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Well, I came into this little dome hut to get some chiropractic work done on my neck. It has been hurting for ages - something like 7 or 8 years and I was like, "whatever, it'll go away." Recently, I decided, "meh," I might as well fix it.

So I went to this guy, and he was Jewish, and he was working on that recent holiday. I am not sure of what it was called, Rashashanda or something.

Anyways, they do all the stuff you would think they do like cracking your back. He did the neck-snap thing and I started laughing because of just how surreal it was. I was afraid though, he is kind of like the soup nazi for chiropractory apparently.

Anyways, it made me feel lighter and a little more awake. He says that your body gets "unbalanced" and that you need to rebalance by getting regular sessions. I don't know what to make of that. He probably just wants more customers. Anyway, moral of the story, he couldn't fix my neck, but he said after more sessions, the stress and intensity on my right side will even out.

I prefer... ummm I think it's called gentle traction chiropractic adjustments? It's almost a massage, with wedge shaped pillows placed to help readjust your spine into the shape it should be.

All that rice krispy stuff is scarey.

I go to my Chiro once a month and have been seeing him for the last 8 or 9 years. I look forward to my "rice crispy" session. lol. I recently started some lite yoga excerizes and that also seems to help as it stretches out the muscles and helps to relax the tension.

hhhmmmmm i think they are witch doctors, but that's just me. I've seen them do more damage than good. And you have to keep going back to them to "feel" better.

But us dancers have weird backs and things anyhow.

If you get a chiro that tells you he can cure cancer or something similar, run the other way very quickly. Chiropractors are great for certain things. The AMA's (American Medical Association) position is this: "Manipulation has been shown to have a reasonably good degree of efficacy in ameliorating back pain, headache, and similar musculoskeletal complaints."

"reasonably good"!

And heroin makes people feel pretty darn good too... til you stop taking it!

Rocco:

I don't think your comparison is apt.

just speaking from experience and what i hear from others.

The second you stop going to the witch doctor/chirpractor the pain come back with a vengance.

I had many sessions with one and can honestly say it done nothing for me. In fact I think I am worse now.

Also it is dangerous. Some of those guys have done some serious damage. Work on the neck is the most dangerous.

Be careful.

Mike

I injured my back in college and experienced some degree of back pain for several years. When it became too much to bear and two doctors said that my only option was surgery, I decided to try the witch doctor!(chiropractor) The guy I went to was really good and eliminated my pain after only four or five initial adjustments. Thereafter he recommended monthly maintenance appointments. If I failed to keep up with the maintenance appointments for more than two months, the pain returned. I went to Dr. Bill monthly for at least fifteen years, when the thoughtless SOB died, leaving me chiropractorless. I looked for a substitute chiropractor, and although I have tried ten to twelve others, no one can adjust me the way he did. I found a physical therapist who recommended a series of regular back exercises, and as long as I do them regularly, I'm fine. I'm not sure what all this says except: as in all walks of life, there are some good ones and some not so good. If you have confidence that this guy can fix your neck, go back for the additional sessions, if not, try someone else.

I just started seeing one for lower back pain. Chiropractic makes sense to me, in that the spine is a bunch of disconnected vertebre glued together by spongy gaskets -- so it's easy to knock stuff out of alignment to where the bony parts start to pinch the soft parts. HA! Or was that too technical?!

Yeah, the damn thing keeps a record of every fall and accident you ever had!! Ain't THAT a b?

Anyhoo, I think it's working. I always thought it was voodoo until I needed one. I'm told good chiropractors are great and bad ones can f you up.

The 'rice-crispy' neck treatment scared me 'cause I've seen all those ninja/splinter-cell type movies where people get killed like that -- ACK!

I am also with stripper rocco....they do more harm than good...its psuedo medicine..and they are dangerous because they go around calling themselves doctors and thinking they are...when in fact they arent even close...

I worked with neurosurgeons whose practice was based on fixing the damage done by chiropractors...and they had thriving practices as a result of the damage done...

I recently had the misfortune of knowing a chiropractor who was so bold with his belief that he was a real doctor that he gave out prescription drugs, including pain killlers to his patients...he gets the meds from his father who owns a pharmacy...i still hadnt decided whether to report him to the authorities...but it shows you how cavalier and misguided these so called "doctors" are!!!!!

From my experience...stay as far away from them as possible.

You should continue going to the chiropractor on a regular basis. I go once a week for lower back and neck adjustments and I honestly feel almost insant relief when he pops my neck! Athletes especially should visit the chiropractor regularly!

Yeah, its real great if you have a professional chiro. if you're rich, but otherwise, alternative "alternative treatment" might be better. My guy costs 40 dollars a session - kind of pricy for a once a week thing in my opinion.

I wouldn't consider them like voodoo-esque specialties. They just specialized in fine tuning of the bones and stuff. But yeah, if they don't know what they are doing, I'm sure they can mess you up.

I think it's bizarre there are still people out there that consider this a psuedomedicine...

Hello Ozymandias!

