next »

[mountainguy]

After persistent stiffness in my neck and upper back that I can't quite seem get rid of, I'm going to see a chiropractor next week for the first time ever. This particular chiropractor comes highly recommended by an acquaintance and has several positive patient reviews from what I've found online, but I have to admit that I'm still a little bit skeptical because of numerous horror stories that I've heard about shady chiropractors. Does anyone have advice about what to watch out for??

[msparticularity]

I went for the first time when I was pregnant and developed sciatica. My doctor, who suggested it, told me to watch for someone who was gentle and who paid attention to my feedback (verbal and physical) during adjustments. He also suggested that I might shy away from anyone who started talking about fixing stuff that went beyond the skeletal/muscular systems. My first chiro was a retired Green Beret who had also been an LA cop. He was a giant man, and the gentlest and most caring health care provider I have ever seen. He listened carefully to everything I said and took me seriously.

Since then, I've seen some of these guys who are way into things like chelation, and/or will try to sell you their patented vitamin formulas. Still, even then, they were also highly competent in doing adjustments, so I just smiled blankly during the sales pitches and went away perfectly satisfied. I think of chiro as being like getting my car aligned; our bodies drive over a lot of pretty rough roads with all we do to them, and they just need periodic adjustment. 

[hulkhogan]

My chiropractor has been able to help me with certain issues, but other people take a rather dim view of the field:

http://www.skepdic.com/chiro.html

[mntwins]

I agree with the previous posters.  Avoid the ones who are trying to sell you vitamins, supplements, etc.  Don't be surprised if intially the chiropractor wants you to come in multiple times.  After that, it should just be routine maintenance adjustments.  I see my chiropractor twice a month and it really helps.  I have also had my children adjusted since birth. 

[madhatter]

I have also had my children adjusted since birth. 

Whoa. That's one creepy sentence.

[spyzowin]

Easy. Don't see one. They're quacks and you could end up eating through a tube and wearing diapers.

[mended_drum]

You might consider massage before a chiropractor, if you haven't tried that.  Several of my friends swear that they get the same results for both for back stiffness, and our insurance covers the masseuse.

[scampster]

I had some persistent neck pain that brought me to a chiropractor. After regular treatment, it is no longer a problem really, but I do have occasional flare ups. I can't tell you if I would have gotten better on my own though. A few things: (1) There are some weird ones out there - but some of the weird ones are still good at adjusting. (2) My chiro doesn't crack things, which was really important to me since I was freaked out by someone cracking my neck. The adjustments are much gentler. (3) My chiro is not of the philosophy that one should see a chiropractor regularly even if you don't have issues. My visits are being phased out slowly (it used to be weekly, now it is every other week, and I will decrease even more until I no longer go at all unless something i acting up). The last two things went a long way for me in terms of trusting my chiropractor - the fact that his goal was to make me not be his patient anymore made me trust him more.

Re: massage - my problem is that my atlas bone (the top vertebrae) pops out of alignment (I can tell when this happens now). I've had massage before and it has not been helpful for my neck. But YMMV.

[infopri]

I've had good chiropracters and not-so-good ones.  First, chime to the warning to stay away from (a) anyone offering more than chiro (vitamins, etc.), and (b) anyone claiming that chiro can cure cancer (or making any similar outlandish claims).  Chiro can reduce pain and increase flexibility--but it can't do much more than that.

There are different styles of chiro.  One guy I used to see never "cracked" anything.  He had a spring-loaded doohickey that sort of hit you (not hard enough to be painful).  My Better Half got some relief from him, but I didn't.  Years later, we both used a guy who did crack us (but not violently), and we both experienced significant improvement in our respective conditions.  But he did other things, too--stretching out the spine (he had a special table for this purpose) and a sort of massage with a special metal tool (hard to describe).  My Better Half and I each had to go two or three times a week at first, but after a few months we were both down to a maintenance schedule of once every three weeks or so--until the insurance quit paying.  (Our policy doesn't cover "maintenance.")

Good luck with it, mountainguy!

[dr_alcott]

Good advice so far. I have none to add, but I'll throw in my experience.

I've seen two chiropractors in the last five years, after years of avoiding them like the plague. The first was a very nice guy, but he was in such a rush that I wasn't sure he was listening to me. The thing I really liked about his practice is that he had me see massage therapist a couple times, one who worked for his practice. There's nothing better than a massage that's paid for by insurance. But in the big scheme of things, I didn't seem to be improving, so I stopped going.

Then I threw my back out--was in incredible pain--and I went to another guy. He definitely helped me feel better. I saw him quite regularly for a while, but I just disliked his personality so much that I was irritated the whole time I was there. I stopped going to him too.

I've been thinking I need to find someone else. I had no idea there were chiropractors who don't crack things! I gotta find me one of them.

[kaysixteen]

Is there any standard for chiropractors?  Anyone who seeks to make sure that serious competence is maintained, and the quacks are shown the door from this 'profession'?  The very history of chiropractic does not inspire a great deal of scientific confidence.

[prytania3]

Is there any standard for chiropractors?  Anyone who seeks to make sure that serious competence is maintained, and the quacks are shown the door from this 'profession'?  The very history of chiropractic does not inspire a great deal of scientific confidence.

My mother always called them quacks until she went to one. Now she swears by them. She has back issues. Unfortunately, her insurance does not cover many chiropractic sessions, so she gets back therapy with an official therapist, who is similar to a chiropractor--just not quite as good.

[alto_stratus]

You might consider massage before a chiropractor, if you haven't tried that.  Several of my friends swear that they get the same results for both for back stiffness, and our insurance covers the masseuse.

Along these lines, I had a physical therapist fix my back.  It was covered by insurance.  In my case, the physical therapist was able to do both back manipulation and massage, as needed to fix the problem.  The PT also showed me what things I needed to change to prevent ending up like that again, and some tips for fixing/easing the pain if it did happen.  The tips, exercises, and back manipulations I picked up from the sessions have been successful enough that I've been able to manage things on my own for years.

[scampster]

You might consider massage before a chiropractor, if you haven't tried that.  Several of my friends swear that they get the same results for both for back stiffness, and our insurance covers the masseuse.

Along these lines, I had a physical therapist fix my back.  It was covered by insurance.  In my case, the physical therapist was able to do both back manipulation and massage, as needed to fix the problem.  The PT also showed me what things I needed to change to prevent ending up like that again, and some tips for fixing/easing the pain if it did happen.  The tips, exercises, and back manipulations I picked up from the sessions have been successful enough that I've been able to manage things on my own for years.

In my state, the chiro lobby is sufficiently strong that PTs aren't allowed to do adjustments. So your ability to use a PT to do the same thing will vary by state.

[zharkov]

Is there any standard for chiropractors?  Anyone who seeks to make sure that serious competence is maintained, and the quacks are shown the door from this 'profession'?  The very history of chiropractic does not inspire a great deal of scientific confidence.

Like any health care provider, they need state licenses.  The mainstream medical community considers them all to be -- more or less -- quacks.   A few years ago, in a conversation that included a member of the mainstream medical community, someone mentioned "Doctor Jones," a chiropractor.  "Doctor?," said the mainstream guy, "Try witch doctor."