[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Chiropractic: bunch of crap? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/9/2017 10:15:16 AM EDT
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I had a lower back issue a while ago, which has since resolved.
My buddy recommended I see a chiropractor. I asked my dad, a Retired PA, who said it was a bunch of bullcrap, and not to waste my money. I started watching YouTube videos, and it sure seems like bullcrap... Examples include: palpating people's lumbar spine and claiming they can feel a misalignment, then insisting that cracking their back will fix it, the same backcracking techniques fix a myriad of ailments, including gastrointestinal issues 
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For 20 years I have represented people who have had car accidents and suffered neck and back injuries. Thousands of people in that time with varied symptoms of varying intensity.
Many of them elect to see a Chiropractor. Most of them find some relief, if not complete resolution of their issues with chiropractic. Some get nothing from it. I can say nearly the exact same thing about "Pain Management" doctors as well. The only difference being that "Pain Management" is a fuck ton more expensive....though to be fair, people who seek Pain Management are usually hurt worse than most who seek only Chiropractic care. |
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I thought it was all snake oil and BS.
However, my wife had a ton of round ligament pain while preggers (to the point of tears). She couldn't take a damn thing for it that worked, so her doc and midwife suggested a chiropractor. She went, they did something, her pain went away. So on one hand, I don't understand how it works. On the other, she got excellent results. |
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Generally not crap, if they claim they can cure all that ails you by cracking your back then you are at a bad one.
For most people they should crack you and give you a series of stretches and exercises to help work through what is going on, it will often be as much physical therapy as it is adjustment. |
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My personal experience tells me it's a mix. As mentioned, find a good one! Body manipulation works for me, but I'm not convinced, for example, that if I free up one part of my back the poisons in my body will be freed to come out!
On the other hand, I don't believe that "western medicine" has a lock on all the cures for the body. But yeah, spinal alignments and such have been very beneficial to me. |
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The reason most people's back hurts is because the muscles are not strong enough to do the work we ask our back to do all day.
When muscles get exhausted, they spasm. If you do half of a dumbbell curl with your arm and stand there holding the weight for an hour, eventually your bicep will give up and spasm, which hurts. That's what your back is doing. Those weak muscles are being overworked and eventually they give up and spasm. ALSO, nervous stress makes you release adrenaline, which causes a ton of physical problems like skeletal muscle tension and reduced blood flow to your digestive tract. If you get a gym membership and report to the gym once or twice a week and do some back exercises like pullups, seated rows, hyperextensions on the roman chair, shrugs, etc, your back pain will disappear for forever. Weightlifting can be done in medium way. It's not a choice between the extremes of doing nothing or going to the gym 6 days a week and shooting steroids. In addition to strengthening your muscles, it helps relieve stress which causes muscle tension. Of course, some people have actual damage to the spine like blown disks, which is a job for a medical doctor, not a chiropractor. |
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I went to see one thinking it cant be all bad. My lower back bothers me sometimes.
During my consultation the "doctor" (his words) wanted to cure my allergies, high blood pressure, and occasional IBS by cracking my back.
I was literally audibly laughing as I walked out |
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Quoted:
I had a lower back issue a while ago, which has since resolved. My buddy recommended I see a chiropractor. I asked my dad, a Retired PA, who said it was a bunch of bullcrap, and not to waste my money. I started watching YouTube videos, and it sure seems like bullcrap... Examples include: palpating people's lumbar spine and claiming they can feel a misalignment, then insisting that cracking their back will fix it, the same backcracking techniques fix a myriad of ailments, including gastrointestinal issues Sometimes it does. Did help mine. My pelvis and the lower portion of my spine will get out of line. Right side of my pelvis tries to shift forward so I don't line up. When it gets bad I'll end up with back spasms and my two a day bathroom breaks become 8 or 10 a day breaks. A visit to the chiropractor fixes the issues almost immediately. Relief will last anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. I try to drop in every 6 weeks or so but I've had a couple spells where everything stays ok so I quit going until it flares up. Last time I made it 2 years. |
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Quoted:
I went to see one thinking it cant be all bad. My lower back bothers me sometimes. During my consultation the "doctor" (his words) wanted to cure my allergies, high blood pressure, and occasional IBS by cracking my back.
I was literally audibly laughing as I walked out Use a little common sense. If your back hurts, one might be able to help you. If they are promising something that makes no sense and is not musculoskeletal related, then it isn't going to work and you are being scammed. |
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I have a great Chiropracter. He has fixed many times. If I had gone to my doctor he would have prescribed muscle relaxers and I would have been in agony.