If you feel you need to keep going have at it! While you are at it why don't you also lay some quartz crystals and rose quartz along the spine to sooth and heal. You may also want to leave some Rum and beauty supplies at the grave of Marie LeVeau... just sayin.

I need my back to function correctly and in a certain manner so I will, personally, stay as far away as possible.

It is industry standard for insurance to cover chiropractic treatment. Do you really think they would, if there was any way at allthey could avoid to?
Especially in this world of rising insurance costs...

Perhaps instead of trying to be cute, you could provide references as to the inefficacy of chiropractic treatment...

Other than the two dancers I know personally who went to a chiropractor because of normal dance back and neck pain, and the "adjustments" they received over the span of two years did so much damage that it ended their career?

Eventually the company director told them to go directly to a sports medicine facility instead of the witch doctor, where all the damage was uncovered.

I understand that dance, athletics in general, can be very stressful on the spine, but again heroin get's rid of pain too!

Back pain is a fact of life for athletes and dancers, but there are far more effective, safe, and long term methods to releave the pain such as conditioning and yoga.

I guess it just depends on whether or not you are dilligent enough to work through the pain and over the long term have complete control of it , or you just want a quick fix.

PS There's also that creepy scene at the beginning of "Truth Or Dare" where Madonna is having her neck adjusted... and instead of the "snap crackle pop" the director dubbed the sound of Japan's thunder over her neck's sound. That was MORE than enough for me!

I've been getting chiro care for the past 5 years and it has helped. I've had issues with muscle spasms in my lower back and when that happens, my spine is totally out of alignment. the adjustments I now get are pretty minimal. I've never had anything done with my neck, and I think I probably stay away from that stuff.

For my back issues, I try to pay attention to what is going on there. If there is some tension in my lower back, then it's time for some heat and some good lower back stretching

As an aside... as you can tell from most of my other posts, i am pretty extreme. I don't mean to offend, and if things work for others thats great... like having a pet dog (see other thread).

I'm really not a big b!tch... just strongly opinionated. That's all.

and I'm done.

I have no arguement for hearsay.

oh well.
Guess that means you're right and chiropractic treatment are just a crazy hoax like the couple who who heard about the killer with the hook then drove home and found a hook attached to their bumper.

It's not a hoax. But the hook was attached to the door handle and the girl in the passenger seat had gone missing.

Get your facts right!

Chiropracters do earn a doctorate degree, and some are authorized to prescribe medication. The D.C degree requires a 4 year degree with science/pre-med focus just to be admitted and then includes another 4 years of a mix of standard medicine and chiropractic courses. All of this followed by testing for certification.

What I have uncovered in researching the field (I may be going back to school for a D.C.) indicates that a good Chiropractor uses modern diagnosis, works with other medical professionals, and takes a more holistic approach to medicine which can include addressing diet, exercise, stress reduction, etc. along with the now famous "crack yer bones" techniques.

I agree with some others here. Bad experiences may be more about the people than the profession. There are unskillful people in every profession - having a doctorate does not necessarily mean you are an awake, intuitive, precise, examining, etc. kind of person.

And, because insurance is ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY, it's a good guess that mathmatical models have shown that going to the chiropractor reduces or at least has no effect on the amount of money an insurance company makes/loses per customer.

Chiropractors can offer great services. The problem, though, is that some only help realign the hard tissue structures (bones) without paying attention to the soft (muscles, tendons, ligaments). Soft tissue structures quickly adapt to the poorly aligned bone structures and become too long/short. The chiro puts the bones back in order, but over a short period of time, the soft tissues will pull them right back into the pre-adjusted position, requiring subsequent visits. It's basically like taking Tylenol P.M. to cover the symptoms of a cold. It doesn't fix the problem. However if a chiropractor is good, s/he will help you learn how to realign the structures of the body so you don't have to keep returning.

I spent hundreds of Euro on Chiropractic treatment and have nothing to show for it.

My parents have done the same an nothing to show for it. In fact my parents have seen more that one.

My sister sees one on a regular bases, and she thinks it is great, yet she is always complaining about her back. Believe me if she continues with it she will have a walking stick before she is 50.

I here people singing there praises all the time and the guy I went to is considered one of the best. But I don't see it.

When he cracks your bones is seems to get some kind of pleasure out of it. That is not a joke. I did think he got pleasure out of cracking my bones.

Even if you are getting some kind of relief out of it, if you have to keep going back then he or she is not fixing the problem and if you have to go back every week there is something seriously wrong with that.

SDtriner makes a good point.

Mike

Since I've got a hypermobilty disorder (bones don't tend to stay where they should) I tend to have things go out of whack, pinch nerves, etc. Because of that, I do need to go to a chiropractor and have been since I was in my teens. I need to go less now, and I'm the one who decides when to go (I don't have a "see you next week" relationship with my chiropractor.)

That said, Swogdog is right that DC's get most of the same training as MD's do, and the two chiropractors that I've worked with have both been collaborative and very much interested in working in line with other medical professionals. I've usually noticed that the "non-alternative" medical professionals are the one's the poo-poo it more, and it's usually when they have no idea what's going on.

