Chiropractors...Your Experience-Good or Bad?

Go to a physical therapist, not a chiropractor. I know chiropractors are accepted as pretty mainstream these days, but they are actually alternative medicine and the science they rely on is shaky at best and really just hocus-pocus at worst. Do some research and you'll see what I'm talking about. There is no medical reason for them. Some are better than others, true, and have a clue and aren't harmful, but I firmly believe that in the vast majority of cases, relief is completely psychosomatic. Chiropractic medicine is pseudoscientific nonsense.

I LOVE my chiropractor! For years, I suffered horrible back aches and headaches. Did massage therapy once a month for a while, which helped; then it had to be twice a month, so on and so forth. Got a referral for a free X-ray and consult with a chiropractor from a friend and decided what the heck, the only other option was a regular doc that would just give me drugs. Found out I have scoliocis and my neck curves in the wrong direction. After a couple months of regular (3xweek) manipulations, the pain was completely gone. I go in every couple of months now just for maintenance and have been pain free for almost 5 years. :happy:

I love my chiropractor. I have used them since I was a child (my grandfather and great grandfather were both chiropractors). Mine has helped me through various injuries over the years as a pro athlete, two car accidents and one separate incident that left me in a wheelchair for a bit. All without surgery or drugs.

I had one that had me coming in 2 times a week for months that did nothing for me. I switched and now I only have to go to her when I have an issue. I go a couple of times then I am good for months. I have issues with my hip/pelvic bone that are reoccurring. I think that you have to find one that works for you. Just like any other doctor.

I had a trapped nerve a couple of years ago that meant I couldn't lift my left arm. (a bit scary) I went to a chiro and after a few weeks i was able to lift the arm a bit further every week. I could lift it to horizontal one day, then a few hours after treatment, I could lift it to vertical which was a real surprise.

I kept going for a while but eventually stopped, but now I am much more careful with sitting and posture. I think they are a good option for some things, but I am not convinced they can cure all illnesses as some chiros claim. So, yes, good experieance for me.

I thought Chiropractors were snake oil salesman for the longest time until last year. I was training for a triathlon and had a pain in my lower back that made it nearly impossible to drive a car much less swim, bike, or run. My wife urged me to see her Chiro but I stayed stubborn in my dislike of what I though was smoke in mirrors. Finally the pain was preventing me from sleeping and I went. Within weeks I was 100% pain free and with routine visits (every 2 months) I have not had any issues with my back since. I now drink the Chiropractor Kool Aid.

There are good ones and bad ones just like anything. I have a pretty good one...I don't see him often, but he's been a life saver. I used to think they were just full of ****. I changed my tune when I had a slipped disk in my back that was pinching the nerve going down my arm. My arm was completely numb from the elbow down...I did a couple months of physical therapy and nothing...decided to try my dad's chiropractor and he had my disc un-slipped in about 2 sessions.

Some of them really do suck though and it can be difficult to find a good one.

I've had a troublesome back for most of my adult life and it would often go out. I also went to physio because I felt that chiro wasn't as regulated and full of quacks.

After a huge huge back blow-out/injury I was doing physio constantly but was really scared a lot of the time that my back was going to suddenly go out again. About a year after that, my friend convinced me to see her chiropractor and he sent me for x-ray and they discovered some scoliosis around my hips that had been causing the pain. No physio had ever bothered to do that!

I never get my neck cracked, and its just my lower back that gets adjusted. I use it in conjunction with strengthening/physio excersize and stretching and my back is finally finally normal. It wasn't a quick fix but for my back it was really necessary because it was the actually bones and pelvis out of place.

I believe you still need physio to build up the right muscles to keep the bones in place once they've been adjusted.. otherwise your weak and tight muscles work against you and pull you right back into a position that needs to be adjusted.

I went for several weeks to one chiropractor, and my experience was both good and bad.

I have bad hips and went for a while. I'm not sure if I had a bad chiropractor, if it's just my reaction, or if this is what generally happens, but I used to get the most wicked headaches after I went to see him. It helped my hips and back not hurt so badly, but I had to stop going due to the headaches.

I got to a point once where my hip was out so bad I couldn't even breathe without being in pain.

4 trips to the Chiropractor and I was back to normal. He showed me a few stretches I could do to keep it where it should be and I've never had to go back.