One time my chiro was out of town so I picked another one out of the phone book and that was a huge mistake. The guy gave me acupuncture and then tried to sell me a huge bottle of magnesium powder, telling me my problem was magnesium deficiency. No, something in my back was out of place. If you go to a guy like that for your first experience, yes you will think Chiropracters are a bunch of bunk. Talk to people and find a good one. |
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Get a good one that's progressive and utilizes a bunch of approaches and you will be GTG. evidence suggests it's not actually a misalignment but a joint or joint complex that isn't moving the way it's supposed to. Basically getting it unstuck allows the body to work the way it should. Usually with pain relief as well.
I am a chiro and teach future chiros so feel free to PM if you have a question or would like some help finding a good one in your area. |
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I recently went to the witch-doctor here he has a very good reputation and most people say if he can't help you he wont keep having you come back.
I went to 3 visits didn't really notice any improvement at that point he said to me if I haven't seen any improvement by now he probably couldn't help. So I stopped going at that point. I will say a couple weeks later my back started feeling better so who knows. For me the jury is still out. I do believe that your spine can get out of whack and bound up. There are times when I can feel something off in my back and have my wife crack it or walk on it and it pops stuff back into place and instantly it feels better. The whole flow of energy crap some of them spout is a bunch of whoopla in my view. |
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Sure. Total crap. Yup. Just a bunch of mumbo jumbo snake oil. It's all power of suggestion. Right up there with pet psychics & financial planners.
That's why a good chiro was able to help me get another 5 years of comfortable riding out of my last horse. That horse was a pure sucker for a good sales pitch. 
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| I always thought it was bullshit witchcraft, Until a couple months ago i caved and went because i couldn't take the pain anymore. Had a couple ribs out in my back and i couldn't breath, sleep, anything. Went in and got cracked into place and after about 3 days i felt completely better. |
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For some they can provide effective pain management.
Keyword being management. Some will help identify and correct the underlying problem, others will milk you forever for your weekly visit. I had my first muscle spasms after visiting a chiropractor. The lower back manipulation only increased the muscle inflammation. That day fucking sucked. |
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Quoted:
I had a lower back issue a while ago, which has since resolved. My buddy recommended I see a chiropractor. I asked my dad, a Retired PA, who said it was a bunch of bullcrap, and not to waste my money. I started watching YouTube videos, and it sure seems like bullcrap... Examples include: palpating people's lumbar spine and claiming they can feel a misalignment, then insisting that cracking their back will fix it, the same backcracking techniques fix a myriad of ailments, including gastrointestinal issues |
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Quoted:
Sometimes it does. Did help mine. My pelvis and the lower portion of my spine will get out of line. Right side of my pelvis tries to shift forward so I don't line up. When it gets bad I'll end up with back spasms and my two a day bathroom breaks become 8 or 10 a day breaks. A visit to the chiropractor fixes the issues almost immediately. Relief will last anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. I try to drop in every 6 weeks or so but I've had a couple spells where everything stays ok so I quit going until it flares up. Last time I made it 2 years. Quoted:
Quoted:
I had a lower back issue a while ago, which has since resolved. My buddy recommended I see a chiropractor. I asked my dad, a Retired PA, who said it was a bunch of bullcrap, and not to waste my money. I started watching YouTube videos, and it sure seems like bullcrap... Examples include: palpating people's lumbar spine and claiming they can feel a misalignment, then insisting that cracking their back will fix it, the same backcracking techniques fix a myriad of ailments, including gastrointestinal issues Sometimes it does. Did help mine. My pelvis and the lower portion of my spine will get out of line. Right side of my pelvis tries to shift forward so I don't line up. When it gets bad I'll end up with back spasms and my two a day bathroom breaks become 8 or 10 a day breaks. A visit to the chiropractor fixes the issues almost immediately. Relief will last anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. I try to drop in every 6 weeks or so but I've had a couple spells where everything stays ok so I quit going until it flares up. Last time I made it 2 years. Your body has a gland that releases adrenaline, which is a nuclear bomb of survival power. It's supposed to be used to help you run away from a lion. When you have stress, your body leaks a tiny amount of adrenaline all the time. It makes your muscles stiff, it shuts down your digestive tract, it screws up blood flow. So people get heart palpitations, digestion problems, and muscle aches. This is science. It's not a theory. Your body was designed to run 10 miles a day hunting for food and to live about 20 years in survival conditions. Being stressed at work and sofas and Cheetos are outside the design parameters of your body. The cure is heavy regular exercise. That is the cura-all and the fountain of youth. If your chiropractor is helping your back and bowels, it's an coincidence. I used to go to the chiropractor and get those electrodes stuck to my back, they worked great. They relaxed the sore cramped back muscles. But going to the gym CURED the problem, the problem being that my back muscles were weak. |