I'm a big proponent of the crack-crack type of chiropractor, as I've found that whenever I've met with a soft-touch guy, I'm usually back to where I was two hours after the appointment.

My first chiropractor had a great sign on the wall

"If you problem is not a chiropractic problem, chiropractic will not help you. If you problem is a chiropractic problem, nothing else will help you."

Has anyone heard of rolfing?

http://www.rolf.org/about/index.htm

Yep, gone through the 10 sessions many years ago. Supposedly it's painful, but I have such a high pain threshold (see not about pinching nerves above) that it wasn't too bad for me. Again, good for some people, especially if you have particular, deep tightness.

I get Rolfed every three weeks. Tomorrow is my next appointment.

I am thinking to get it done. Just wondering if it worked or if it is worth it. I am very out of line.

Mike

Several years ago, I was in a car accident (drunk driver hit me). At first, I could feel nothing from the waist down, nor could I make my legs move. I was placed on a back board and, with a cervical collar in place, was taken to the local ER. After hours of waiting, they finally sent me to x-ray then brought me back to the trauma room. After many more hours, a doctor finally came in and said he could find nothing wrong and I should take tylenol if it started hurting. I should also follow up with a neuro-surgeon he was recommending. A few hours later, I was in extreme pain, which got worse by morning... to the point of not being able to walk.

I went to a chiropractor who is the reason I was able to walk out of that first appointment with much less pain. She got me realigned with a few follow-up visits and the pain went completely away. I've had no related problems since.

Chiropractic medicine is like anything else... there are practitioners that know what they are doing and can help in ways no one else can. There are also practitioners that are real quacks and do more harm than good. You have to check references, check the state licensing board for previous disciplinary action/complaints, etc, in order to wisely choose the chiropractor you're going to trust with your spine.

I used to go to a chiropractor once a month then once every few months, but since going to the gym and working on strengthening the muscles that support my head and body I havent needed it anymore. The pain in my neck, from an auto accident in college, is gone!! I also do yoga 3 times a week. I use the money I save for a great massage now and then-no happy ending- a real one.

Not jewish here but surprised you didn't get heat from that comment? "Anyways"

Chiropractors Rock!

I've been seeing my chiropractor for about 10 years now, typically only need to go in once or twice amonth for an adjustment forlower back and neck pain ( i have to stoop over alot at work )

Before trying chiropractic I went to a regular physician whose only fix was a perscription for strong motrin.

I'll take the occasional neck/back snap over downing pills everyday Thank ya very much

I'm about to graduate as a doctor of chiropractic in December. Unfortunately, there are good and bad doctors everywhere, chiropractors included. Our field is particularly susceptible due to the fact that there are no public chiropractic colleges, and interest in becoming a chiropractor isn't exactly booming. Therefore, in order to make money, most of the private colleges have to accept pretty much any person who has met the minimum prerequisites (which happen to be the same for medical and dentistry schools). So, because most people have no idea what it is we do or what kind of training we receive, we really get a lot of sub-par students.

I have my Bachelor's degrees in genetics and biochemistry from University of Wisconsin at Madison. I did research for 3 years, and decided it wasn't for me. I graduated with a 3.4, which would have been extremely difficult to parlay into an MD, but had chiropractic suggested to me by my genetics advisor because of the help she had gotten from hers.

I was extremely skeptical about the field of chiropractic, but ... the more I looked into it, the more research I uncovered that lended credibility to the profession. I decided upon a school that has a reputation for being evidence-based, but not wanna-be medical doctors. I have no problem with medical doctors, but our approaches are very different, and should be respected as such.

There are schools that are not like mine and profess to be superior to medicine and cure all diseases. This is obviously not a scientifically-founded stance to have, and we as a profession are shifting more and more away from that way of thinking. Conversely, we have schools that attempt to be as much like medical doctors as possible, which I think is equally flawed. We should examine a patient as a whole and go after the cause, not the symptom.

Without going to far into it, have there been some bad effects from chiropractic when used irresponsibly? Yes. Usually, those unfortunate events result in a very mild sprain/strain, which can be easily ameliorated by icing. At it's worst, it can can cause a fractured rib if, say, a forceful thrust is made on a person's thoracic spine and they have osteoporosis.

I have never, ever heard of anyone fracturing someone's neck, and I'm in a school with about 100 students adjusting patients. I'm pretty sure if it was even remotely likely, someone in my school would have done it by now. I would have to put in about 100 times more force in my neck adjustment to even THINK about fracturing anything.

If anyone has any questions about chiropractic ... who we are ... what we do ... if you've had a bad experience and want to know what happened, or are unfamiliar or curious, please feel free to message me. I would be more than happy to talk to anyone about it.

I've had positive experiences with chiropractors. It's been years since I've had an adjustment. The process of learning how to do them isn't the bulk of a chiropractor's training. At least that's what I was told by a buddy of mine whom I used to know and is still a chiropractor to this day.

