It’s tied on the list with witchcraft and voodoo.

I've treated dozens of patients who have suffered strokes, some debilitating or fatal, due to chiropractic neck manipulation. Rapid neck manipulation can severely damage the vertebral arteries which can tear or become clotted, stopping blood flow to parts of the brain. Patients often are not warned of this danger. It's sad, bordering on criminal IMO, that this kind of quackery is presented as a legitimate treatment. Chiro's evidence for their practices is weak and doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. I've personally reviewed thousands of x-rays, MRI's, CT scans of chiro patients that were either normal or abnormal in a way that requires surgery to correct. I cringe when I think about how many of these people received unnecessary and non-helpful "adjustments". I've even seen them trying to do adjustments on cancer patients with bone tumors. All of these "out of alignment" claims that I see are total crap. If your spine is out of alignment, having someone wrenching and popping it isn't going to fix it. It's not going to fix your herniated/degenerated disc, worn out cartilage, or torn ligaments. They are good at making your wallet lighter though. See a real sports medicine doc and get a good massage. Rant over.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

I have a couple of chiropractors in the family and even with that, I haven't been in many years. I'll echo what people have been saying: it just didn't help all that much, was scary (crrrrrrack!), sometimes painful, and they wanted me back three times a week in perpetuity.

I started to realize that any good chiropractor knows the basic premise (spinal "subluxations") is bunk -- and so, they begin to basically become physical therapists. This is the stuff that actually works.

I'm a big believer in PT at this point -- obviously there are a range of good and bad PT practitioners, so do your homework, shop around, get opinions -- and I don't think I will ever darken the doors of a chiropractic office again.

-Eric

I have a few physios in the family and a medical doctor and a few phds in the biological field. (None of which is me)

I would be booted out of the family if I went to a chiropractor.

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Dan Mayberry
Amateur a lot of things, professional a few things.

What a bunch morans!!!!! I mean just scary that most of you have some form of higher education and you go on a bashing fit of something you obviously know nothing about. There are roughly 250,000 U.S. deaths every year caused by medical error. And you guys think Chiropractic is bunk = f%$#ing morans : ) just laughable.

justrunning wrote:

What a bunch morans!!!!! I mean just scary that most of you have some form of higher education and you go on a bashing fit of something you obviously know nothing about. There are roughly 250,000 U.S. deaths every year caused by medical error. And you guys think Chiropractic is bunk = f%$#ing morans : ) just laughable.

Misspelling "moron" is not helping your argument. A medical error is just that; an error. A mistake. Name for me one mistake and consequence free profession and I'll shut up. Until then, pushing junk treatments and snake oil on people is unethical and harmful. Further, my opinion is based on 15 years of experience in medicine.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

I went to a chiro once. I was having unexplained calf pain and had exhausted every other avenue without success. PT, ortho, massage, and every medical test you can imagine. A runner friend suggest chiro. Sure, what could it hurt.

After a very brief evaluation, the chiro put a board under my foot and wacked it with another board. Boom, we're done. 5 minutes.

I said to him, "I hope you don't plan on charging me for this."

He wasn't impressed.

No more chiro for me.

I've been seeing a chiropractor for 15 years. I was drawn to him because very prominent orthopedic docs recommended shoulder surgery that I wanted to avoid. My guy has a DC and Applied Kinesiology credentials, but also does ART and many other therapies. I went to him 2-3 times a week for a few months in the beginning, now I go 4-6 times per year, as needed. He's fixed things like ITBS, hip pain, shoulder issues, low back pain, pinched nerve in neck and many other things over the years.

Chiropractic is not regulated as heavily as traditional medicine, so there are quacks out there. My guy is more like an Alex Guererro (Tom Brady's guy) than a normal rack & crack chiropractor. I'm from Philly area, so NOT a Tom Brady fan, but a 41-year-old quarterback out performing guys half his age deserves respect.

To the folks that lament chiros as quacks, that's fine - stick with Rest, Ice, Surgery, PT and Pain Killers. Those treatments might work for you, but did not work for me. To the folks that complain chiropractors want to see you 2-3 times per week forever, I needed 2-3 times per week to retrain my body to function properly. Many triathlon related injuries have root cause in improper form and muscle imbalances. My guy gave me adjustments along with advice on proper form, as well as strength and flexibility exercises. Once I was properly educated, I only need him a few times per year.

So you begin by saying you ignored the advice of actual medical professionals and then go on to say the only thing that could fix you is a chiropractor. Seems like you're the exact type of person they continue to exploit with their garbage.

