Chiroprators - Real Deal or Bullshit?

Update: Went to see the ortho today and got xrays and an MRI done. He's holding his opinion until he looks at the MRI next week. I did tell him about the chiropractor and the decompression and he knew about it and said that he referred specific patients (the ones with disc issues) to chiropractors to get the decompression done. Although he said it doesn't work for all back issues it usually works pretty well for herniated discs and the like. I stopped just short of asking him if he thought chiropractors were quacks. :D
 


Had a friend who had seen countless doctors, had multiple MRIs done and they said they couldn't do anything for him (A 100lb grill dropped on his head while he was working at walmart).

After all that (2 years) and finding the only thing that would help him was Vicodin , he had a very very bad limp and required a cane whever he walked.

We scheduled him to see a chiopractor who offered to help him FOR FREE.

3-4 Adjustments he started to feel better, 3-4 months later he was off ALL MEDS and could walk without the assistance of a cane........A year later he is now the contractor we use for property rehab , doing every type of home improvement thing possible........

So yep , Chiopractors don't work at all.
 
Had a friend who had seen countless doctors, had multiple MRIs done and they said they couldn't do anything for him (A 100lb grill dropped on his head while he was working at walmart).

After all that (2 years) and finding the only thing that would help him was Vicodin , he had a very very bad limp and required a cane whever he walked.

We scheduled him to see a chiopractor who offered to help him FOR FREE.

3-4 Adjustments he started to feel better, 3-4 months later he was off ALL MEDS and could walk without the assistance of a cane........A year later he is now the contractor we use for property rehab , doing every type of home improvement thing possible........

So yep , Chiopractors don't work at all.
Shhhhh..... some asshole with zero first hand experience might hear you and tell you it's a placebo effect or that they saw a you tube video.
 
@bluejammin There's no question that a chiropractor works within some degree. I mean If I walk in (hobble) Completely slanted (I can't really explain it, there's a picture of me on my blog at christmas time all hunched to the side) and walk out 80% straighter after one adjustment...well there you go.

A bit like a massage or similar then? There is nothing mystical about them and they are scientifically unproven.

So then how would you explain her xrays? She healed herself with the power of her mind because she believed in her god (the chiropractor)? heh. I know self healing is a pretty powerful thing. But that seems pretty severe.

Well hows about the simplest explanation, they lied to you (this happens ALL the time in quack medicine). Couldn't really comment any more without seeing the xrays or the pearson they were done on, there could be loads of explanations though.

Newjersey is totally right about the double blinds / placebo effect, and the above just dont work under these conditions. Anecdotes have no place in science based medicine, or we would all be going to healers that would be able to make us walk again or whatever...
 
I'm not sure what your statement about a massage was...manipulations are not massages. Haven't you ever popped your knuckles or your toes? It's the same thing. And if I could completely pop my own back by myself I would, sometimes I can but when it swells it's harder for me to do it.

Problem is you aren't going to get any major scientific studies if there's no big drug company backing them. And on that note there have been plenty of "scientific" studies backed by some major drug companies that have later shown to be faulty and biased by (of course) the very companies that were backing them. Wasn't it Vioxx that did this?
 
A real doctor would not discuss other patients and show you their X-rays like that. It's a breach of trust.


I'm back at the chiropractor. I've got to do something about these vertebrates that are collapsing upon themselves. I'm going to see if I can get a pic of my xrays today and show you guys how fucked up my back is. Anyway I'm trying out the Lordex Decompressor (there's a video on youtube, not going to link to it as it embeds the video here. Skip to 4:00 for specifics on the machine) now. Yesterday was my first day and I would do it for about 20-30 sessions. Here's one of the main reasons I'm doing it (besides the fact that If I don't try everything, I will eventually need surgery) When I went to the office 2 days ago there was a woman on the Decompressor. When we walked by he said, "How ya doing Eve?" she said, just fine. Then we did my adjustment and he told me All about Eve. (heh) Apparently 2 years ago she was scheduled for back surgery because 3 of her discs (L2 L3 and L4) were herniated and she was completely bone on bone. The pain so excruciating she had to use a wheelchair and or walker to get around. She read about the decompressor and found a chiropractor (my guy) who used one in his office. My chriro actually said Eve your case is severe I don't know whether this will help you or not. And she said anything is better than surgery so she tried it. By the 8th session she was pain free. She went a full 25 sessions in 6 weeks. No more pain. To this day she's not had anymore pain. She comes in for "maintenance" sessions even though the chiropractor told her it's probably not necessary.o a real doctor too :D Also I want to cover all the bases. Plus it's high time I get that MRI.
 
Problem is you aren't going to get any major scientific studies if there's no big drug company backing them.

is that what the chiropractor told you after showing you the real life fake testimonial person?:)

I think the real reason you wont find any good studies because its a scam in my opinion.
 
So it's possible for massages to have positive effects but it's not possible for other types of skeletal or muscular manipulation to have positive effects?