The people on this thread that are whining about how worthless they believe chiropractors to be are just being bitches. Oh and hey let's go through all the trouble of mentioning some tired ass lame movie that dear ol' Madge did to reference why we don't like chiropractors. "Oh Madge..you can't sing for shit and watching you act is almost as exciting as wiping my ass but god I wanna be you, I mean! I love you!"

Hey if Madge doesn't approve, neither do I!!

Disclaimer:
I'm really not a big bitch. I simply like to hurl insults and castrate people's accomplishments/beliefs/viewpoints that I don't approve of. Don't take it as an outlandish expression of total utter disrespect. I'm simply a very opinionated guy. I....

Ooooh!! Wait!! Madge song is playing on the radio!! Gotta go practice my stripping! Madge music is great for perfecting my lap dance moves!! Damn! I'm so wonderful....

I surprised nobody mentioned that orthopods (DOs) practice spinal manipulation also and it is part of their training. DOs Doctors of Orthopedic Medicine have all the same training as MDs but they also believe that you treat the person as a whole an not just the symptom. Surprisingly today the MD schools at least in this country have taken some good things from the DO programs, Like actually teaching something about bedside manner and talking with the patient and listening to the patient. One of the MAIN reasons I use DOs is their overall attitude towards the patient's part in their own recovery. BTW DOs will do most of the same spinal manipulations as a chiropractor but wont be asking you to come back for weekly or monthly treatments. There are also chiropractors that think they can cure a whole range of medical ailments through realignment of the spine, They scare me personally. Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine just want to get you back where you should be and not milk you for money. By the way My background is Emergency Medicine and Hospital Administration. As a professor at U of D I taught Medical Ethics. So if you want to take exception with me be my guest. 38 years in health care and the top of my profession I probably have more stories than you. Ive also been called to Chiropractors offices as a Paramedic and Im offended when they misdiagnose and sometimes do more injury than good. AMW

A friend and I were talking about this the other day, and I wondered if there had ever been any reports of patients having a broken back or neck during a chiropractic appointment. I mean, it HAS to have happened at least once, right?

Well, our Google-fu didn't reveal anything about broken bones from chiro treatments, but it DID reveal something that has quite a bit of research around it: the incidence of stroke related to Chiropractic adjustments. Apparently, there's some pretty interesting cause and effect going on. Multiple reports of healthy people having strokes within 24 hours of a chiropractic neck manipulation.

Apparently, the theory is that the vertebral artery can be stretched during a neck manipulation enough to tear the delicate lining, leading to a small blood clot that then releases and travels to the brain and causes a stoke.

More info here:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html

the research suggests that if your going to have a stroke, your going to have one...also you have equal chance of going to a general practitioner about your neck pain and having a stroke as you are by going to a chiro


VBA stroke is a very rare event in the population. The increased risks of VBA stroke associated with chiropractic and PCP visits is likely due to patients with headache and neck pain from VBA dissection seeking care before their stroke. We found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care.

Cassidy, J.D. et al. (2008.) Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: results of a population-based case-control and case-crossover study. Spine.15;33(4 Suppl):S176-83.

BH_nexus saidthe research suggests that if your going to have a stroke, your going to have one...also you have equal chance of going to a general practitioner about your neck pain and having a stroke as you are by going to a chiro


VBA stroke is a very rare event in the population. The increased risks of VBA stroke associated with chiropractic and PCP visits is likely due to patients with headache and neck pain from VBA dissection seeking care before their stroke. We found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care.

Cassidy, J.D. et al. (2008.) Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: results of a population-based case-control and case-crossover study. Spine.15;33(4 Suppl):S176-83.

Very interesting, although I DO have to question when this sure-fire information comes from someone studying to be a Chiropractor. There's been quite a few studies done that do not have the same findings as the one you listed. Namely,

