Chiropractor...

[tedebear]

I went yesterday for the first time ever. I'm fairly sure I won't be going ever again. Quite happy with the "soft tissue" work but can't help but thinking cracking my spine like that whilst my head is stuck in a position which it frankly hasn't been in since I was in the womb, isn't very good for me...Although like a chicken I booked an appointment for next week but will probably cancel before the weekend...

Anyone got any compelling reasons to talk me out of scurring back to my preferred physio?

 

[vegster]

Lots of Chiropractic treatment is more gentle, you need to trust. I had such bad siatica a few years back I would have walked in front of a bus to end the pain. Now, I can do pretty much anything and not feel pain

 

[tedebear]

But I get the feeling once I start I need to keep going?

 

[slinky]

i had a bad neck a couple of weeks ago, and it turns out i had a vertebrae slightly out in between my shoulder blades.

i went to the osteopath and he gave my shoulders a deep tissue massage and popped that bad boy back in. never felt better....

 

[vegster]

I went for quite a time, but, it does work

 

[tedebear]

i had a bad neck a couple of weeks ago, and it turns out i had a vertebrae slightly out in between my shoulder blades.

i went to the osteopath and he gave my shoulders a deep tissue massage and popped that bad boy back in. never felt better....

What is the difference between a chiropractor and osteopath?

 

[niknokseagull]

Granted, some people find chiropractors extremely helpful. However, talk to most physio's and they'll tell you how much time they spend repairing damage caused but your average chiropractor. Past experience has shown me that most chiro's all end up resorting to a 'bend, roll and crunch' technique that they seemingly use everytime, regardless of your problem.

I admit that I am one of those people who has previous bad experience with a chiro turning a slightly bulging disc into a full on hernia. Wrote a year off before I could walk, run and resume my once normal active lifestyle.

For me, chiro's = cowboys.

 

[Da Man Clay]

I couldn't speak highly enough of mine. Totally fixed the issues with my back in about 4 sessions. Haven't caused me any problems in the 3 years since i've been.

 

[piersa]

I am a Chiropractor

I am a Chiropractor. I can understand your scepticism and have heard similar comments from people who have visited me as patients for the first time. In my experience chiropractors are very good at helping with many musculoskeletal problems. There are many people within the profession who over treat and profess to be able to cure disease, with questionable just cause.

As patients it is important to know that problems that have been there a long time, in my experience take around 8-10 treatments to make 80-100% better. Problems that have been there for a short time normally take around 3-5 treatments.

The difference between Chiropractors and Osteopaths is fairly small. We study for longer and can take x-rays. That is about it. The important thing is to find one you can trust and stick with them.

I hope this helps

 

[Finch]

There is a real variance in quality. The fact that I don't know one I can trust means I would be loathe to visit one without my GP's recommendation.

 

[tedebear]

I am a Chiropractor. I can understand your scepticism and have heard similar comments from people who have visited me as patients for the first time. In my experience chiropractors are very good at helping with many musculoskeletal problems. There are many people within the profession who over treat and profess to be able to cure disease, with questionable just cause.

As patients it is important to know that problems that have been there a long time, in my experience take around 8-10 treatments to make 80-100% better. Problems that have been there for a short time normally take around 3-5 treatments.

The difference between Chiropractors and Osteopaths is fairly small. We study for longer and can take x-rays. That is about it. The important thing is to find one you can trust and stick with them.

I hope this helps

Thanks it does. Do you know if any long term studies have been done by your profession into the "manipulation" ie cracking?

 

[Superphil]

What is the difference between a chiropractor and osteopath?

Do you ever watch Two and a Half Men?

Doctor: You're a doctor?
Alan: I'm a chiropractor.
Doctor: Then... no

 

[johnhammond]

I hurt my lower back playing football last spring and could hardly move for about 2 months (whilst on pills from the doctor and going to physio). Finally went to a chiropractor and after 3 sessions the pain was mostly gone and I could move freely, about 10 and I could get back to doing stuff and there was only occasional pain; everything was back to normal after 20-25 (which I was very happy with considering I could barely walk or get out of bed initially). They were keen on me still coming in for "wellness" after that, but it's been 4 months without going now and I'm fine (it was too expensive to keep it up). This also got rid of a upper back/neck injury from about 7 years earlier when I dislocated my shoulder and it knocked everything out of place and had been nagging me ever since. That discomfort is totally gone now.

Overall, it's definitely a weird feeling (the cracking and neck twisting) but it gets better when you know the person. I imagine how instant the relief is, and how bad the pain is/was, will determine your overall view. Even after my first session I felt worlds better (although it didn't last for more than a few hours) which made me want to keep it up.

 

[Notters]

But I get the feeling once I start I need to keep going?

Then you may have the wrong one.

The one I went to said - "you've got a serious problem with your back, I can't do anything".

I went back to the doctor and indeed I had a slipped disc.

You need one that you can trust, not one that will string you along.

 

[bhaexpress]

I tried one once to try to clear a condition that was eventually fixed by surgery (I had a ruptured disk removed). I'm not anti but frankly the treatment I got did nothing at all. They are very popular in the US for the simple reason that they are cheaper than conventional medical treatments.

 

[black & white seagull]

I think it very much depends on the practitioner and the nature of the problem.

I've stopped going to osteopaths/chiropractors for smaller problems, as I find they tend to sort themselves out eventually. Also, I find any form of manipulation/deep tissue massage is guaranteed to trigger a slew of migraines - and I'd rather put up with the neck/shoulder pain than find myself felled by a migraine during a birthday weekend in Paris, which is what happened to me last year.

 

[trueblue]

As I remember it, osteopaths tend to favour the 'make everything crack' approach whereas some chiropractic treatment can be quite gentle.

Personally, I've found that for a short-term specific problem - such as when you 'put your back out' and it's really painful and hard to move - then getting it 'cracked' loose can help.

However, I also saw an osteopath in Hove for several months trying to sort out longer term pain in my right shoulder and ribs. In my opinion, the treatment exacerbated the problem considerably and I finally gave up after being kept awake one night with swelling all around my collarbone caused by the osteopath.

Now, I tend to stick to sports or deep tissue massage which is more successful at keeping my back loose. When I had a more serious problem (numbness in my arms) I saw the physios at the cricket club, who diagnosed a trapped nerve in my neck and sorted it out with three very gentle massage sessions and some exercises. Goodness knows what damage the more aggressive approach may have done in those circumstances.

 

[trueblue]

Mainly, what I should have said was "see a physio" and the guys and girls at the cricket club are excellent. They fixed my rugby-playing mate's shoulder too.

 

[piersa]

There are many studies that demonstrate how safe Chiropractic treatment is. Most people have a fear of going because of some stories they hear. In my experience it is the fear of the unknown. In some cases, as is always the case in life in general, people are just unreasonable with expectations.

The link below is the link from NICE regarding low back pain. If you look on pub med about manipulation and the benefits, you will see a lot of studies.

http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/11887/44346/44346.pdf

You get good and bad in every profession. You rarely hear good stories about many things because human nature dictates that we report negative incidents. Good news stories barely ever make headlines.

 

[piersa]

It is a doctor of chiropractic, not a medical doctor. Any good chiropractor will tell you that theire remit starts and stops with musculoskeletal issues. Anything pathological and you are out of the door instantly to your GP.