Chiropractors

[Richard English]

What do you all think of chiropractors?

Lot of talk about this all over, so I'm curious.

[Coach Flanagan]

I love Chiropractic. Plain and simple.

[Coach Bentz]

As a massage therapist, I worked very closely with two excellent chiropractors, and have nothing but respect for the profession.

Like all professions, you get great ones, and you get those that basically survived school, but when you find the good ones in your area, keep them in your arsenal of health practitioners.

[Coach Gostnell]

In my "extended family", we've had experience with both....effective and ineffective chiropractors. As with any health care professional, the experience can be more productive if you're comfortable with the person, s/he explains things fully, listens well, truly works WITH you on your treatment/recovery, and understands your need to also take responsibility for your health.

Along with that, chiropractors seem to understand the body as a system, rather than a bunch of barely related parts, which view seems a little more common among MDs.

I've been extremely fortunate to have encountered Dr. Teagle (sometime Forum member) - in fact, he started me - and many another client - on Warrior Wellness, 'way back when. His office partner is also excellent, so like Brian, I have great respect for the profession.

[KD Jones]

I came from the other side of the fence. I have been blessed in terms of my interactions with responsible and broadly educated MDs, and had consistently unfortunate passes with chiropractors. Oddly, others in my family members have had similar problems, with the exception of my mother, who had an apparently well-educated and very sensible man, who was very honest about what he believed he could and could not do.

There are, however, several practicing chiropractors here for whom I've come to have respect, based on their apparent approach. I'd give them a shot at me, even if only out of affection for a start.

In the end, personal experience is often misleading to the general case ...

[Vbrown]

You might as well as "what's our opinion on people".

I've meet some dangerous health care providers in ALL disciplines and I have been blessed to meet giants in their arts as well.

So are you asking about the underlaying concept of chiropractic?

[wadem]

I believe that if you find a good chiropractor, it can do nothing but benefit you if you have a need. But I also believe that if you find a bad one, it can only make things worse.

I had to see one years back for a minor neck strain that turned into a total immobilization. This was someone a friend had seen monthly for years. In a nutshell, I went and didn't like him. He was rough, and to this day, I can still crack my own neck from just turning my head (without hands), which I couldn't do before. But what bothered me the most was that he would not answer my questions. I was clearly more educated about anatomy than he expected and he avoided giving direct answers. I asked him about rehab exercises for self-maintenance and he dodged those. This was a warning flag. I eventually convinced my friend to stop seeing this guy and try something else. They worked with an Alexander Technique practitioner for a year and a half and has never had to go back since.

I support good chiroprators 100%. But I am always skeptical when I hear anyone say you have to visit every month for an "adjustment." In some cases I am sure this is true, but I would advise people to be vigilant and trust their own instincts and ask questions — this would be with any medical professional. I once read an article written by a chiroprator (I don't remember the source) which basically said that chiropractors should not be necessary at a certain point if the root of the problems are being addressed effectively. It is a temporary solution to get people to a certain point so other measures can be taken. My personal belief is that a chiropractor should not encourage people to constantly rely on their services for comfort, as the relief is usually temporary. This does not mean that some folks with certain conditions or injuries will not need ongoing maintenance. This is often true.

This does bring up the issue of going to a chiropractor as being almost a social enagagement or status thing in our culture. I have had many friends who talk about going to their chiropractor like it is this really cool thing to do. If someone has an injury that they are working on, then I understand. But a lot of these people were not seeing the obvious reasons for their discomfort, such as slouching at a desk all day, bad posture, lack of physical fitness, etc. I may be stretching here, but I believe the huge surge of back pain in our culture is a 20th century phenomenon and has bred the need for more chiropractic care. If people cared enough to pay attention to their physical well being more, there may be less need for regular chiropractic visits.

Please hear me, I am not knocking chiropractors! They are very necessary in the medical field and I respect how hard they work to get where they are. I just think that there has been a huge surge in popularity because people crave the quick fix and don't want to be responsible for themselves as much as they should. I think the convenience is seductive and it is being abused by a lot of people. Just MHO. This is why I think Doc Sonnon's work is so important. It teaches people how to take care of themselves in a lot of ways and be intuitive about their own body. Those medical professionals that embrace CST as part of the overall solution are the good guys.

[blazebob]

my own experiance with chiropractors has been very good after a car crash shoulder ac joint rupture and various ankle problems the chiro did not stick to his own trade and referred me to massageand a podiatrist also advised me to find a mobility program i liked and would do as he said his job was to get me better not to just keep taking my cash. so since this i went from bi weekly to monthly to a nine month break which i put down to ww training and a better understanding of when to back off

[Jesse1]

...But a lot of these people were not seeing the obvious reasons for their discomfort, such as slouching at a desk all day, bad posture, lack of physical fitness, etc.

I agree with this completely, and chiropractors are extensively trained in addressing these issues. Any chiropractor worth his salt addresses all of these things. As has been said already in this thread, there are good eggs and there are bad eggs in any profession.

I've had good and bad experiences with chiropractors. The bad initially turned me off to chiropractic. The good made me rethink my path in life. I got my undergrad degree in molecular biology, but during my senior year a chiropractor changed my life. The headaches I'd had daily for years were gone very quickly. It blew me away what this person was able to do for my quality of life. So, I got my mol. bio. degree and then headed straight to chiropractic school, where I'm currenly entering my second year.

Basically, and this applies to any health professional, you need to figure out what the Dr.'s goals are. Is there number one goal to make money and get as many patients in their office as possible? Or are they truely interested in COLABORATING WITH YOU (big point) for the betterment of your health (ie. are they really "present" during the appointment, does their treatment involve more than just a "crack and a pop", do they actively involve YOU in your treatment plan, etc.) Well, this got a little more long winded than I'd planned, but I hope the info is useful. Off to class!

Jesse

[William J]

Before anyone else asks the question I was going to post

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/

If any other newbies are interested.

Very insightful discussion. My last Chiropractor was very in tune with homeopathic medicine, and would spend time answering all of my questions and offering exercises that would lead to my health rather than another visit. Hope to find another one like her in my new location.