Chiropractic

[SuzySunshine]

DH thinks they are quacks! That is my only experience.

[DCJenn]

I loved the various experiences I've had. My husband likes them too. In fact, chiropractic care is now offered by the military.

Jenn

[SuzySunshine]

I knew we had a discussion about this recently. http://www.medicalspouse.com/forums/...ighlight=chiro

I agree that some are quacks and some aren't and that some will try to sell you on frequent visits, supplements, etc.

If it helped your dad, I think it can help. But I also think there can be uses of your time/money resources that yield good results. If you're concerned about your back, seeing a trainer or PT a few times for exercises or stretches could also be helpful. IMO, the number of preventive visits sometimes recommended seems excessive compared to what I can do myself for other preventive health maintenance.

That said, I'm tired of feeling like I must be 80 years old when I get out of bed in the middle of the night, esp in my right hip. I *really* need to do a better job of stretching in the morning and before bed, but if that doesn't work, I would consider a few chiropractic visits to see if that helped.

[KCwife]

Thanks, Cheri. I missed that thread, but it's exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. DH and I were talking about the PT/massage route too. He had surgery on his Cspine which still aggravates him periodically, but he would never go to a chiropractic. I'm more interested in prevention/maintaince. I'll have to look into our insurance, but I'm sure they only pay for *problems*. You're usually on your own if your trying to circumvent one. I'll look into it though. Thanks for all the feedback/thoughts.

:@

Thought about a PM&R doc?

[Stella]

As mentioned, there was a thread earlier where I was seeing a chiropractor for some back pain. It was definitely helped by my visits!!! In the future I would probably consider accupuncture next. My SO (MS1) and his dad (EM doc) both visit chiropractors regularly and speak up for their health benefits. (Just don't go to the quacks who recommend all the vitamins, cold cures, etc...)

Good luck!!

PS - My insurance covered all of my visits!! I'd have to pay more for PT than for Chiropracty...

[MrsC]

DH thinks they're quacks too. For all the good they do, they can also do a lot of damage. He treated a guy in the ER who had a broken spine from whatever manipulation the chiropractor had been doing. He ended up paralysed. We both have back problems but would never consider seeing a chiropractor. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I hear that accupuncture can work.

In the other thread there is mention of the OMT/OMM done by DO's. It is NOT covered by insurance, first. But my wife, a DO, feels the same about the chiropractic folks. Not all are "out there", but if you want a good assessment of what is causing the back pain, and a great plan of how to fix it, a DO can provide it.



Very biased opinion, and not a cheap one at that....from what I remember.

I know many MDs think chiropractors are quacks, but I've had great experiences with them. Part of this may be that the chiropractor I went to was a faculty member at a chiropractic college, and I went to the clinic associated with the college.

I had two problems that I saw a chiro for--shoulder pain and neck pain. Both were tremendously improved by the chiro--to the point of a complete cure for the shoulder and much improvement for the neck. I admit that I did not like the adjustments--i.e. when they "crack" your back. I didn't like the sound it made and I never felt like the adjustments made much difference. But I did find the deep tissue treatments very helpful--basically, they broke up the scar tissue that was restricting the motion of my problem areas. Basically, I had injured my shoulder and scar tissue formed, thus limiting movement, and the chiro broke all that up. It took several weeks of visits--can't remember how many, but I have not had any problems since.

I would definitely see a chiro for any musculo-skeletal problems in the future, but I would also see a physical therapist, who helped me with some back pain I had at another time, and I'd also try to go to another faculty member at a chiro college. I did a lot of research on chiropractic before I began seeing one, as I knew nothing about the field, and no one I knew had ever seen one. My husband remains very skeptical about chiros, and would never see one.

[Laker]

I would be open to try one if I had chronic pain that traditional medicine could not fix without just prescribing drugs to ease the pain. I went through a period of devastating back pain, DW sent me to the physical therapist who fixed the problem.

For every case where a chiro caused damage to a patient, you could probably match that with an injury caused by a MD/DO/DDS/Physical Therapist...etc.