# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/61 "2012-12-10T00:55:39Z")
Now, now, now, **Kimmy** , you know better than to do that in this forum. šŸ˜‰ Anyway, we have one of the largest Chiropractic colleges in town. It was always a Happy Hunting Ground for the girls in my wifeā€™s family, especially if one was looking for handsome, rich guys from countries where teaching it was illegal. One SIL dated a guy who I asked if it was true that they took an entire class in getting people to come back every week forever. ā€œSure. Third year, second semester.ā€ As he completely lacked a sense of humor (but was rich and handsome so SIL kept him around for a while) I assumed he was telling the truth and didnā€™t ask if it took a whole semester because Chiropractors were too stupid to learn it in a couple classes. They tend to lack senses of humor, like the one who carried his stuff to class in a little, black, doctorā€™s bag, like he was studying to be a Real Doctor. In 1927. Completely unironically. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/62 "2012-12-10T01:30:35Z")
Well hell. I have an appt with one tomorrow morning. I resisted, but my husband wants me to give it a try. Iā€™m in so much pain from this possible herniated disc and the chiro is cheaper than an mri, but it sounds like Iā€™m going to be just wasting my time. sigh ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/63 "2012-12-10T01:53:30Z")
My experience: positive results following a couple months of regular visits. I was in a car accident as a teen and ever since then I have experienced spasms in my neck that have been, at times, debilitating. I have not experienced a recurrence of neck spasms since prior to my course of treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/64 "2012-12-10T01:59:35Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Well hell. I have an appt with one tomorrow morning. I resisted, but my husband wants me to give it a try. Iā€™m in so much pain from this possible herniated disc and the chiro is cheaper than an mri, but it sounds like Iā€™m going to be just wasting my time. > > sigh Fingers crossed it helps. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/65 "2012-12-10T02:22:06Z")
in the 80ā€™s I did something to my spine, which cause nerve pain so incredible that I couldnā€™t walk for 2-3 hoursā€¦I recall I was doing yard work earlier in the week, and had no effects until later. I roughed it out, and it slowly went awayā€¦altho it would resurface every year or twoā€¦the last time it came back, I decided to try a chiroā€¦I randomly picked one from the yellow pages, called, and it was about 30 minutes to closing time, but he said he would wait for me. Always one to park my car far off in a parking lot, to avoid dents, I did so this day as wellā€¦problem was, it took me a very long time to walk to his officeā€¦he saw me coming from his office, and let me in, even thou his office manager left. I recall he did an evaluation of me, then placed these electric probes on my back to force the mussels to contract and expandā€¦he deducted that I had compressed a vert on one side; he said he could see that it was having the effect of making me walk like one leg was longer than the otherā€¦then he placed me on this chiro table, and said he was going to place a pinpoint straight arm thrust on my spine, to undo the compressed vertebraeā€¦I was really nervous as this was the focal point of the painā€¦anyway, he did a straight arm full weight fast chop, and ā€œsnappedā€ my spineā€¦supposedly back into place. All I can tell you is that I walked back to my car in no pain, and even rode my bike when I got homeā€¦and I havenā€™t had a recurrence yetā€¦after 25 years. So I have to agree with the poster, who said that while Chiro started out as pure BS, they did learn some very effective alternate techniques over the centuries. One the other hand, I had a very very pretty (to this day) childhood girl from school, whose chiro destroyed her spine, leaving her partially paralyzedā€¦she sued and won a lot of $$$. PS case #2, one of my best friends is a chiro; he noticed that my knees were hurting me when we went on long bike ridesā€¦he asked to look at my home office environment, and deduced that my desk and chair were not high enough ( I am a tall person)ā€¦he had me elevate the desk, and spring for an expensive chair that had back support and could extend to my heightā€¦my knee problems went away, even thou he never laid a hand on me. However, he too, once broke a bone (collar bone, IIRC) in an elderly female patient - she refused to sue him ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/66 "2012-12-10T02:39:20Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Fingers crossed it helps. Thank you. And thanks for coming in today! ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/67 "2012-12-10T03:04:57Z")
Hey, itā€™s like, probably some of it is not quite scientifically based, but some of it is probably stuff that the mainstream, western doctors just donā€™t want to admit works, because itā€™ll cut into their profits, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/68 "2012-12-10T03:08:12Z")
