Chiropractors...

[Kat]

Any here? Anyone had experiences with them? Views...all that, please.


I have never been to one, never felt comfortable.....and had bad experiences in my family.
My dad was going to one for his back, was being treated, when all along it was a perforated ulcer, which ended up rupturing. He also had COPD, which lead to his death.
My BIL was going to one, being treated for sciatica, when in fact he had, and died from ALS.

Anyway, I would appreciated if anyone has thoughts or experiences.

 

[MikeK]

I've been to chiropractors several times, none of them did anything to help me and a couple of them were obvious quacks.

Based on the few positive comments I've heard from others who claim to have been helped by chiropractors I'm led to assume there are some relatively minor spinal conditions which are treatable by chiropractic "adjustment." But some of these guys capitalize on those positive reports by "treating" conditions they know are untreatable. One such example is sciatica, which is inflammation and swelling of the pelvic apertures the sciatic nerve passes through.

These attacks typically last from six to eight weeks and are best treated by bed rest and pain killers, which chiropractors are not authorized to prescribe. So the quacks tell you that the course of treatment will take from six to eight weeks and require two or three "adjustments" a week. The "adjustments" amount to a basic physical therapy exercise, or a specialized massage, or they hook you up to a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit for fifteen minutes and bill you or your insurance company for $100 a visit while Nature is taking its course. (You can buy a TENS unit for fifty bucks.)

So the advice I have to offer, which is based on a lot of experience, is steer clear of chiropractors.

 

[Kat]

I've been to chiropractors several times, none of them did anything to help me and a couple of them were obvious quacks.

Based on the few positive comments I've heard from others who claim to have been helped by chiropractors I'm led to assume there are some relatively minor spinal conditions which are treatable by chiropractic "adjustment." But some of these guys capitalize on those positive reports by "treating" conditions they know are untreatable. One such example is sciatica, which is inflammation and swelling of the pelvic apertures the sciatic nerve passes through.

These attacks typically last from six to eight weeks and are best treated by bed rest and pain killers, which chiropractors are not authorized to prescribe. So the quacks tell you that the course of treatment will take from six to eight weeks and require two or three "adjustments" a week. The "adjustments" amount to a basic physical therapy exercise, or a specialized massage, or they hook you up to a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit for fifteen minutes and bill you or your insurance company for $100 a visit while Nature is taking its course. (You can buy a TENS unit for fifty bucks.)

So the advice I have to offer, which is based on a lot of experience, is steer clear of chiropractors.

Thanks for replying. Actually I have sciatica..and it is dealing me fits today. I have had it off and on the last several years. So bad until I have nerve damage. I actually trust no one to touch me now.

So in your opinion, my gut feeling of not trusting chiropractors, is valid.

 

[JBeukema]

My mother used to see a chiropractor. Helped with her migraines, neck pain, and back.


ymmv.

 

[JBeukema]

To my knowledge, the only treatment for sciatica is surgery and a metal brace. These are only warranted in extreme cases and the results are quite limited.

 

[syrenn]

You would be better off getting a great massage.


Flat out..i don't trust them.

 

[geauxtohell]

Any here? Anyone had experiences with them? Views...all that, please.


I have never been to one, never felt comfortable.....and had bad experiences in my family.
My dad was going to one for his back, was being treated, when all along it was a perforated ulcer, which ended up rupturing. He also had COPD, which lead to his death.
My BIL was going to one, being treated for sciatica, when in fact he had, and died from ALS.

Anyway, I would appreciated if anyone has thoughts or experiences.

Sorry for your troubles. Chiropractors don't go to medical school, so I could see how they would have missed ALS. Gastric pain refers to the middle back, so I could see why a chiropractor thought it was musculoskeletal when in fact it was visceral. Chiropractors don't diagnose at all. They just treat. Treatment without diagnosis is like throwing darts in the dark. That being said, they do good things for a lot of people and the standards of their profession don't require them to have a medical degree.

Before I went to one, I'd want to ensure that they had malpractice insurance (not all states require them to carry it).

I also wouldn't let them touch my neck. Period.

 

[Mr. H.]