It's also possible to have physical manipulations cause problems but it's impossible for physical manipulation to fix problems?
 
chiro saved me after ASE - slept wrong on the flight to NYC and the whole time my neck pain was getting worse all week...when I got home my chiro used some laser therapy on my neck and back and next day I felt no pain :) FREEKIN LAZER BEAMS!

w00 post #200'z!
 
Chiropractic does work, I personally have been helped through chiropractic where I did have sever allergies and could not eat a lot of common foods and I now am able to. I suggest finding one with a good track record of patients that have gotten good results - just like anything else in life there are some people that are better at things than others.
Bullshit.
 
Chiropractic works - period. I was a skeptic for a long time, and always suffered with pains 'regular doctors' would not find anything wrong with. They would run 'their tests', and say everything is good. After years of this, I started going to a chiropractor and the pains went away.

I only go once a month or as needed now. I know when I need it.

This is also important - Most people that go to chiropractors don't stretch enough or strengthen their core muscles (proper way so as not to hurt themselves) so they need more adjustments. If you stretch and keep your core muscles strong, most back problems will go away or be significantly diminished - even then an adjustment is needed sometimes.

Many in my family have back problems and do not believe in chiropractors. They believe the surgeons (who tell them to avoid chiropractors) - so they have had surgery once or more... and still have problems plus less mobility. Now I believe there are times (very rarely) when surgery may be needed, but many times I think people are duped and end up worse off.

Just my opinion. - Strengthen your core, keep good posture, stay flexible (stretching), and visitor a chiropractor as needed.
 
Awesome special on PBS about chiropractors.. The chiropractors got real pissed at this one.

Alan Alda - Scientific American Frontiers
clear.gif

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva,sans-serif]Adjusting the Joints[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva,sans-serif] A one-time chiropractor challenges the claims of his former colleagues.[/FONT]

PBS - Scientific American Frontiers | A Different Way to Heal? | Watch Online
 
Hey guys I use this inversion machine everyday for the last 12 months.

It's the best things that has ever happened to me and I save thousands in chiro visit dollars per year using it everyday.

My back gets so fucked up and compressed after a few hours of sitting, when I go hang on this machine my spine IMMEDIATELY decompresses and I get awesome relief.

I decompress my spine every 3 or 4 hours with this machine and it has made all the difference in the world.

My whole family uses and benefits from it so my savings are fucking astronomical, everyone has back problems in my fam.

At only $399 it's a hell of a savings VS $100 visits every other day! ( No Insurance :-*( )

http://www.backrevolutionsystem.com
 
I don't have back problems, but I go through bouts of insomnia every few months... a re-adjustment from a chiro or a proper thai massage(where they crack my back) always fixes my problem and i sleep like a baby.
 
Just watched this...

I found it very interesting when they said that the entire existence of Chiropractics is based on and was created from the belief that there is this external life force that is getting blocked out of us that chiropractics can allow to come in...almost like a religious thing.

Awesome special on PBS about chiropractors.. The chiropractors got real pissed at this one.

Alan Alda - Scientific American Frontiers
clear.gif

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva,sans-serif]Adjusting the Joints[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva,sans-serif] A one-time chiropractor challenges the claims of his former colleagues.[/FONT]

PBS - Scientific American Frontiers | A Different Way to Heal? | Watch Online
 
You believe what you believe... some people in this thread are so convinced that "MDs are the only way" that they ignore solid evidence and lots of experiential proof that things other than surgery and drugs work.

If you go to a surgeon for your back problems and they can't fix it, they may end up removing a vertebrae out of the spine. What? Do you have any idea how fucking crazy that is? Or people are having knee problems so they cut out a portion of the knee. It's there for a reason.

You know why doctors refer out to physical therapists and chiropractors? It's because they don't know jack shit about how to do those things. A doctor doesn't understand the details of physical therapy, they only got an overview of it in their catch-all medical training. So believing that a doctor "knows all" and is somehow God, is a pretty big mistake.

My advice is to wake up, open your eyes, and THINK about things instead of having a blind robot response.

It's a bias. People decide what they think is real and then filter out information based on it. That includes people on the pro-chiropractor and against-chiropractor side. Extremists on either end are usually closed-minded so don't waste your time with them.
 
this amazing chiropractic device has cured everything for me

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDWH_Sfnoc0&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow - part 3[/ame]
 
Since this thread is still alive, I'll report on my status. About 6 weeks ago my back went out big time. 2 weeks into the injury it wasn't getting anybetter. So I went on oral steriods (again) and that healed it enough to wear I could start Phyical Therapy. This is my first bought with physical therapy. I stopped the chrio for now because I wanted to eliminate the variables. PT has been helping immensely. We started with heat, electrolysis, and stretching. Once my back got significantly better we have now moved on to stretching and strengthening. Baby steps with the strengthening though. It's a double edge sword. My back almost went out again the other day because of it but I'm learning to listen to my body and when it starts twinging, immediately stop, go get on the heating pad and then stretch. Do that for 2 days and then continue the strengthening if I feel better. Oh and Massages, FTW.