Is this chiropractor a charlatan?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve never been to a chiropractor before, but I’m having some pain in my shoulder, and I have several friends who swear by their chiropractor so I thought I’d give one a try. I know I should have asked for a recommendation, but at the time I made the appointment I was in a lot of pain, this guy was rated highly by patients at healthgrades, he’s very close to my house, and had an open appointment yesterday.

But now I’m wondering if the guy is a charlatan. Or maybe I just don’t understand how chiropracty varies from other health care. But three things about the guy bother me:

  1. Every problem I mentioned (not only my shoulder, but the osteoarthritis in both knees), he said, “Ohhh, that sounds really bad.” Maybe he was just being sympathetic? Every other health care provider I’ve had has said things like, “I’m sorry you’re in pain. Let’s see what we can do to help you feel better.” This man just kept saying how bad it sounded. leaving the cynic in me to wonder if he’s laying the groundwork for a prolonged and expensive course of treatment.

  2. He talked about icing my shoulder, which I know is a good thing to do. I mentioned though that I prefer heat treatments to cold treatments, and that I love going in the hot tub at my gym after my water aerobics class. He went into a fairly lengthy tirade about how heat is the worst thing you can do for arthritis. This made me skeptical, and when I got home I googled heat treatments for arthritis to find that the Arthritis Foundation actually recommends heat as a way to ease arthritis pain.

  3. When I signed the usual forms at the start of my visit, I noticed that one was telling me that they do not give out copies of their xrays – I can see my xrays in their offices, but can’t have copies. Every health care provider I’ve been to before has been willing to share xrays with other providers.

So what do you all say? Am I being paranoid, or is there something off here? I see him again today to go over the xrays and set a course of treatment, but my inclination now is to decline any treatment from the guy.

2

There are many here who would say that anyone using the title “chiropractor” is a charlatan, so understand that as responses begin to come in.

That being said, I am most troubled by someone who was not going to let me have access to my x-rays. Like you, that goes against my own experience with medical care, and it limits the amount of information you can share about your medical history with other/future providers. That’s not in the best interest of your health, in my opinion.

3

Is this chiropractor a charlatan?

The fact that you’re asking the question answers it.

4

Only if he knows or suspects that the service he renders is not scientifically justifiable. I assume that most Chriopractors actually believe, with considerable empirical reason, in the efficacy of their treatment methods. And who am I to day they are wrong?

The meaning of the word “charlatan” is largely intent-laden.

5

If someone I cared about had the same story, I’d encourage them to find someone else with whom they’re comfortable. I’d say all of your concerns are quite rational.

6

The thing is - patients aren’t good at evaluating the competance of doctors. They don’t have the scientific training to understand the process the doctor goes through. So what they’re really rating is bedside manner, which is relevant to your care, but doesn’t tell the whole picture.

One of the reason alternative medicine providers are often rated highly and have patients who consider them effective is because they’re not as busy as a real doctor and so they spend more time with the patient and focus more on making the patient feel comfortable, special, taken care of, etc. This is disproportionately reflected in good reviews compared to their actual skill at healing anything.

Chiropractic is based on magic. It was created by DD Palmer in the 19th century and, well, how many valid medicine techniques from then do you still know of? It’s essentially a form of vitalism - like acupuncture or chi-related treatments in traditional chinese medicine. They believe disease comes not from microbes or genes or organ function issues, but rather from misalignments of life-energy-lines in the body. So their cure for everything is to put your body back into alignment.

Now - there’s a varying degree to which chiropractors believe in that - from the true believers who will claim they can cure anything - asthma, cancer, acne, etc. by moving your neck around. And there are ones who try to be a little more legitimate by basically being a form of physical therapist.

The problem is that their training is all nonsense - there’s no real scientific, evidence-based approach like actual medicine has. So if there’s a chiropractor who’s actually good at helping people, he essentially arrived there more or less by random chance or simply by doing obvious things and gaining experience, not from medical training.

The fact that in the US we’re allowing them to be called “doctors” and treating them as a real medical profession is disgusting. The average person definitely thinks chiropracty is more like actual medicine than it is, and with the state officially sanctioning it it’s hard to blame them.

It’s not worth it. They don’t know what they’re doing. Sometimes people will feel better simply from the placebo effect of having someone taking care of them and feeling like they’re being treated. Sometimes the person receives a benefit from the physical manipulation in the same way they would if they went to a massage therapist. But sometimes people get injured by chiropractors toying around with their joints and neck and spine with their nonsense.

See a doctor, get a referral to a sports medicine specialist or an orthopedist or even a massage therapist - whatever your doctor thinks is appropriate.

7

Not a lawyer, but pretty sure you have the right to receive copies of your medical records under HIPAA. He is allowed to charge a reasonable fee.

Regarding whether he is a charlatan or not, I don’t know, but I would wonder why any legitimate health practitioner would want to prevent you from being able to have another professional examine your X-rays?

8

From what I know of them, yes.

They put you on a table, push down on your spine, the table goes “pop” and they claim some kind of “adjustment” has been made.

Bullshit. You have a table that goes “pop”.

9

No matter whether he’s a quack or not, even if he were the unanimous “Greatest Chiropractor to Ever Live,” (or any health professional, for that matter) it all comes down to if you’re not comfortable receiving services from him, don’t.

