Chiropractors?? merged

[BostonBull]

Chiropractors...Opinion, Tales?

I am thinking of going to a Chiropractor. My back, and neck are always sore! And my right hip clicks/pops/hurts every step I take and is getting worse by the week.

So.........whats everyones opinion?

 

[BostonBull]

I am thinking of going to a Chiropractor. My back, and neck are always sore! And my right hip clicks/pops/hurts every step I take and is getting worse by the week.

So.........whats everyones opinion?

 

[zopi]

I am thinking of going to a Chiropractor. My back, and neck are always sore! And my right hip clicks/pops/hurts every step I take and is getting worse by the week.

So.........whats everyones opinion?

I have been seeing chiropractors on and off for years...they have helped me tremendously, I do not have an organic injury, it just comes out of place...they can put you back in and maybe give you some stretching/excercise to do to
help it stay put..

 

[talon1189]

I would go see one...........I have had good luck with them in the past with my sore back

 

[beowulf343]

Personally, can't say enough good about chiropractors. My biggest problem is right between the shoulders, especially when i do something dumb with a polesaw. Have gone to their office barely able to walk and have left 45 minutes later feeling like a new man. And i'll usually feel good until i do something stupid again.

Give it a try man.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Chiropractors have been a godsend to me. I have found that it is not the climbing that gets me it is humping the wood afterwards!!!

 

[talon1189]

Chiropractors have been a godsend to me. I have found that it is not the climbing that gets me it is humping the wood afterwards!!!

Yup........ya can't be bending over cutting up "rotten tree limbs" when yer damn back is too sore now can ya?

 

[BostonBull]

Is this something I can go and do until I feel better or is it something that, once I go, I am stuck going regularly for the rest of my life?

 

[Jumper]

I never have been to one, however many people I knew over the years swear by them.....


Have you exhausted other potential forms of therapy, eg a good physio or accupuncture. I would try these first, a competant physio will manipulate your joints but not "crack" them like a chiro. As far as accupuncture goes, maybe not for everyone but when I suffered a compression fracture in my discs I got a good deal of relief from being "needled" in conjunction with physio.

It is my personal opinion that a far percentage of chiros are indeed quacks who are more interested in keeping you returning for more and more expensive treatment, which may not be needed, or could be solved with less "invasive" or permanent treatment. Very few people I know who went to chiros were ever "cured" of their malady, and kept returning and returning and returning and.......Lots of $$$$ especially if your Health Care caps the amount per year or it comes out of your pocket, either because the treatment is not recognized as such, or you spent your wad for the year on your plan.

My 2 cents.

 

[talon1189]

Is this something I can go and do until I feel better or is it something that, once I go, I am stuck going regularly for the rest of my life?

I used to go more often (1 time a week) when I was younger.........since I gave up my bed and now sleep on my couch......I have not been to see one in 2 years :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Chiropractors have been a godsend to me. I have found that it is not the climbing that gets me it is humping the wood afterwards!!!

Yup........ya can't be bending over cutting up "rotten tree limbs" when yer damn back is too sore now can ya?

You know it!!!:greenchainsaw:

 

[stihlaficionado]

buyer beware

Boston: The most important thing to remember is that chiro's are not MD's.
I know a handful of folks that currently visit them and I myself went about
15 years ago. I went in the office feeling great and came out(with the free xrays) with a back adjustment schedule that would have had me in his office
twice a week for the rest of my life . Of course, I had great health insurance back then...

The group that claims to "cure cancer, disease, etc." ...keep away from them.
If you're close to an urban area I'd pay a visit to a licensed message therapist.

mark

 

[begleytree]

well, overall. my story is a tad different.

I went in with a pinched nerve in L4/5?. could barely walk and left actually able to move. went back 3X a week for the regular pop and crack, cut down to 2X a week, then once a week. I was at the point I could do everything I used to do but always had the pain and tenderness. on the first visit the quackpractor assured me I would be good as new, then after 5 weeks of visits, I told him I still hurt everyday, all day although I could move. he looked at me crazy and said I would never be right and would always have pain. so I paid him and never went back. during the next few weeks my pain went away and I am now whole. it is my opinion that had I kept going to the visits, I would still be in pain today, and my back weak.
imo, they help, but don't know when to quit. they need the money like everyone else. when, imo, you get to the point that the visits do no more good or harm, its time to stop going. constantly wrenching the muscles, tendons and ligaments in your spine can end up with them stretched enough that you will always have a disc trying to slide around and pinch a nerve.

and every one I know who ever went to one had a curvature of the spine. lol, my back is perfect (navy docs) and this guy, (you guessed it) said my spine is curved, showed me the x-ray from when I walked in the door. yup, curved, probably because I could barely sit or stand. they always tell you you should be in traction, but they can fix it without all that. common hook they all use, imo.

in summation: they can help, and after they stop helping, they can hurt you. don't trust their judgement, use your own head.

