With the damage of 3 fractured areas with one of them _very_ high, nobody messes with my spinal column. I am not going to risk any of my hardearned movement to some whackjob mucking about. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/26 "2012-12-09T17:13:52Z")
I vote woo: > **[Science and Chiropractic](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/science-and-chiropractic/)** > > In the comments to a previous blog entry, a chiropractor made the following statements:1. Chiropractic is a science.2. Chiropractic is based on neurology, anatomy and physiology.3. Chiropracto ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/27 "2012-12-09T17:23:40Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Yes, and a physical therapist will treat you for a specified period of time and often give you home exercises or advice about how to move/work/exercise so that the pain does not return. A chiropractor generally wants to see you regularly forever. This has also been my experience. I went to a chiropractor because my back was stiff; after two or three sessions, I felt much better. But they kept at me to keep coming back every week to “tune up” or something. Later on, through no fault of theirs (as far as I could tell), I got frozen shoulder (I forget the technical term). They couldn’t do anything for it, although they tried. So I went to my MD, got a referral to a specialist, had an MRI, got the diagnosis of what it really was, and had 3 months of PT to fix it. During this time, I didn’t want the chiro manipulations to get in the way of progress so I stopped going. Never went back. Don’t miss it. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/28 "2012-12-09T17:27:03Z")
I see one that does ART and other stuff. The other ones I have seen were terrible. I like this guy because he is not interested in seeing you every week for seven years. Three, four times tops, and he cuts you loose - if it hasn’t worked, try something else. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/29 "2012-12-09T17:29:46Z")
Over a decade ago, I used to go to a chiropractor about once per month for manipulation. He cracked my neck and my back. The neck cracking was very loud & scary, but felt awesome. Back cracking was pure bliss and I just felt better overall after the experience (kind of like how you feel after a good massage or workout). But then one time during routine chit chat, I mentioned that my (then 4 year old nephew) had been diagnosed with celiacs disease. He recommended that I have my sister bring him in, because he could cure this with proper alignment :eek:. I never went back. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/30 "2012-12-09T18:09:06Z")
Some woo, some legit. I wind up with sciatica every three or four years and have since an auto accident in my twenties. The pain is horrific. It hurts to sit, it hurts to stand and it hurts to lie down. Over the years, I’ve found that legit chiro is about the only thing that offers relief. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/31 "2012-12-09T18:39:23Z")
All I know is that I never experienced even a modicum of relief from my neck and back problems until I _stopped_ going to the chiropractor. Once I did; _ **Voila!** _…The problems resolved themselves on their own in a matter of about a week or two. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/32 "2012-12-09T18:40:44Z")
What I don’t get is how they are allowed to call themselves “Doctors”. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/33 "2012-12-09T19:23:03Z")
Voted “somewhat woo.” I went to a chiropractor for about a year in 2009-10 to treat some back pain, and he never tried to sell me on chiropractic being a miracle cure for other disorders. I had good results, some of which may have been the placebo effect. However, I do believe in chiropractic for back discomfort/pain for one simple reason: when my neck or back bothers me, I crack the affected area, and it feels better. Chiropractic adjustment worked the same way for me, only he was able to crack parts I couldn’t dream of doing on my own. He did also put the electric stimulating probes on my back, but I don’t think they actually did anything. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/34 "2012-12-09T19:23:56Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > How about “quackery”, can everyone accept that? I prefer “bullshit”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/35 "2012-12-09T19:29:35Z")
I’m sure there are a lot of woo-ful chiropractors out there, but speaking only for mine, it helps tremendously with specific problems. I’ve been in agonizing pain for weeks, gone in to see the guy, and walked out feeling 99% better. Now, my chiropractor makes no effort to prolong visits or make me come in for no reason. He does try to get me to take certain supplements, which I politely refuse. But whatever he does, it works. I can hear and feel things snapping into place, and relieving the pressure. ETA: I’m probably one of the biggest anti-woo posters on this MB. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/36 "2012-12-09T19:34:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > ETA: I’m probably one of the biggest anti-woo posters on this MB. Not right now you’re not! 😉 Seriously, the chiropractic theory has been debunked as thoroughly as alchemy, homeopathy, geocentrism, and the ether. Schools of chiropracty have not yet acknowledged this. Some individual chiropractors realize this and some of those try to do some good with manipulation, which has shown a small benefit for some in the short run. But it’s a complete pseudoscience. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/37 "2012-12-09T19:39:15Z")
The problem with chiropractors isn’t that many of them are woo-woo new age idiots. The problem is that there’s no easy way to tell which ones those are. The legitimate chiropractors out there (and yes, there are a few of them) need to set up some sort of professional certification, perhaps under the aegis of the AMA or some other existing organization, and reject all of their idiot colleagues. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/38 "2012-12-09T19:41:09Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Some individual chiropractors realize this and some of those try to do some good with manipulation, which has shown a small benefit for some in the short run. Not sure how this makes it “woo”. All I’m looking for is symptomatic relief, and I get that. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/39 "2012-12-09T19:44:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The problem with chiropractors isn’t that many of them are woo-woo new age idiots. The problem is that there’s no easy way to tell which ones those are. The legitimate chiropractors out there (and yes, there are a few of them) need to set up some sort of professional certification, perhaps under the aegis of the AMA or some other existing organization, and reject all of their idiot colleagues. That’s been tried by scientific chiropractors, who reject chiropractic theory and wish to emphasize the benefits of manipulation for various musclo-skeletal complaints. They found themselves savaged and ostrasized by the traditional chiropractic community, and the AMA (which is just a lobbying group) doesn’t want anything to do with any of them. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/40 "2012-12-09T19:48:44Z")
Well, _that_ was a short-lived poll. I’d have gone for “other option”. About 99% of what chiropractors claim to be able to do (treat asthma, diarrhea and other internal medical complaints, solve fertility problems, treat “nutritional deficiences” etc.) is nonsense, leaving a residue of “hands-on manipulation can relieve musculoskeletal pain”, which puts them in a sizable category of practitioners including masseuses and physical therapists. Negative points are awarded chiropractic for its members’ endorsement of other forms of woo (naturopathy, homeopathy, anti-vaccine propagandizing and so on). And what’s with the disdain for a perfectly fine term, woo? It’s short, accurate and to the point, plus it drives the woo-sters bonkers. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498.md?page=3)