10

The Master Speaks:

So if you’re suffering from lower back pain, is chiropractic worth a shot? Yeah, maybe. First see a doctor and rule out any underlying disease — if you’ve got osteoporosis, for example, you’re not a good candidate. Keep in mind that if spinal adjustment is going to help, you should see real improvement within a few weeks. And make sure to find a chiropractor who’s operating on a 21st-century scientific model; if you hear “subluxation,” just keep walking.

11

I went to a chiropractor for about 3 years. I kept going, only because my insurance paid for it, not because it did me any good. Some of her manipulations felt good, but a simple massage could have accomplished that. But I was especially skeptical of that clicking thing she used on me, basically a toy. I would not recommend her to anyone.

12

I’m in the “All chiro-quack-ters are charlatans” camp. These people do not go to medical school, not even DO school. They don’t have PhDs. They are not doctors. They aren’t radiologists either so I don’t even know why they take X-rays. They’re not even qualified to read them.

I’d recommend seeing your primary care physician and asking if a referral to an orthopedic specialist is warranted. Your primary may also prescribe physical therapy (which IS science-based) and/or massage therapy (which feels real nice and rarely causes any damage).

13

DO as in Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine? That is medical school with virtually the same education and training given to MD’s. What’s with the “not even”?

14

To a certain extent, all chiropractors are quacks. They went to a school that teaches them lies, and how to make money off those lies.

But on the other hand, many of them know that. They were fooled out of a lot of tuition money when they were young, but they still want to help. The key is to leave whenever they start talking about “curing” anything more complicated than a backache or dull joint pain. It’s been studied, and it seems that chiropractors can help ease pain. They’re familiar with adjusting your back and joints safely and many people find their service helpful in that regard.

But that’s it. They’re glorified masseuses. They are not doctors. They cannot cure anything.

That said, the guy the OP talked to certainly sounds to me like a charlatan.

15

If you are in the U.S., this is not merely sketchy, it is flat out ILLEGAL under HIPAA. They can charge you a fee, but they can’t tell you no. If you want a copy, have a discussion with whoever licenses chiropractors in your state.

I believe most other major countries have similar legislation, but exact details vary.

16

I’d recommend a physical therapist, if you can wrangle it. My wife and I have excellent insurance, and can refer ourselves to a group of orthopedists and physical therapists. Prior, with slightly poorer insurance, we’d have to get a recommendation by our GP to get physical therapy.

Prior to that, I had an HMO that pretended that such things didn’t exist, and a chiropractor was the best option I had for a problem that my GP at the time refused to acknowledge - but it was the physical therapists (once I finally got to a better GP who recommended that route) who helped me to treat my issue to the point where it has not recurred in nearly two decades.

Anyway, a physical therapist (not sure how the licensing works, but I’m assuming you can find a legitimate one) can address a lot of the things people usually go to chiropractors for, and do so safely, and with provable results.

17

Thanks, all. I’m definitely not going back in for treatment.

I did go back today to hear what he had to say about my x-rays. Waited 45 minutes past my appointment time to meet with another “doctor” – the one I saw yesterday wasn’t in.

Long song and dance first in which he treated me like a not-too-bright six year old. (Example: Right at the start he said he was going to explain things and ask me some questions. So he draws a circle on the paper and says, “This is your head. What do you call the organ in your head that controls your body?”)

Upshot --treatment for my spinal problem (and yes, stpauler, it’s subluxation) will take most of a year. My insurance company will cover 60 visits – what do you want to bet that the entire course of treatment would be, say, 60 treatments? Of course I’m in a high-deductible plan, so most of the treatment will cost me the full negotiated amount.

One of the advantages of being married is the ability to blame stuff on your spouse. I told him that was a significant amount of money and I’d have to talk it over with hubby. If I’d wanted to go ahead, of course I would have just made an appointment, but blaming Mr. Middon made for an easy exit without having to listen to tedious explanations of why I was making a mistake.

18

Speaking of x-rays: chiropractors love them, but they don’t do patients much (if any) good.

“X rays are a significant intervention. Anytime ionizing radiation is applied to a human being, there better be a good reason for it. If there is no evidence that the X ray will help in a meaningful way with diagnosis or treatment, then no X ray should be done. There is no clear reason any chiropractor should ever order an X ray.”

*note that the mythical chiropractic “subluxation” cannot be reproducibly detected on x-rays.

19

I was injured pretty badly by a chiropractor, about 12 years ago. I went because I was having back/scapula pain and my mother was (and still is) a true believer. So I gave it a shot.

OMFG, this idiot had no clue what he even did to me! I was on that pop-table thingy and he was messing around with it, giving me various ‘nothing pops’ that felt, well, like nothing.

After that, he put his hands on me and twisted my back. :eek: :eek: :eek: Instantly, I felt terrible pain in my back and I could-not-move. Literally. I had to be helped off the table by 3 people and manually put into my wheelchair. Once in my chair, I could not push myself, so I had to be pushed to my car by a “nurse”.

When this happened, the chiropractor was dumbfounded. He basically shrugged and told me he had no idea what happened. Thanks you fucking jack-ass moron. I managed to drive myself home and put some ice on my back. It took weeks for me to fully recover. After that, I regarded chiropracty as a dangerous pseudo-therapy that could really hurt people and should be avoided at all costs.

20

Yes. Asked and answered.