Chiropractic Care
What do you all think of going to the chiropractor? Many think it's a bunch of hooey and dangerous. Others swear by it.
I've been to the chiropractor several times, and although I think some of the stuff they say is kind of far fetched, I honestly feel much better after I've been adjusted. I can almost feel my blood circulation improve and I just feel more awake and alive.
I'd love to hear your comments.
I've been to the chiropractor several times, and although I think some of the stuff they say is kind of far fetched, I honestly feel much better after I've been adjusted. I can almost feel my blood circulation improve and I just feel more awake and alive.
I'd love to hear your comments.
Comments
What do you all think of going to the chiropractor? Many think it's a bunch of hooey and dangerous. Others swear by it.
I've been to the chiropractor several times, and although I think some of the stuff they say is kind of far fetched, I honestly feel much better after I've been adjusted. I can almost feel my blood circulation improve and I just feel more awake and alive.
I'd love to hear your comments.
There are two types..."doctors" and "quacks." I have experienced both.
I went to one of the new agey ones who told me I had to come to a new patient breakfast, made me watch a video which was basically anti-doctor, pro-chiropractor propoganda, and proceeded to tell me a bunch of crap about how chiropractic could stop me from getting cancer. People who use this type sometimes don't vaccinate their children. They can cure anything by correcting"subluxations" of the spine. I say...crap.
The second type uses adjustment, ice, heat, tenz (electro-stim), ultra-sound, etc. I went to one of these after walking out of "Dr. Jason's" loony bin offive, described above. The new guy was helpful and had some training neurology training as well.
I didn't buy into that guy's methods and found another chiropractor that actually helped fix my back. They used a combination of ice, heat, massage, and small adjustments and really seemed to know their stuff. They also didn't bad mouth medical doctors while I was in there. I wouldn't see the need to go to a chiropractor again unless my back was really hurting, but that's just me.
I was hesitant about chiropractors, but was hurting too much to not try. I found a D.O., one who has both medical school training plus knows how to adjust a back. It worked. Later, my regular M.D. told me it was a coincidence. My back was in the process of healing at that time. I restrained from laughing out loud.
I now see a regular chiropractor who is both good and cheap. He works three days a week, assembly line fashion. He is in the clinic alone and stops by once to put a heat lamp on my back. He then stops buy 10 minutes later to pop my back, plus my neck, and says goodbye. He works on the honor system. I put my shirt back on, drop a $10 check in the box and go home feeling much better. His waiting room is always full.
This guy likes to hunt and fish, and considers his work just a public service. He wants it to be very affordable. I hope he never retires.
I've been taking placebos for my L5-S1 ruptured disk and I'm doing very well.
There is proof that surgery vs no surgery for back pain has the same 5 year out come.
My wife is a nurse and she would agree with you. Back surgery is not effective in most cases that I have heard about. However, I wouldn't dismiss surgery for all problems.
When you speak of a ruptured disk, I doubt that a chiropractor could do anything useful, but that's just my guess. A chiropractor does a good job of aligning vertebrae and rib connections, and also the lower back and upper pelvic region. For a shoulder injury PT has worked well for me.
You find the same thing for chiropractor vs PT vs do nothing.
Sorry, but I tried the do nothing approach. If my back is out of place very much, I am misserable for several weeks before it gets better. If I go to the chiropractor, it is much better when I leave his office. If it's really bad I may go back once or twice, and each visit produces significant improvement.
Back surgery is not effective in most cases that I have heard about.
When you say back surgery is not effective, do you mean in the long-term?
When you say back surgery is not effective, do you mean in the long-term?
For the typical back injury, surgery gives some relief, but often needs to be repeated and the pain doesn't completely go away. That is feedback from those I know who have had it.
I also know those who had back surgery to correct serious conditions, and it worked well. In one case some bone was removed that had been pinching a nerve. In another, a disk needed repair or moving I believe.
I'm not a doctor.
I just wonder if the treatment is covered by most people's medical insurance.
I googled for Vax-D, and this is one link that came up.
http://americanbackcenter.org/?gclid...FRFYYQodK0SnRQ
VAX-D is at the core of our program for treating severe low back conditions like herniated, bulging, ?slipped? and degenerated discs, facet syndrome, sciatica, and spinal arthritis.
VAX-D is state-of-the-art spinal decompression. It is a non-surgical, non-invasive, and non-chiropractic medical protocol that decompresses lumbar discs and enables them to heal. It has been approved by the FDA since 1989, and its efficacy is backed by eight (8) research studies published in peer-reviewed, medical journals. At the American Back Center we have been successfully treating patients suffering from low back conditions with VAX-D since 1993.
If anyone has experience with this treatment, or knows someone who has, I'd certainly be interested in hearing how well it worked, how many treatments were required, and how much it cost. Thanks.
Wrt chiropractic adjustments, I think they can be very helpful. When I used to go - after a car accident - they'd put me on traction using weights to stretch out my spine for 10-15 minutes, and then the chiropractor would adjust my neck and back.
After several of these treatments, I remember walking through the parking lot to get to my car, and suddenly my nasal passages cleared and were completely open. I don't think I'd ever breathed so well and clearly in my entire life. I had no idea that nasal congestion might be caused by a pinched nerve, so this experience was pretty eye-opening.
There is proof that surgery vs no surgery for back pain has the same 5 year out come. You find the same thing for chiropractor vs PT vs do nothing.
I've been taking placebos for my L5-S1 ruptured disk and I'm doing very well.
That's an easily perverted stat though. I've got a ruptured disc and spinal stenonis as well. I have to take drugs most of the time. It gets better and worse depending. If I over use it, it's not good. I'm starting to get in shape by biking now and it seems to be helping.
In any case, I've done just about every back treatment short of surgery. I've had chiropractic, physical therapy, drugs, multiple spinal injections and a percutaneous decompression (sort of an outpatient thing where they suck out part of the offending disc). Nothing really fixes it. I've been living with it for 5 years. My right leg gets numb and painful, my back hurts, I walk crooked, get stiff and have massive spasms that cause me to almost fall over.
The point is, surgery is an option for some people...and it may be for me. It depends on your problem. If you have a badly rupurted or fragmented disc (or if it interefers with bowel function) then you MUST have surgery.
That's an easily perverted stat though. I've got a ruptured disc and spinal stenonis as well. ...
I would agree that if you have spinal stenosis caused by bone growth then surgery may be a good solution. No amount of PT or exercise is going to make that bone growth not hit at nerve.
In terms of spinal alignment I can't see how it works or has any meaning at all. The spine is the most mobile set of joints in your body. So I can't see how it being "straight" is "correct". I can't see how when you lay down in a table someone can tell that your out of "alignment" when if you stood up and got back down again you'd be out of "alignment" the other way. I need something quantitative and reproducible. I haven't done a lit' search but I'm guessing hat Chiropractors hypothesis driven double blind outcome based research to prove what they do.
In terms of spinal alignment I can't see how it works or has any meaning at all. The spine is the most mobile set of joints in your body. So I can't see how it being "straight" is "correct". I can't see how when you lay down in a table someone can tell that your out of "alignment" when if you stood up and got back down again you'd be out of "alignment" the other way.
My chiropractor does a quick exam and tells me where I hurt, even pushing on the right spot. He then asks whether his analysis is correct. I don't know how he does it, but if it works it's good enough for me.