I personally won't have any work done because of my family's experiences. My mom was injured many, many years ago in a nasty car accident (Mustang vs Logging Truck, you can guess who won), and she was told to have regular appointments. At the beginning, she felt better, but as time progressed, the chiro appointments actually started making it worse. My husband has had a similar experience. He was injured in Iraq had had a lot of damage done to his peripheral nervous system. It makes his back spasm, so he was given the opportunity to get chiro work done. He'd feel great for a while, but it got to the point that within a few hours of his appointments, his back would be seizing up even worse.

HOWEVER!!! I recommend massage therapy. It's a much more natural way of loosening the muscles to help realign everything, and the process more than likely won't make you feel like "HOLY CRAP THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO MOVE LIKE THAT!!!" Depending on where you live, you can get a good massage for about $60 an hour. Make sure they are an actual massage therapist as opposed to a masseuse or masseur.

Had one course of treatment with a Chiropractor and it was good to a degree, very good assessment techniques (including X-ray), good/effective treatment for my neck and lumbar spine. However, they were unable to mobilise the seized joints in my T-spine.
I found the short but frequently repeated appointments caused a fair amount of soreness.

Ultimately I find that the longer treatment sessions by an Osteopath far more effective. I've been fortunate to find a brilliant Osteopath who has made an incredible difference to my back health.

I used to think that Chiropractors were quacks - after a back injury I changed my mind. I LOVE my chiropractor and I still go every once in a while when my back starts hurting again. Even my medical doctor says they have their place in medicine - but not for everything. For example, someone suggested I take my son for his frequent ear infections - infections need antibiotics and tubes - not an adjustment.

Go to a physical therapist, not a chiropractor. I know chiropractors are accepted as pretty mainstream these days, but they are actually alternative medicine and the science they rely on is shaky at best and really just hocus-pocus at worst. Do some research and you'll see what I'm talking about. There is no medical reason for them. Some are better than others, true, and have a clue and aren't harmful, but I firmly believe that in the vast majority of cases, relief is completely psychosomatic. Chiropractic medicine is pseudoscientific nonsense.

I have to disagree. I was once knocked out of place in high school while wrestling and I was put back in place by a chiropractor in one visit.

Years later I was in a car accident and all the army doctor did was toss on a neck brace. He even wanted me to keep doing PT. I went to a chiropractor and he took X-rays and showed that not only did I have whiplash I have a ton of off set vertebrae. He told me that I should not be doing PT. I knew that of course because I was in agony. It took about 2 months of visits but my X-rays after the fact were perfect and most importantly the pain was gone.

Years later I went snow snowmobiling and fell a very long distance. Fortunately it was snowmobiling and not four wheeling because when you fall that far and land in snow it doesn't kill you. I went to a chiropractor and again I was fixed in one visit.

I don't know how chiropractors got such a bad reputation but all of my experiences have been positive and supported by imperial evidence.

I think you mean "empirical" evidence, as in evidence supported by observation, rather than "imperial" evidence, as in evidence from an empire?

As for the rest of it, I did say that some are better than others, and some chiropractors do use mainstream physical therapy techniques as well as their "innate intelligence" and "vertebral subluxation" quackery. That doesn't change the fact that none of that garbage is medically supported. It is just not real science, period. Anyone thinking of trying it should do some serious research, which should lead to choosing another therapy with some basis that's not magical in origin.

ETA: I live in a province with the global high of people who use chiropractic care. It's super common where I live, obviously, and that's why I've done a lot of reading on it and am subsequently so against it, just in case anyone was wondering. I don't have a grudge or anything, just curiosity and a suspicious mind.

I did misspell "empirical" and I am sorry for that.

I am an atheist. I do not believe in magic or anything supernatural. I do not even believe we have souls. I don't believe things because I want to our out of wishful thinking. People like Peter Popoff and John Edwards and the like are con-artists that steal from people when they are in a vulnerable state. If what you are claiming about chiropractors is true I would lump them in with the faith healers and call them con-artists. Let me assure you that is not the case. I did not go to a chiropractor that was actually just a physical therapist. I needed real adjustments and it really did work.

Furthermore I have spoken with faith healers and I have spoken with a nice old women who thought crystals could heal people and I have spoken with chiropractors. It is a very different conversation with the chiropractor. They are professionally trained and regulated. They really do have to support their treatments with actual evidence. I have never heard a chiropractor tell me that I have to believe in his methods for them to work.

You could just take the position of "agree to disagree" and drop this all together. In fact I am sure most people would. I hope that you don't however. I hope that you continue to apply your skepticism. I know I will. The truth has nothing to fear from investigation and know that going to a chiropractor can be the best option in many cases. Try to understand I am not arguing for the sake of arguing and I do not think you are stupid or anything like that. I just think that you are wrong about this one point.