I used to go to a chiro when my body told me I was out of alignment and something was not right . I get massaged close to once a week during big training loads especially running. If you are having issues with constant need to be re-aligned you need to work on your core strength I would think. I now go to an osteopath each time I need realigning or a few times leading into my A races just to make sure the body is well tuned. Osteo's seem to work on minor things in your alignment not just a back crack and their manipulation techniques are not as violent. Often lay on your side in some odd position hugging a rolled up towel to manipulate your back in certain ways but what they do seems more isolated on the body to me. I don't get the next day soreness like I used to from a chiro or the body telling me I need to go back to get realigned so soon after a chiro appointment. I am assuming most of you are in the US but I think osteo is more a European thing but readily available her in Australia.

I think all of the "hands on" professions (PT, Chiro, Osteopath, etc) have proposed and used treatments that have minimal scientific/evidence based backing. Heck, even in my 20 years of practice, early in my career, I got caught up in some.

I feel what is missing these days is a lack of a thorough and appropriate musculoskeletal evaluation...especially on patients whom benefit from efficient and proper human movement (ie, runners, cyclists, triathletes, swimmers).

What drives me CRAZY, is when a medical professional creates a "fear"......"if you don't come back and see me, your hips/back aren't gonna stay in alignment" thus creating a dependency that isn't necessary (I hear this from PTs, Chiros and DOs)

I've been much more pleased with results when I started spending more time examining and less time treating using the "flavor of the month" technique.

So in my opinion (although biased), would be to find a professional who knows human movement and evaluation very well and spends the time to look deeper. Most of the other stuff is just fluff.

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CB
Physical Therapist/Endurance Coach
http://www.cadencept.net

I agree as each time I have a osteo the person in front of me leaving is like 'I'll see you next week' which seems to be the business model of the chiro's as well. All I know is there are times I don't feel aligned and then I go and get treated and I may not be back for six months. Leading into races like seeing a dentist I like to get a check up and ensure everything is as it should be. As I said in my post I think you need to work on your core or yes be assessed and have the required exercises so you don't have constant issues. My friend is an exercise physiologist and assessed my body and gave me a program of stretching and exercises that he recommended me to do and have done yoga and now reformer pilates that I find works well for me. You may say there is no science but I listen to my body and it tells me when to go and I feel so much better after an adjustment.

Seems like most people don't know the difference between a D.O. and an M.D. (there isn't one). They certainly shouldn't be classified with chiros.

If you have a real issue, a real doctor with x-rays and imagery and permanent surgeries are what the game is.

Not quack chiropractors.

Go blow that money on a nice mattress, pillow, proper shoes, and actually bother to do some weights in the gym (with good form) and you're good to go.

I've been going to a couple "chiros" for the past 5 years or so. Only as needed. They don't mention alignment. They use things like ART and Graston to keep my knees, neck, etc in check. It's really just a variation on massage because things tend to hurt when tight muscles pull on them.

I go once or twice for a problem area, then I'm good for months. It's really a shame that they are called chiropractors because they don't do anything even remotely similar to a chiropractor from a few decades ago.

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-Physiojoe
Instagram: @thephysiojoe
Cycling coach, Elite racer on Wooster Bikewerks p/b Wootown Bagels

This! Up until I was in my 50s I agreed with most of the opinions until I was referred to a chiro who is a runner. He is now my #1 resource for niggles and issues from training and overtraining in endurance sports. He's kept me in the game the last few years. Also, UHC covers chiro cheaper than PT. If you can find a good one, like I did, they are worth the copay IMHO!

]If you have a real issue, a real doctor with x-rays and imagery and permanent surgeries are what the game is.

Not quack chiropractors.

Go blow that money on a nice mattress, pillow, proper shoes, and actually bother to do some weights in the gym (with good form) and you're good to go.[/quote]



This is actually pretty far from the truth. Strong data showing wasted/unnecessary diagnostic tests (X-rays, MRIs, CTs) and even some orthopedic surgeries that cost the patient a TON (both in money and time). Knee scopes and spine surgeries come to mind.

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CB
Physical Therapist/Endurance Coach
http://www.cadencept.net

This is actually pretty far from the truth. Strong data showing wasted/unnecessary diagnostic tests (X-rays, MRIs, CTs) and even some orthopedic surgeries that cost the patient a TON (both in money and time). Knee scopes and spine surgeries come to mind.[/quote]
The fact that things come with a cost or that an orthopod can't use magic to know whether an x-ray is going to come back with something before doing it doesn't mean they aren't the correct route.

without confirmation bias, placebo effect and wishful thinking their business model disappears.

-Awesome comparisons- perhaps you should be happy so many thousands of people are recovering their health with a natural, Chiropractic based lifestyle, rather than crying bc it doesn’t support your Pharma/Surgical based religious ideology.

CC

Hey ChiroCowboy...do you believe in subluxation?

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

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