Homola S. Inside Chiropractic: A Patient's Guide. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1999.
Norris JW and others. Sudden neck movement and cervical artery dissection. Canadian Medical Journal 163:38-40, 2000. [PDF}
Lee KP and others. Neurologic complications following chiropractic manipulation: A survey of California neurologists. Neurology 45:1213-1215, 1995.
Powell FC and others. A risk/benefit analysis of spinal manipulation therapy for relief of lumbar or cervical pain. Neurosurgery 33:73-79, 1993.
Haney DQ. Twist of the neck can cause stroke warn doctors. Associated Press news release, Feb 19, 1994.
Coulter I and others. The Appropriateness of Manipulation and Mobilization of the Cervical Spine. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1996, pp. 18-43.
Di Fabio R. Manipulation of the cervical spine: Risks and benefits. Physical Therapy 79:50-65, 1999.
Terrett AGJ. Current Concepts in Vertebrobasilar Stroke following Manipulation. West Des Moines, IA: National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., 2001.
Terrett AGJ. Current Concepts: Vertebrobasilar Complications following Spinal Manipulation. West Des Moines, IA: NCMIC Group, Inc., 2001.
Rotherwell DAM and others. Chiropractic manipulation and stroke. Stroke 32:1054-1059, 2001.
Bousser MG. Editorial comment. Stroke 32:1059-1060, 2001.
Stevinson C and others. Neurological complications of cervical spine manipulation. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 94:107-110, 2001. [PDF]
Ernst E. Spinal manipulation: Its safety is uncertain. Canadian Medical Association Journal 166:40-41, 2002. [PDF]
Beletsky V. Chiropractic manipulation may be underestimated as cause of stroke. Presented at the American Stroke Association's 27th International Stroke Conference, San Antonio, TX Feb 7-8, 2002.
Smith WS and others. Spinal manipulative therapy is an independent risk factor for vertebral artery dissection. Neurology 60:1424-1428, 2003.
Reuter U and others. Vertebral artery dissections after chiropractic neck manipulation in Germany over three years. Journal of Neurology 256:724-730, 2006.
Thiel HW and others. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the spine. Spine 32:2375-2378. 2007.
Cassidy JD and others. Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: Results of a population-based case-control and case crossover study. Spine 33(4S):S176-S183, 2008.
Crislip M. Chriopractic and stroke: Evaluation of one paper. Science-Based Medicine Blog, July 17, 2008.
George PE and others. Identification of high-risk pre-stroke patient. ACA Journal of Chiropractic 15:S26-S28, 1981.
Sullivan EC. Prevent strokes: Screening can help. The Chiropractic Journal, May 1989, p 27.
Chapman-Smith D. Cervical adjustment: Rotation is fine, pre-testing is out, but get consent. The Chiropractic Report 13(4):1-3, 6-7, 1999.
Terrett AGJ, Kleynhans AM. Cerebrovascular complications of manipulation. In Haldeman S (ed). Principles and Practice of Chiropractic, Second Edition. East Norwalk, CT: Appleton and Lange, 1992.
Haldeman S, Kohlbeck F, McGregor M. Cerebrovascular complications following cervical spine manipulation therapy: A review of 53 cases Conference Proceedings of the Chiropractic Centennial, July 6-8, 1995, 282-283. Davenport IA: Chiropractic Centennial Foundation, 1995.
Haldeman S and others. Unpredictability of cerebrovascular ischemia associated with cervical spine manipulation therapy. Spine 27:49-55, 2001.
Magner G. Informed consent is needed. In Magner G. Chiropractic: The Victim's Perspective. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995, pp 177-184.
Henderson D et al. Clinical Guidelines for Chiropractic Practice in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Chiropractic Association, 1994, p 4.
Coroner's jury concludes that neck manipulation killed Canadian woman. Chirobase, Jan 22, 2004.
Chiropractic clinical practice guideline: Adult neck pain not due to whiplash. Summary of recommendations. Canadian Chiropractic Association, Nov 2005.
Chiropractic clinical practice guideline: evidence-based treatment of adult neck pain not due to whiplash. Canadian Chiropractic Association Journal 49:158-209, 2005.
The Nette's Story. YouTube, accessed June 18, 2008.
Barrett S. Stroke triggers class-action suit. Chirobase, June 18, 2008.
Stewart B and others. Statement of concern to the Canadian public from Canadian neurologists regarding the debilitating and fatal damage manipulation of the neck may cause to the nervous system, February 2002.

I think manipulation has a place, if you knock yourself out of alignment, but, after that, I think the rest is quackery. I think repeat manipulation will encourage weakness via ligament laxity.

I know that if I need my low back popped, I can just go do a heavy leg press, and everything snaps into place. I know if I need my mid-back popped I can take two dumbbells and lie down on a bench pop, pop, pop. I know if I cross my legs and twist I can pop my back like a wrestler, or in pinch I can even do my own neck.

I know that I extremely rarely have problems because my muscles, and supporting structures, are all strong, well-developed, and in good health. The muscle mass, in the support it provides for your skeletal system keeps s a person pain and injury free. A strong body rarely gets "tweaked." I don't have ligament laxity, because of my extremely strong muscular system, so I never have to deal with the pain that is resultant from weakness. A strong, well-developed back, or neck, doesn't have problems because of the supporting muscle. It's as easy as that.

Resistance training is crucial for strong bones, skeletal alignment, prevention of diseases of aging, a fast metabolism, and back pain prevention.

The last time I visited with a chiropractor in office (I train with them almost every day), he remarked about how thick and well-developed my lower back / erectors were, saying they were the thickest he had ever seen in his practice for anyone my height. That's what happens when you stiff-leg deadlift 315 for reps for 20 years.

To be fit, one has to have all the components of fitness, including a strong skeletal muscle system.

One of the true benefits of being a "Real Jock" is the health benefits that one enjoys.

A good general rule to follow is that if something is weak, the worst possible thing you can do is to coddle it, because it makes that part weaker. If your back hurts, work your back AND your abs. If your neck hurts, work your neck in a variety of motions under resistance. It's a sure-fire way for a pain-free lifestyle. Being strong fixes the underlying issues that allowed you to get "tweaked up" in the first place. It's a total no-brainer. If you're fat, get unfat, because the extra DEAD weight will cause you a world of grief and disease.