If they try to sell you their very own brand of multivitamin in the lobby, chances are they are a quack (a good rule of thumb ;)) ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/69 "2012-12-10T03:13:44Z")
Went to a chiro far longer than I needed to. I was not only sucked in by woo but also willing to believe the woo because he gave me so much relief from chronic back pain. I know better now. I go to a different chiro when I strain my back or neck. When the pain stays away for a week, I quit going for adjustments. I donā€™t buy any supplements or light therapy from them. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/70 "2012-12-10T03:18:24Z")
And what is with all the X-rays? šŸ˜• ---
**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 10, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/71 "2012-12-10T03:23:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > While individual chiropractors may reject some chiropractic theory and instead practice a somewhat more science-based approach to treating musculo-skeletal problems, the profession as a whole has not repudiated the teachings of the Palmers, a father and son team who founded Chiropractic and then fell out with each other. That was quite a ā€œfalling outā€ (the story goes that B.J. Palmer ran his father Daniel over in his car at the Palmer College of Chiropractic homecoming parade). > [@Peter Morris](#): > > (The term ā€œwooā€ is) designed to aggravate. People who say ā€œwooā€ all the time very often do so with the specific intent of causing annoyance. Peter, what term would you have us use? Quackery? Pseudoscience? Every single accurate term is bound to aggravate the quacks, pseudoscience advocates and woo-sters. > [@Eonwe](#): > > Hey, itā€™s like, probably some of it is not quite scientifically based, but some of it is probably stuff that the mainstream, western doctors just donā€™t want to admit works, because itā€™ll cut into their profits, or something. The ā€œor somethingā€ is that chiropractic is useless at best, dangerous at worst when employed for conditions it cannot help. You will still find chiros promoting their treatments for cardiovascular disease, other internal medical complaints and even cancer. [Hereā€™s a site](http://www.chirofromtheheart.com/75/breast-cancer-and-chiropractic-health-care) that (rather coyly) suggests that chiropractic treatment can be effective against breast cancer: _"Upper Cervical Chiropractic Health Care may not be the cure-all for breast cancerā€¦;_ ( **may** not be???)\* however, more evidence is becoming available regarding the benefits of this well-supported complementary form of health careā€¦This form of health care restores health and function to her nervous system thereby opening up the bodyā€™s communication highway, the Nervous System. When the brain is able to communicate with the body, anything is possible in terms of health and well-being."\* Sounds a wee bit deceptive to me. Then again, They (the Medical Establishment, Big Pharma, the Government, the Giant Alien Reptiloids) probably just donā€™t want the Truth to be known to the sheeple. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/72 "2012-12-10T03:40:20Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Now, now, now, **Kimmy** , you know better than to do that in this forum. šŸ˜‰ > > Anyway, we have one of the largest Chiropractic colleges in town. It was always a Happy Hunting Ground for the girls in my wifeā€™s family, especially if one was looking for handsome, rich guys from countries where teaching it was illegal. One SIL dated a guy who I asked if it was true that they took an entire class in getting people to come back every week forever. > > ā€œSure. Third year, second semester.ā€ I had done something to cause a vertebra in my back to misalign. I consulted a Chiropractor who assured me he would offer relief. Heā€™d work my spine, from the top to the spot that hurt, stop, then start from the bottom of my spine and work back to the same spot, never quite touching it. For three weeks I went in twice a week and he did the same thing. No relief was provided by the visits. I probably would have gone back had I not tripped and fallen, landing on my outstretched arms and feeling a pop in that little sore spot as it popped back into place. I stood up, and stretched, the pain was gone. To this day I swear that nimrod of a chiropractor deliberately avoid resolving my problem. It was obvious he deliberately ā€œmissedā€ that spot to keep me coming back. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/73 "2012-12-10T03:53:17Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > And what is with all the X-rays? šŸ˜• The x-ray is a good thing IMO. Thatā€™s how the chiro confirmed that I had scoliosis, something my M.D. kept telling me I didnā€™t have, despite the indications I had. What, the M.D. couldnā€™t do an x-ray? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/74 "2012-12-10T04:17:48Z")
I would never go anywhere near a chiropractor. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/75 "2012-12-10T05:14:17Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I tend to think that any non-woo benefit that one could get from a chiropractor, one could also get from a physical therapist. Just to ask, can you really go to a physical therapist for just random back pain (not caused by an accident or injury or what have you)? I didnā€™t think that was what a physical therapist was for. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/76 "2012-12-10T05:19:53Z")