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Quoted:
For 20 years I have represented people who have had car accidents and suffered neck and back injuries. Thousands of people in that time with varied symptoms of varying intensity. Many of them elect to see a Chiropractor. Most of them find some relief, if not complete resolution of their issues with chiropractic. Some get nothing from it. I can say nearly the exact same thing about "Pain Management" doctors as well. The only difference being that "Pain Management" is a fuck ton more expensive....though to be fair, people who seek Pain Management are usually hurt worse than most who seek only Chiropractic care. |
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Quoted:
I thought it was all snake oil and BS. However, my wife had a ton of round ligament pain while preggers (to the point of tears). She couldn't take a damn thing for it that worked, so her doc and midwife suggested a chiropractor. She went, they did something, her pain went away. So on one hand, I don't understand how it works. On the other, she got excellent results. The guy I grew up with who became a chiropractor like his dad wasn't in a single AP class in high school, couldn't have gotten into med school or even pa school if he had blackmail and bribe money....but he made it through and became a chiropractor no problem, and now posts a lot of stupid anti vax stuff on facebook. 
I'm not a fan. |
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Get a good one that's progressive and utilizes a bunch of approaches and you will be GTG. evidence suggests it's not actually a misalignment but a joint or joint complex that isn't moving the way it's supposed to. Basically getting it unstuck allows the body to work the way it should. Usually with pain relief as well. I am a chiro and teach future chiros so feel free to PM if you have a question or would like some help finding a good one in your area. |
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I don't think it's complete bullshit but there is some parts of the profession that lend itself to bullshit. I used to think it was total bullshit but then I started having lower back problems and got a teeter hang ups inversion table. After a few weeks I was worlds better. So there is something to straightening out your spine, decompression and relieving tension allowing it to heal.Â
Get a "Teeter Hang ups" no shit the best $400 I've spent in my entire life. |
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Alternatively, I know someone who should have known better (an MD) who went to a chiropractor while pregnant. The "adjustment" resulted in a placental abruption and she had to have the baby prematurely. The guy I grew up with who became a chiropractor like his dad wasn't in a single AP class in high school, couldn't have gotten into med school or even pa school if he had blackmail and bribe money....but he made it through and became a chiropractor no problem, and now posts a lot of stupid anti vax stuff on facebook.
I'm not a fan. |
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I'm a big proponent of western medicine but both the wife and I have had neck and back pain that was not cured by cortisone and a chiro got it fixed.
Also many chiros will use TENS and massage as part of the treatment. I was a skeptic but in some cases its going to do a lot more to actually fix the problem rather than mask it with meds a la traditional Rx. |
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I hold my chiropractor in very high regard. Â
Not only is she extremely easy to look at, but she has helped me a great deal. Â I have walked in to her office (no appointment) in a lot of pain and left 15 minutes later in 75% less pain than I was when I walked in, with almost none at all by the next day. Â Not only has she helped my back, but she has helped with headaches and other issues as well. Â There was a time I wiped out on my bicycle and did something to my elbow. Â A month or more later it was still sore and I wasn't able to lift as much weight as I was used to. Â I mentioned it to her and she took a look at my arm, started moving it around a little bit, bending it at the elbow, etc, and then 'SNAP'Â  Â Â Almost immediately all the discomfort I had been having was gone and the next day my arm felt normal and I had my strength back. Â
As for what a poster above me said about back muscles not being strong enough, I think there is a lot of truth to that. Â A lot of my problems have gone away since I started lifting in the gym, doing pullups, pull downs, rows, etc. Â -K |
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I'm a physical therapist, and our profession tends to run counter to the chiropractic line of thinking, at least most of the time.
