Opinions On Chiropractors

[infinity1]

I've had 2 bad experiences with chiros. I know many people who swear by them. I experience the same sort of pain that the OP describes and for me I've found that deep tissue massage works wonders.

 

[mowoodie]

I have been a chiropractor for 14 years now and I am blown away when I see people that have had such bad experiences with chiropractors. There are over 70,000 practicing chiropractors so that should tell you if we are all full of shit why are we all still in business. I do not advertise or promote my office and the phone rings all day and I see as many patients as we can fit in. I pay the lowest malpractice premiums of any healthcare professional. Most of you are more dangerous in your car and pay more for your car insurance than I pay for malpractice. In my entire career the only adverse reaction I have seen with my patients post treatment is varying degrees of soreness. Just like any profession there are good and bad chiros and there are plenty of good chiros out there.

I could not imagine doing anything else for a living. I come home every day knowing I have helped many people overcome various health challenges. I personally get adjusted by my chiro every other week and at the age of 41 I am still getting stronger and working out harder than I did in college and feel no limitations.

 

[doctorwest]

personally, I think chiro's are quacks. personal experience. bad back injury and im absolutely certian that prick made it worse. i have to live with it for the rest of my life.
my advice:
stay the hell away from chiro's and only trust your back to an orthopedic doctor.

Chiropractic is the third largest health care profession in the world. I feel bad if you have let things get bad enough to even consider an orthopedic consult prior to exhaustive chiropractic evaluation and care. These guys are functional specialists. There are good and bad in every field. You may have had a bad encounter with a prick. Have you ever had a bad meal and stopped eating....forever? Come on. Such bias screams of ignorance.

 

[j-bird]

Chiropractic is the third largest health care profession in the world. I feel bad if you have let things get bad enough to even consider an orthopedic consult prior to exhaustive chiropractic evaluation and care. These guys are functional specialists. There are good and bad in every field. You may have had a bad encounter with a prick. Have you ever had a bad meal and stopped eating....forever? Come on. Such bias screams of ignorance.

The issue is that there are more bad apples in the field than good ones. That's been established with multiple investigations in which people go to 15+ chiropractors and some find that there is a misalignment between these two bones, others say it's between a different two bones, others say the left leg is shorter, others say the right leg is shorter, etc.

And I don't know where you came up with the stat about chiropractic being the third largest health field but according to bls.gov 2008 statistics are as follows:

Chiropractors - 49,100
MD/DO - 661,400
Registered nurses- 2,618,700
Dentists - 141,900
Physical therapists - 185,500

 

[qbkilla]

im sure there are some good ones but i wouldnt trust just anyone to mess with my spine or neck. personally i would do research (2 plus months) before i would feel comfortable with one working on me.

the only experience i had with a chrio was when i hurt my back it was pretty bad strain, could barley drive or walk, couldnt even have sex. i saw him and he looked it over and i wouldnt let him adjust me, i just wanted his opinion. he thought i needed adjustments but i just let it heal and went to physical therapy and after a few weeks maybe months my back was good to go.

some people swear by them so who knows, personally id go to a chrio as a last resort because ive heard too many horror stores, probably on threads like this one lol

 

[kscowboy]

Personally i couldnt function without my chiro. But mine is VERY good.

 

[plang]

Personally i couldnt function without my chiro. But mine is VERY good.

Where is he at?

 

[kingpeon]

It may take some time to find a good chiro, but once you do you're set.

Another way to find a good chiro, my regular chiro I went to in the late 90's passed away so I asked his widow who he used to go to. I started going to his chiro, BAM search for a new worthwhile chiro is over, she's just as good if not better than he was (big, strong Nordic woman). It seems the good ones all know each other, locally speaking.

 

[buselmo]

I never had anything done to my spine by a chiro, but i was pretty excited about going to one 3 weeks ago since i had so many neck and back problems. there aren't many chiros in my country and i seriously don't trust them, so i made an appointment for one in montreal when i went. got my "free consultation" when i was there... seemed like a big scam to me. since my insurance doesn't cover it (they don't consider chiros doctors) I was going to have to shil out a ton of money for 4 sessions and it seemed like i was gonna grow a third eye from how many x-rays he wanted to do during those sessions.

I can't talk about all chiros ofcourse, but the one i went to seemed like a fucking scam.

 

[number twelve]

i was skeptical about chiros too until I found one that was able to sort out my hip injury. The thing I liked about him, was that his philosophy was to just make my body right, not to necessarily address a specific issue, but obviously if your body is in proper alignment, your not going to be in pain. He also really helped me with stretching and gave me a routine to do a few times throughout the day. I was committed to it, he gave me a college student price, and I went 3 times a week for a month and I am completely fine now. I just keep doing my stretches and I am good!

 

[Ivanko]

I would not people able to lift if it wasnt for my chiropractor. I used to think i could get away with out going and injuries always followed. ART and regular visits every few weeks have made a huge difference for me.