A strong body; a strong mind; balance.

Just think about Dick Cheney and his embarrassing back problems next time you feel like skipping a workout

Saves money on chiropracty.

check this out. i have tried it on guys complaining about the neck/ headache thing. its awesome...its fixing my chronic bad posture in that area.

http://www.realjock.com/article/1321

Chest lats spine wall test.

I'm a DO fan. My old training partner in Phoenix was a DO, and we've had long talks on all this stuff.

Chiropractic is my favorite, because I am into non-surgical, drug-free, and more nature. Medical Doctors are like drug dealers and I waste all my money for nothing.

Here in Britain we have a National Health Service (NHS), a wonderful system where every earner pays National Insurance from his salary or wages. This creates a public purse from which visits to the GP (General Practitioner) to undergoing a major op is free to each patient. (We have private hospitals here as well, patroned by the wealthy). When my wife was due to go into labour, I had a chance to look around a large NHS hospital, checking the departments. Physiotherapy was included but not chiropractics. I have back trouble, a recurring problem which began in 1973 when, as a poolside lifeguard, I acted a fool when showing off my arm strength to fellow guards by lifting a man clear from the water with one hand. My back went that very moment. Since then, I attended physiotherapy, where I received a course of floor exercises to be done at home.
Reading Fierceyes's profile, I was interested to find out what exactly is chiropractics, so I turned to the Wikipedia to read on the subject. To my disappointment, it turned out to be alternate medicine, not recognised by mainstream doctors. In other words, on the same par as acupuncture and holistic medicine. That may be the reason why I did not find a chiro dept at a NHS hospital.

I view Chiropractic as alternative medicine. Certainly not a replacement for conventional medicine, but not harmful and even beneficial (just not in the range of what some chiropractors claim, which is plain and simple quack medicine).

In fact, Chiropractic has been part of the Filipino healing tradition for centuries. It's called Hilot in our language and used primarily to heal muscle strains and fatigue, broken and dislocated bones (back when there were no doctors), as well as just make the patient feel good. Note that the wikipedia article is wrong. We do not call practitioners of Hilot as Masahista (which is simply "One who does Massage" from Spanish), we call them Manghihilot.

I've availed of their services more than once growing up, one of my grandmothers being from a clan which taught Hilot through their womenfolk (my mom knows it a bit). It seems like a mixture of very rigorous massage and bone manipulation mixed with esoteric mumbo-jumbo. I've had dislocations set back and healed by manghihilots as well as muscle strains and the like. It feels good, but it's obviously NOT scientific, and none of our manghihilots make that claim unlike chiropractors.

Oh well, here goes, a short spoof

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CHIRO PATIENT....

My wife looked me in the eye as we stood in the waiting room outside the Chiropractic's surgery.
"You sure you want to go through with this? She asked. "It's quackery!"
"Oh, I want to give the young fellow the benefit of the doubt." I replied. "I am the idiot, showing off to my fellow lifeguards as I did. I get what I deserve!"
"Yea, a life of recurring backache. But I'm sure this is not the answer."
"Oh, come on." I reasoned. "The lad has only graduated recently. Give him a chance".
The door opened directly behind me and a lisping voice announced, "Next patient please!"
My wife peered over my shoulder and cried out, "Look dear, I must go and buy some groceries while you have your appointment."
"Can't you just sit here and wait for me? I shouldn't be long."
"No way! This place is freaking me out. I'll collect you after your appointment. I've gotta go!"
As she rushed out of the building, I entered his surgery to be confronted by a dashing blond, a tad taller than me. Traces of black mascara remained on his eyelids. Then I remembered the date. He must have attended a Halloween bash last night. This might have scared the daylights out of my wife.
We each took a seat, and talked. After settling his exorbitant bill, he then asked me to strip off all my clothes, and lay on the bed, sideways, facing him.
He placed one hand on my rump, and squeezed. With the other hand he began to tweak my peps, stroking and pumping them.
His voice grew very husky, accompanied with a slight tremor. As he spoke, his breath reeked of garlic he ate with his meal during the party.
"This is necessary". He began. "I must manipulate to work out whether the natural co-ordination between rump and peps is in alignment to perfect harmony and body tone. Like this I can diagnose your backache, and bring back the harmony between bone, ligaments and muscle fibers. Rather like Yin and Yan. The joints are the most important part of my treatment"
I felt a tear roll across the bridge of my nose, then spotted the linen directly underneath it. Also I was beginning to murmour a prayer.
"Dear, dear God." I whispered. "I thank You dearly for not sticking a bone in the scrotum when You created it...

what is it with American´s and chiros? Í´ve been a few times, thought it was a waste of time and gave up. Spend your money on Thai massage or Shiatsu.

I don't use chiropractic treatment for injury....I use it for maintenance.....

People tend to think you go to a chiro only because you're "hurt"....I go to avoid getting hurt.

I always use the analogy of a buying a car and taking it in for maintenance upkeep.....if you don't take it in and have the oil changed, lubed and checked, eventually something is gonna break down.