Wife went thru months of chiropractic therapy with no results. I was furious and let them know about it. He did electric stimulation along with adjustments. Cost me 2 grand.

Several years ago I hurt my back while at work, and the doc said all he could do is prescribe pain killers. I was terrified about going to the chiro-doc but finally gave in. It was a godsend. (different guy than the one wife went to).

BE FORWARNED- It's probably not covered by your insurance. PLUS, you'll have a "history" of back problems which might count against you w/re: ins. premiums/coverage/pre-existing conditions.

Oh- when I called my insurance company about lack of chiropractic coverage I said "ok- so you'd rather see me take pain meds and possibly incur more injury to my back - leading to yet more medical bills instead of seeing a chiropractor which could remedy the problem?"

Yup.

 

[geauxtohell]

To my knowledge, the only treatment for sciatica is surgery and a metal brace. These are only warranted in extreme cases and the results are quite limited.

Gabapentin.

 

[JBeukema]

Gabapentin is used to help control certain types of seizures in patients who have epilepsy. Gabapentin is also used to relieve the pain of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN; the burning, stabbing pain or aches that may last for months or years after an attack of shingles). Gabapentin is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. Gabapentin treats seizures by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Gabapentin relieves the pain of PHN by changing the way the body senses pain.

PubMed Health - Gabapentin


??

 

[geauxtohell]

Gabapentin is used to help control certain types of seizures in patients who have epilepsy. Gabapentin is also used to relieve the pain of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN; the burning, stabbing pain or aches that may last for months or years after an attack of shingles). Gabapentin is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. Gabapentin treats seizures by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Gabapentin relieves the pain of PHN by changing the way the body senses pain.

PubMed Health - Gabapentin


??

It treats neuropathic pain. It's used all the time for that. That being said, it's not always effective. In fact, anecdotally, low back pain and neuropathic pain is pretty hard to treat. Which is why a lot of people seek out chiropractors.

We don't have a good grasp on the matter IMO.

 

[Kat]

Any here? Anyone had experiences with them? Views...all that, please.


I have never been to one, never felt comfortable.....and had bad experiences in my family.
My dad was going to one for his back, was being treated, when all along it was a perforated ulcer, which ended up rupturing. He also had COPD, which lead to his death.
My BIL was going to one, being treated for sciatica, when in fact he had, and died from ALS.

Anyway, I would appreciated if anyone has thoughts or experiences.

Sorry for your troubles. Chiropractors don't go to medical school, so I could see how they would have missed ALS. Gastric pain refers to the middle back, so I could see why a chiropractor thought it was musculoskeletal when in fact it was visceral. Chiropractors don't diagnose at all. They just treat. Treatment without diagnosis is like throwing darts in the dark. That being said, they do good things for a lot of people and the standards of their profession don't require them to have a medical degree.

Before I went to one, I'd want to ensure that they had malpractice insurance (not all states require them to carry it).

I also wouldn't let them touch my neck. Period.

I didn't blame the chiropractors, it just gave me this eerie feeling that 2 people I dearly loved was under the care of one, and died. I realize one had nothing to do with the other.

ALS was hard to diagnose. Oddly enough my BIL DID have sciatica...but ultimately got worse and worse, and then was diagnosed with ALS.

In my dad's case, well, he knew he had emphysema, and COPD, and had had back pain.

 

[Kat]

To my knowledge, the only treatment for sciatica is surgery and a metal brace. These are only warranted in extreme cases and the results are quite limited.

Which I won't do, merely due to the fact it doesn't work. Not to mention I am chicken.

 

[Si modo]

I've been to chiropractors several times, none of them did anything to help me and a couple of them were obvious quacks.

Based on the few positive comments I've heard from others who claim to have been helped by chiropractors I'm led to assume there are some relatively minor spinal conditions which are treatable by chiropractic "adjustment." But some of these guys capitalize on those positive reports by "treating" conditions they know are untreatable. One such example is sciatica, which is inflammation and swelling of the pelvic apertures the sciatic nerve passes through.