now for the horror story. My father in law clyde had back pain and went to them too. they cracked him, talked of traction and liked to killed him everytime they did the popping. one day he was at a real MDs house and bent over while working. the doc noticed and looked him over. the next morning at 6am the MD had Clyde in his office and cut his back open and removed a growth (cancer or no, who knows) that was pressing on his spine. this large mass showed up perfectly well on the regular x-rays, and the back-cracker totally ignored it in favor of their brand of 'medicine'.

so, check with a real MD first, then if you must see a back-cracker, use caution/be very wary. there is only 2 or 3 places in the US that teach, train, and test back-crackers, so they all have the same attitude about it. the odds of finding one that is different from the rest is slim. they're all from the sme school and mold.
-Ralph

 

[PA Plumber]

It has been many years since I have been to one. As in almost all cases, there are good ones and bad ones. I haven't been to a good one yet. My wife is a PT, so I am cautious. I have a friend who is a chiro, he is over 3 hrs away and it has kept me from giving it a try.

 

[rb_in_va]

Go to the chiropractor for your back and neck pain. I went for neck pain and I'm cured! Now I only go once every 3-6 months just for a "check-up". He would rather I go in more often, but it's my time and money.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I can expand on what Begleytree said in the previous post. When I feel off a truck and had a "close encounter of the hurtful kind" with a loading dock, I developed a "clicking" in my right ankle, even though my feet never hit the ground. My massage therapist said that it could've been a tendon or ligament that was a little out of place, and recommended a chiropractor to go to. She said "you don't want to go to a chiro that will say that you have to come back 3 times a week for several weeks". So I went to this guy that she recommended, and he was very good; he felt around the ankle and twisted and yanked on it and tested the strength of it and found nothing really wrong, maybe a tendon or ligament that was a little out of place and inflamed. He said he'd like to see me one more time in about a week to check me again, so I said okay-worker's comp is paying for it anyway. Well, I went back in a week, and he did the same exact thing to my ankle, and again proclaimed that it was fine; then when I was checking out , he says "we'll see you in a week to make sure that you're okay"! I thought "isn't that what you just did" and I called a few days later and cancelled and told them that there's probably nothing more that he could do for me; plus I didn't want to run up a big worker's comp bill and get the boss sore! So I guess that you have to be wary, but hopefully you can find a good, honest one that CAN help you and not just drain your wallet! Best of luck!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

so, check with a real MD first, then if you must see a back-cracker, use caution/be very wary. there is only 2 or 3 places in the US that teach, train, and test back-crackers, so they all have the same attitude about it. the odds of finding one that is different from the rest is slim. they're all from the sme school and mold.
-Ralph

Not anymore Ralph. There's a new breed out there. I've been to both kinds, and the newer breed is doing much better at working themselves out of work instead of making sure that they will always have customers!

A recent grad from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic is likely to be the new breed.


FWIW, I am now recovering from a foot injury last fall. The podiatrist I first saw (a "real M.D.") had me coming every week, and I was NOT getting better. Fired her, found another one. I've seen him twice, I'm much better, and don't expect to see him again. HE doesn't expect to see me, either.

So there are both kinds among the "real" M.D.s, too.

 

[RedlineIt]

BostonBull,

Chiropractic care is under extreme scrutiny in Canada in the area of one specific treatment: a procedure called "high neck manipulation". Some deaths, several strokes, too many people left para/quadrapelegic after the application of unadvisable twisting of the head on the spine.

http://www.faact.com/healthadvisory.html

I'd seek out a good sports therapy clinic instead. We spur on our arches, jump on our ankles, stretch our achilles, beat on our knees, treat our hamstrings like they're elastic bands, do major quad and glute work, rest our abs while driving to the next site, we ask our backs to lift to our personal limit, we work our shoulders and elbows to either strength or destuction.

All of that is right down the alley for a decent sports therapist.

About the only thing they are not prepared to handle is the degradation of our hand and finger acuity/comfort due to frequent, extended use of saws.

But that's just my opinion.

If your chiro wants to pull your left arm across your back to pop your shoulder in place, I'd let him.

If he grabs your skull, and wants to twist it, I'd walk away.




RedlineIt

 

[moss]

Is this something I can go and do until I feel better or is it something that, once I go, I am stuck going regularly for the rest of my life?

Chiro visits tend to be a regular maintenance sort of thing, long term. I highly recommend going to a physical therapist (after you go to your MD). A good physical therapist is oriented torwards understanding the kinds of movements and tasks you perform at work and can get you on the path to recovery from pain with a customized stretching and strengthening program that you can do on your own without endless chiro office visits. All practitioners are not created equal so get a good referral from your MD or friend that you trust. It makes a huge difference to learn to take care of it yourself and prevent joint injuries from happening.
-moss

 

[stonykill]

firm beleiver. I obviously have a good one. If I don't go every few months I get constant headaches. After I go my back doesn't hurt for quite a while, and for me thats a big deal. My back always hurts. I did too many stupid things as a kid. Ask around in your area and find a good one. You'll feel much better.