 

[utex45]

im sure there are some good ones but i wouldnt trust just anyone to mess with my spine or neck. personally i would do research (2 plus months) before i would feel comfortable with one working on me.

the only experience i had with a chrio was when i hurt my back it was pretty bad strain, could barley drive or walk, couldnt even have sex. i saw him and he looked it over and i wouldnt let him adjust me, i just wanted his opinion. he thought i needed adjustments but i just let it heal and went to physical therapy and after a few weeks maybe months my back was good to go.

some people swear by them so who knows, personally id go to a chrio as a last resort because ive heard too many horror stores, probably on threads like this one lol

So you would rather go to an orthopedic who would rather operate and treat the symptom rather than work on the cause.

Most back problems come back because the supporting and ancillary muscles are so tight that they pull everything back in place, that is unless you work on both areas. Bodybuilders and athletes are incredibly difficult to work on for these issues because of muscle density. My chiro and massage therapist hate working on me because they get a workout trying to loosen everything up. But guess what if I go at least once a month, I have very few episodes now.

 

[Chipper Jones78]

A little of topic, but close enough.

I have a herniated disc. I got this when I was in my early 20's. Did not even know it. I was very active with sports and training.

My back never, ever hurt until one day all I did was bent over while sitting in my bed to get my socks., then it was game over

I fell on all fours and could not move for about 5 minutes.

Short story short, my doc sent me for a MRI, it proved I had a herniated disc with NO prior pain at all.

I went to a chrio a few times after that, to me, he made it worse, it as if I could not function without seeing him.

I stopped going, felt 100% better, and never went back. I have 0 back pain with this problem.

My doc said, becausee I am so active and continue to be, I will not have problems as I have built scare tissue all around that disc. It's only when I sit still it hurts.

Just my .2 cents - I don't like chiro's but I do like deep massage therapy though

 

[salemguy321]

I've been to several chiro's before I found one that I love. I only go in a couple of times a year now to get adjusted. The reason I like this one better than all the rest is he doesn't "crack" your back... EVER! He uses a little thumping type of tool to push vertebrae gently back into place. It's amazing! You dont have to lay or sit or get into any uncomfortable positions. He has these tables that stand upright and lay down flat. So you just walk in, stand on a small platform in front of the table and he lowers the table until it's flat and you're laying on your stomach. When your done he raises it back up.

 

[Styles]

I always said I would never go to one but after my doc told me I should go to this particular one I did.I was experiencing tingling on my entire left side for about 3 months.(head,face,arms,legs ,toes)3 visits in and the tingling was gone.I had a pinched nerve in my neck and he used some static magnetic device and it fixed it.I was also having issues with my hip which somehow that took care of it too.I think I just happened to luck out with a good guy.

 

[kingpeon]

I've been to several chiro's before I found one that I love. I only go in a couple of times a year now to get adjusted. The reason I like this one better than all the rest is he doesn't "crack" your back... EVER! He uses a little thumping type of tool to push vertebrae gently back into place. It's amazing! You dont have to lay or sit or get into any uncomfortable positions. He has these tables that stand upright and lay down flat. So you just walk in, stand on a small platform in front of the table and he lowers the table until it's flat and you're laying on your stomach. When your done he raises it back up.

It's called an 'Activator' and in the hands of the wrong chiro I've found them to be completely useless. Nothing beats highly skilled, hands-on, manual manipulation of bone and deep tissue work. My chiro uses that piece of equipment too once in awhile but she uses it aggressively unlike all the others who have tried it on me.

 

[Tough Old Man]

I work for one. There are varying levels of quality. If you have certain issues, they are a life saver. Other issues can be aggravated by them. I get free adjustments. I KNOW they help me. Instant pain relief. I also, against their advice, got an inversion table. It also is a must have for deadlifts and squats.

The quack thing comes from the fact that doctors are on one side and chiros are on the other. The truth lies in between. Chiros have to make money, so even good ones become scammers by having to convince you to come back twice a week and sell you bullshit homeopathic remedies. If they all worked together, that'd be true medicine.

My boss is a little too anti doctor, but 90% of his approach is honest and healthier than popping pills... But I would like my vicodin and muscle relaxers when I get injured!

The only thing quack about a chiro is they want to take x rays which aren't needed. They can tell by feel if something is not aligned. X rays are just another way for them to make extra money so they can take their receptionist to a hotel / motel for a quickie.

 

[kid1dakota]

Still biting my tongue Eight years of Education and hearing some of this crap is disheartening.But some of the strange things incorporated into the profession by some of the more free spirits literally has made the profession seem like qauckery:banghead: from the outside.

Some of you wouldn't even believe some of the stories I have about professors back in school and some of the individuals I have come in contact with in this profession,lol.

 

[Emery]

Still biting my tongue Eight years of Education and hearing some of this crap is disheartening.But some of the strange things incorporated into the profession by some of the more free spirits literally has made the profession seem like qauckery:banghead: from the outside.

Some of you wouldn't even believe some of the stories I have about professors back in school and some of the individuals I have come in contact with in this profession,lol.

I could say the same for some DO's and MD's... I think it's like any medical profession... you have people that you would let take care of a loved one and others you wouldn't let touch your loved one!

 

[getnwithit]

Chiro is well accepted these days, health insurance will pay for your visits. That should tell you something. Chiro also have to put in some ungodly amount of clinical hrs to even get their license....more than md's if i'm not mistaking... .