Same thing with the dentist or even an MD....if we spent more time on preventative care and less on reactive care, we'd be a much healthier society.

Everything in life is like this.....we fail to appreciate what we have until its broke or gone....then we fall into the "What if" mindset.....of I wonder if I would have done........this wouldn't have happened.

I think there is a place for the all of divisions of healthcare, although with myself working in healthcare I can say there are many practitioners who step beyond their standards of care. I definitely feel that manipulations and mobilizations (essentially the same thing with the difference being manipulations are at a high force and short duration, and mobilizations are lower force and longer durations more comparable to a stretch) can be an effective part of a treatment, but rarely it is ever a single cure-all technique. There are several professions that utilize manual techniques including Chiropractors, DOs, PTs, ATs, and I've even know some Massage Therapists to use mobilizations. However, it is the practitioners responsibility to objectively assess the signs/symptoms and be able to make an appropriate decision on whether the specific condition warrants their respective treatments. This is called differential diagnosis, and all licensed medical professionals are educated on the ability to determine if a condition is medical or musculoskeletal. It is also the responsibility of the patient to be educated on the procedures in which they are part of, so it is important to ask how a particular treatment is going to help fix the problem. If the doctor or therapist doesn't answer, or the answer doesn't make rational sense to how it really can work, then always seek another opinion from another person in that field, and always refer to your general physician as well. Lastly, if a manual technique doesn't improve your symptoms over the first few visits, or requires you to have the technique to be performed for the rest of your life, most likely there is better options for treatment.

Be careful of neck manipulation. The cervical vertebra are small and can be easily damaged. In the low back, the lumbar vertebra are large and not easily damaged. Manipulation is safer in that locale.
Here is an article from Quackwatch about strokes following cervical manipulation. Quackwatch is a good web page that looks at medical treatments scientifically. Weeds out all the are quacks out there.
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html

I go on a monthly basis, unless there is an issue, such as a muscle knot or adjust that needs to be made.

Recently my workout partner, took a huge fall while snow boarding, he had never been and once I got him to go, he is now an adovcate for seeing the dr.

Chiropractors run the gamut from life savers to quacks. Probably the best thing to do is to ask everybody you know if they know of a great chiropractor. From working out for many years, my neck was getting more and more stiff until I could hardly move it. That's when I started seeing a chiropractor. I go in there feeling stiff and sore, and come out very limber and feeling great ! A good chiropractic adjustment should immediately relieve the pain in your neck. That makes me think that it might be something more involved. If I were you, I'd get it X-rayed to see what's going on in there.

There are many good chiropractors. I also have to give props here to the great accupuncture doctors. There was one at Stanford who helped me avoid a back operation through his treatments - so I'm a huge fan.

I've known a few chiropractors as friends. They're healers and I get along with them very well.

The adjustments are great. I'm a believer.

You should always ask your primary care physician if chiropractic is an appropriate treatment for your diagnosis before receiving manipulations. Remember, chiropractors are not medical doctors. Check with an MD before going to a chiropractor, or you might make your condition worse. Chiropractic manipulations are good for certain conditions (degenerative joint disease in the neck or back) but not others (herniated disc). Additionally, you should only see a chiropractor for 4-8 weeks. If you are not better after this time frame, it is time to seek other treatment options like physical therapy, injections, accupuncture, or surgery.

A few people have already mentioned http://quackwatch.org/, a good website to start with if you have questions about any alternative medical treatment. Another website that deals specifically with chiropractic is http://www.chirobase.org/. Quackwatch borrows from or links directly to Chirobase for much of its content on chiropractic.

If you don't have the time or interest to read everything on these websites, a good summary of everything is here:

"What a Rational Chiropractor Can Do for You" http://www.chirobase.org/07Strategy/goodchiro.html

If you don't have the time or interest to even read that one article, my summary below:

1. There is evidence that chiropractic is generally safe and effective for treating back pain.

2. There is evidence of an unquantified but significant risk that neck adjustments can cause strokes. This risk is significant enough that they (Chirobase) recommend you only allow neck adjustments if you have a specific neck problem. Do not allow neck adjustments as part of general "maintainence." And even if you have a specific neck problem, massage or physical therapy may be just as effective.

3. There is almost no evidence that chiropractic can work for other health problems.

4. Chiropractors generally do not have the educational background to advise on vaccinations, something many of them advise against.

Just for background, my personal interest in this is based on unfortunate gentics that led to a bad back and many visits to chiropractors, physical therapists, and orthopedic doctors. My personal experiences have been mostly positive with chiropractors, mixed with physical therapists, and mostly negative with doctors.

What you said is true about chiropractors. Orthopedic surgeons don't have a great interest in treating garden variety back pain. They would rather treat fractures, do joint replacements and other mentally stimulating surgical procedures.. Treating back pain is so "cook book" all you can do is sent someone to physical therapy, give pain killers (risk addiction), muscle relaxants(which have minimal therapeutic effect) and rest. If you have a ruptured disk or nerve compression this is not garden variety back pain and surgery might be necessary. In my home town, none of the orthopedic surgeons will give you an appointment for back problems. Your family physician would follow the " cook book" approach.

