When I started fitting, my opinion of chiropractic care was that it was bunk. I found myself being asked frequently for referrals from fit clients dealing with injuries and recurring problems. I, very strictly, referred them to physicians.
When asked why I didn't refer to a chiropractor, I gave all of the reasons already mentioned on this thread. But when my clients visited the physician, the advice they'd get always seemed to be one of three things: stop doing that, let's crack you open and take a look (surgery), or here's a cortisone shot. My clients would report, over and over, that the physicians were no help, didn't appear interested in keeping the athlete training, etc.
A couple of years into fitting, I met a chiro who happens to be a former professional baseball player and accomplished amateur Ironman. I would describe him as a physiologist more than I would describe him as a chiropractor. He has physicians, physical therapists, and massage therapists all in his same practice. He seemed to understand where his scope of practice ends and when it is time to seek the counsel of an orthopedist. I started referring clients to him occasionally.
After that, I got consistent feedback from my clients that, via the treatment recommended and administered by the chiro and his team, their issues were treated effectively and the care they received greatly contributed to healing from injury and preventing injury. In one case, I had a client (and longtime friend) with debilitating hip issues that had seen numerous PTs and orthopedists and podiatrists with no success at great expense. They had also tried some chiropractic care from a chiro their friend recommended, and it didn't help either. But after referring to the chiro I trusted, they successfully identified the cause of her issues after many others far more credentialed had failed. Her treatment and rehabilitation was successful.
I've since met a few other chiros that I think are excellent and deserve respect as medical professionals, but I concede there is no shortage of charlatans with DC behind their name.
So I sympathize with many of the views here skeptical of chiropractic care. I once shared the same view. But my experience has taught me that chiropractic care is simply another tool that can help many athletes dealing with injury. And I also think chiropractic concepts can help a good physiologist or medical professional better understand biomechanics.
That said, I'm not an expert and I'm not smart enough to separate the quacks from the good chiropractors. And by the same token, I'm not able to separate the quacks from the good physicians. But I do think physicians are often given much more deference than is deserved. Like in all professions, incompetence abounds there too.
Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)
When asked why I didn't refer to a chiropractor, I gave all of the reasons already mentioned on this thread. But when my clients visited the physician, the advice they'd get always seemed to be one of three things: stop doing that, let's crack you open and take a look (surgery), or here's a cortisone shot. My clients would report, over and over, that the physicians were no help, didn't appear interested in keeping the athlete training, etc.
A couple of years into fitting, I met a chiro who happens to be a former professional baseball player and accomplished amateur Ironman. I would describe him as a physiologist more than I would describe him as a chiropractor. He has physicians, physical therapists, and massage therapists all in his same practice. He seemed to understand where his scope of practice ends and when it is time to seek the counsel of an orthopedist. I started referring clients to him occasionally.
After that, I got consistent feedback from my clients that, via the treatment recommended and administered by the chiro and his team, their issues were treated effectively and the care they received greatly contributed to healing from injury and preventing injury. In one case, I had a client (and longtime friend) with debilitating hip issues that had seen numerous PTs and orthopedists and podiatrists with no success at great expense. They had also tried some chiropractic care from a chiro their friend recommended, and it didn't help either. But after referring to the chiro I trusted, they successfully identified the cause of her issues after many others far more credentialed had failed. Her treatment and rehabilitation was successful.
I've since met a few other chiros that I think are excellent and deserve respect as medical professionals, but I concede there is no shortage of charlatans with DC behind their name.
So I sympathize with many of the views here skeptical of chiropractic care. I once shared the same view. But my experience has taught me that chiropractic care is simply another tool that can help many athletes dealing with injury. And I also think chiropractic concepts can help a good physiologist or medical professional better understand biomechanics.
That said, I'm not an expert and I'm not smart enough to separate the quacks from the good chiropractors. And by the same token, I'm not able to separate the quacks from the good physicians. But I do think physicians are often given much more deference than is deserved. Like in all professions, incompetence abounds there too.
Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)