In my world, we try and get you better via exercise, stretching, posture, etc with a little bit of help and guidance from us, the eventual goal being self-management of the issue by the patient. Many of the chiropractors I encounter tend to focus on the in-clinic stuff that makes you feel good in the moment, but are lacking when it comes to long-term prevention. I've got enough new patients coming in, I don't want to see anyone for more than a month or so. I'd rather you get 75% better then do the remaining 25% on your own. Makes people feel like they have some control over their own health, not just reliant on some clinician. That said, there are good chiropractors who incorporate some of these elements into their work and are plenty effective. Read reviews and find a good one, and you should be ok. |
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Sure. Total crap. Yup. Just a bunch of mumbo jumbo snake oil. It's all power of suggestion. Right up there with pet psychics & financial planners. That's why a good chiro was able to help me get another 5 years of comfortable riding out of my last horse. That horse was a pure sucker for a good sales pitch. I was in pain for a year. I went to a chiropractor once a week for a year. It helped some. I read up on the science of back pain. I read up on it in a determined and open-minded way, with no pre-conceived notions. I stopped going to the chiropractor and started going to the gym and doing back exercises. I have not had a day of pain in decades. Here's the kicker: I broke my spine when I was 15, the lowest vertebra in my back is shoved forward about 1/2", it called a spondylolisthesis. Nobody in this thread has a more screwed up back than me, unless they have a popped disk, which is a job for a spinal surgeon. In this whole thread, I'm the guy with the worst problem, who went from the most daily pain, to the least daily pain. I went from wearing a back brace to doing hyperextensions with 60 lbs of dumbbells Everyone is going to read what I wrote into this thread, they're going to see that it makes 100% logical sense, then they're going to ignore it. Nobody is as dumb as the guy who knows everything. |
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I'm a powerlifter so I lift heavy shit, often
My chiro has a plan where you get 1 visit a week for $60 a month. That little bit of routine maintenance goes a long way in keeping injuries at bay. I don't even have to tell him what's bothering me, he usually ends up figuring it out as he works on me. He offers dry needling as well which completely eliminated the excruciating tightness i was getting in my right IT band I also have sports massage/cupping/deep tissue done by a cute little chick named Lacey every other week. Long story short, a chiropractor isn't the end all be all fixer of things, but they damn sure help...if you go to a good one, that's the key |
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The commercials around here by the Chiropractic physicians (That's what they call themselves here) claim to have as much schooling and experience as a medical doctor. They hit you up for supplements and "devices" on every visit. It was like listening to an Amway pitch.  Just crack my back and let me out of here!Â
That said, a chiropractor worked for me. My son, on the other hand, did not get any relief from his 30 chiropractor visits. He ended up in physical therapy which fixed his problem. I guess it works for some problems but not for others.   |
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Quoted:
I had a lower back issue a while ago, which has since resolved. My buddy recommended I see a chiropractor. I asked my dad, a Retired PA, who said it was a bunch of bullcrap, and not to waste my money. I started watching YouTube videos, and it sure seems like bullcrap... Examples include: palpating people's lumbar spine and claiming they can feel a misalignment, then insisting that cracking their back will fix it, the same backcracking techniques fix a myriad of ailments, including gastrointestinal issues However... my wife had serious issues with carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. Injections brought limited relief for short periods of time and she was scheduled to have surgery as the doctor felt this was the only way to resolve it. My wife, on the recommendation of a friend, decided give the chiropractor a go. I have no idea what he did, but her issues completely cleared up - almost completely in the first session, finished off over another session or two if I recall correctly. That might mean many things. It's entirely possible that the carpal tunnel was a misdiagnosis by lazy doctors, or maybe it was the result of something else that just appeared to be carpal tunnel. Whatever the reasoning behind it, the end result (which is the important bit) was that a bit of poking and prodding by a local quack completely resolved an issue that the doctors had decided required invasive, painful, and temporarily debilitating surgery. That was quite a few years ago and the problem has never come back. I'll chalk that one up as a win for the mad quackerists, as much as I hate to admit it. |
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I like my chiro
Dr Brook Eckhardt, Bettendorf, IA this woman made me a believer. I went to two other chiro's that had me convinced it was all B.S. |
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If you go to a GOOD one, no. I had a severely pinched nerve in my back that I acquired doing construction, suffered for years, used to wake me up in the middle of the night with mind blowing pain. Couldn't sit for long periods of time, ate Tylenol by the handful. When My company finally got insurance to cover a chiropractor, I went to see one. He fixed me in six visits. Totally pain free. 10 years later, working at the FD, I started feeling it again, lived in a different county and didn't want to drive 45 minutes to the old guy, so I went to a local guy. He was an idiot, never touched me in three visits, just exams and telling me to do ""core strengthening" exercises, even though my workout regimen at the time blew away his recommended exercises. Went back to the old guy, he straightened me out in one visit. Find a good one, if your issue is alignment related, he will fix it. But there's a lot of Quacks and incompetent fucks. Just like Dentists. |