These attacks typically last from six to eight weeks and are best treated by bed rest and pain killers, which chiropractors are not authorized to prescribe. So the quacks tell you that the course of treatment will take from six to eight weeks and require two or three "adjustments" a week. The "adjustments" amount to a basic physical therapy exercise, or a specialized massage, or they hook you up to a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit for fifteen minutes and bill you or your insurance company for $100 a visit while Nature is taking its course. (You can buy a TENS unit for fifty bucks.)

So the advice I have to offer, which is based on a lot of experience, is steer clear of chiropractors.

Thanks for replying. Actually I have sciatica..and it is dealing me fits today. I have had it off and on the last several years. So bad until I have nerve damage. I actually trust no one to touch me now.

So in your opinion, my gut feeling of not trusting chiropractors, is valid.

Have you considered a good physical therapist? Strengthening your core might help, too.

 

[Kat]

Any here? Anyone had experiences with them? Views...all that, please.


I have never been to one, never felt comfortable.....and had bad experiences in my family.
My dad was going to one for his back, was being treated, when all along it was a perforated ulcer, which ended up rupturing. He also had COPD, which lead to his death.
My BIL was going to one, being treated for sciatica, when in fact he had, and died from ALS.

Anyway, I would appreciated if anyone has thoughts or experiences.

Sorry for your troubles. Chiropractors don't go to medical school, so I could see how they would have missed ALS. Gastric pain refers to the middle back, so I could see why a chiropractor thought it was musculoskeletal when in fact it was visceral. Chiropractors don't diagnose at all. They just treat. Treatment without diagnosis is like throwing darts in the dark. That being said, they do good things for a lot of people and the standards of their profession don't require them to have a medical degree.

Before I went to one, I'd want to ensure that they had malpractice insurance (not all states require them to carry it).

I also wouldn't let them touch my neck. Period.

Isn't that one of the main things they try and do....align the neck? Popping it in place..whatever they call it?
No way do I want that either.

 

[Kat]

I've been to chiropractors several times, none of them did anything to help me and a couple of them were obvious quacks.

Based on the few positive comments I've heard from others who claim to have been helped by chiropractors I'm led to assume there are some relatively minor spinal conditions which are treatable by chiropractic "adjustment." But some of these guys capitalize on those positive reports by "treating" conditions they know are untreatable. One such example is sciatica, which is inflammation and swelling of the pelvic apertures the sciatic nerve passes through.

These attacks typically last from six to eight weeks and are best treated by bed rest and pain killers, which chiropractors are not authorized to prescribe. So the quacks tell you that the course of treatment will take from six to eight weeks and require two or three "adjustments" a week. The "adjustments" amount to a basic physical therapy exercise, or a specialized massage, or they hook you up to a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit for fifteen minutes and bill you or your insurance company for $100 a visit while Nature is taking its course. (You can buy a TENS unit for fifty bucks.)

So the advice I have to offer, which is based on a lot of experience, is steer clear of chiropractors.

Thanks for replying. Actually I have sciatica..and it is dealing me fits today. I have had it off and on the last several years. So bad until I have nerve damage. I actually trust no one to touch me now.

So in your opinion, my gut feeling of not trusting chiropractors, is valid.

Have you considered a good physical therapist? Strengthening your core might help, too.

Actually, I am considering that now.

 

[Douger]

I had 2 uncles that were chiropractors and have a cousin who is an osteopath.
I go to a Chiro semi-regularly for sciatica.
My stepkid is an acupuncturist.

The posters here are clueless.

 

[Kat]

I had 2 uncles that were chiropractors and have a cousin who is an osteopath.
I go to a Chiro semi-regularly for sciatica.
My stepkid is an acupuncturist.

The posters here are clueless.

Please fill me in...

 

[Kat]

BTW when I had my first episode of full blown sciatica, pain meds didn't touch the pain. Knocked me out, but never eased me.

 

[Si modo]

Thanks for replying. Actually I have sciatica..and it is dealing me fits today. I have had it off and on the last several years. So bad until I have nerve damage. I actually trust no one to touch me now.

So in your opinion, my gut feeling of not trusting chiropractors, is valid.

Have you considered a good physical therapist? Strengthening your core might help, too.

Actually, I am considering that now.

Personally, I think that's a great plan before a chiropractor. Just my humble opinion.