Myself I like my osteopath. He is a medical doctor and also practices spinal manipulation when necessary. He is never fast to push pills and He is only interested in my getting better. He may do one spinal manipulation if Im having a problem of some type but doesnt ask me to come back on a monthly basis. Oh BTW I have scoliosis and manage it with general stretching every day. A chiropractor would really see $$$$$ in me... LOL

I swear by chiropractors...if u get da right one manual traction is da best my lumbar stays in perfect shape with them...i fear western medicine docs...too many prescriptions

I had poor or no results from chiropractors who want me to set up as recurring a schedule. I have had good to excellent results from those who can see me the same or next day because I hurt my back or neck.

I only go to the Chiropractor when I need to, such as sore upper back from working overhead on a ladder, or sore lower back maybe even sciatica from shoveling too heavy. A few times I have been told by the good chiropractors "that was pretty bad, it might take more than one adjustment to make it right" and they have been right about 1/2 the time. I NEVER make my next appointment as I am leaving his office; I won't really know until the day after tomorrow or maybe later whether one adjustment was enough for any particular instance.

"Next patient!" came the call.
I walked into the doctor's office.
A thought crossed my mind. "I have seen this young guy before...didn't he have blond hair? Now it's much darker...bless my soul, my memory seem to be letting me down lately. Maybe I'm getting on in years..."
After explaining to him about my mucus rumblings in the trachea or bronchi, he then picked up his stethoscope, and with it, asked me to lift up my tee shirt until the lower edge was just below my throat.
"NIPPLES!", he suddenly cried, loud enough to wake up the sleeping patient outside in the waiting room.
"Er, er, yea", I stammered. "I had them ever since before I was even born".
A middle-age female assistant walked in, sighing and shaking her head as she lowered a cup of steaming coffee at the doctor's desk.
After the appointment was over, I approached the assistant.
"This young doctor, is he all right? I mean, he scared the life out of me!"
"I have worked with doctors for over thirty years!" She answered, "Gay doctors are always a bit odd."
"Really?"
"Yea, really. But like me, you'll soon get used to it."

It is never a good idea IMO to have a quick neck adjustment on the cervical spine-more bad than good can and will occur over time!

Pure pseudoscience.

Delivis saidPure pseudoscience.

you feel better for saying that, do you Bunnykins?

Lostboy said

Delivis saidPure pseudoscience.

you feel better for saying that, do you Bunnykins?

I sure do!

I pop my upper back in when I do chest presses.
I pop my lower back in when I do leg presses.
My neck never gives me any trouble because it's 19 inches of muscle.
When my low back hurts, I work my abs harder, and it stops hurting.
If my mid back hurts, I roll on the floor and it pops right in.
To pop my mid back, I twist with a bar, or do a wrester's stretch on the floor. Works every time.

Bottom line: if you're weak, things pop out and move around. If you're strong, and healthy, there's no need for manipulation. Manipulation puts something back where it should be, BUT, for a healthy person, it shouldn't get out of place. The moral of the story? Lift weights. Stay in shape. Keep enough muscle on you to stay healthy.

It's funny. I know many chiropractors who look like, or who actually are, competitive bodybuilders. Without exception, they all say, if folks would get in shape, I'd be out of a job.

It's important to have a strong body and a strong mind. The two go together.

Manipulation provides temporary relief to give you time to fix the problem (typically an imbalance of not being in shape). The rest of chiropractic is mumbo-jumbo.

SoCalAmerican, the chiropractors are always better than any doctors. If you really need a surgery, then the medical doctor will be better. chiropractors help people keep out of medicine and surgery. that is why i love them. medical doctors are like drug dealers and want people get crazy with drugs. people don't understand that body only heal not the medicines. medicines will make you sick a lot more. I am against vaccine flu shots or any medicines.

Actually I´m not convinced by the USA addiction to their chiropractors. Traditional chinese medicine has a much longer track record. Go and get a shiatsu session or Thai massage. Or do yoga/pilates.

sxydrkhair saidSoCalAmerican, the chiropractors are always better than any doctors. If you really need a surgery, then the medical doctor will be better. chiropractors help people keep out of medicine and surgery. that is why i love them. medical doctors are like drug dealers and want people get crazy with drugs. people don't understand that body only heal not the medicines. medicines will make you sick a lot more. I am against vaccine flu shots or any medicines.

Try having tonsillitis that is misdiagnosed and not treated. You will LOVE medicine after that.

sxydrkhair saidSoCalAmerican, the chiropractors are always better than any doctors. If you really need a surgery, then the medical doctor will be better. chiropractors help people keep out of medicine and surgery. that is why i love them. medical doctors are like drug dealers and want people get crazy with drugs. people don't understand that body only heal not the medicines. medicines will make you sick a lot more. I am against vaccine flu shots or any medicines.

LOL!