Iā€™ve been, it helped. Donā€™t know about any woo, it was all very professional and he never claimed anything other then helping my back pain. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/77 "2012-12-10T05:21:05Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > The x-ray is a good thing IMO. Thatā€™s how the chiro confirmed that I had scoliosis, something my M.D. kept telling me I didnā€™t have, despite the indications I had. What, the M.D. couldnā€™t do an x-ray? I think your situation is rather atypical. Most of those x-rays in the chiros office are a complete waste of time and money. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/78 "2012-12-10T05:47:16Z")
Soā€¦ if I go to a medical doctor, a general practitioner in the United Statesā€¦ how often are they going to refer me to a chiropractor? Is there a big schism between them and traditional modern western medicine? Or is it pretty common for a family doctor to refer you to a chiropractor for _some_ problems (I guess all of these would probably be for back pain or at least pain of some sort). Compare this to, for example, acupuncture, which I feel after this thread is probably in a similar category of mostly woo or all woo, but somehow (maybe all just placebo), it helps some people with pain (which is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon anyhow in medicine, and is very subjective from one person to the next). Do general practitioners, or even other specialists, often refer people to acupuncturists? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/79 "2012-12-10T05:48:26Z")
Here in [Choice](http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/general-health/therapies/can-chiropractors-replace-doctors.aspx) is a good piece about the state of play in Australia. I have used a chiropractor for 30 odd years, going regularly when I was younger and played tennis, and once in a blue moon nowadays. Of all the chiropractors I have seen, I have never heard mention of subluxations or suggestions of fixing anything non-skeletal. According to the Choice article one body of chiropractors is trying to make the practice more like the dodgy US style. However: > [@](#): > > The other main member body for chiropractors, the Chiropractic and Osteopathic College of Australasian (COCA), which has more than 1000 members, rejects the notion of subluxations and proposes to adopt the position of the General Chiropractic Council in the UK, which states: ā€œThe chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex is an historical concept but it remains a theoretical model. It is not supported by any clinical research evidence that would allow claims to be made that it is the cause of disease or health concerns.ā€ So Choice concludes: > [@](#): > > So if you develop a bad back, the first step is to ask your family doctor or GP to recommend one. However, if they canā€™t help you, there are some indicators to help you choose a good one. > > [ul] > [li]Look for a chiropractor whose practice is limited to conservative treatment of back pain and other musculoskeletal problems. Avoid chiropractors who insist that they are primary care doctors.[/li][li] Science-based chiropractors commonly use heat or ice packs and recommend a home exercise program in addition to manual manipulation or stretching or massage of tight muscles or joints. They donā€™t use applied kinesiology, live blood analysis, surface electromyography, thermography, an Insight Subluxation Station or an activator (ā€œthe stick that goes clickā€). See our article on Dodgy Diagnostics for more on these.[/li][li] You should see significant improvements after a few visits. Donā€™t get caught into signing up for a long-term treatment program or ā€œcontract of careā€ where you agree to have regular, frequent visits for many months ā€“ some even ask for payment in advance.[/li][li] Avoid chiropractors who claim to prevent or treat diseases, infections and health conditions other than musculoskeletal ones; who claim to detect and treat subluxations; or who prescribe and sell dietary supplements or homeopathic remedies.[/li][li] Avoid chiropractors who advise you not to have your children immunised.[/li][li] The chiropractor should explain that chiropractic neck manipulation can cause serious injuries, including stroke. Ideally, they should ask you to give informed written consent.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498/80 "2012-12-10T06:06:56Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Soā€¦ if I go to a medical doctor, a general practitioner in the United Statesā€¦ how often are they going to refer me to a chiropractor?. Rarely to never. (At least IME) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chiropractic-pure-woo/643498.md?page=5)