Anyone who's regularly seen a chiropractor?

Question

I have chronic headaches and neck pain and I'm going to start seeing a chiropractor. I was wondering about the experience of others with chiro care. Did it work for you and were you happy with the results? Did you get "better" or are you dependant on your adjustments to function? I guess I'm a sceptic and I want to hear real people's experiences.

Answer 1

If you go on a regular basis to begin with they will re-alighn you spine...the slightest pinched nerve could be causing all of your headaches... I swear by mine... I got into a car accident and if it werent for him I may still be out of work...I see him once a week but I think within a few weeks I will be trickling down and then for the rest of my life I will go for a wellness visit once a year or so...just like a checkup and stuff to make sure your spine is still all goood. It might be a very tiny bit akward at first but after the first time you get used to it...all they do it crack your back and neck where you may need it and it realigns it for you...make sure you get a computer test first...they will have a roller that he will wheel up your spine to see the ways your spine turns...this way you know he is for real...he is going to test you on a regular basis and then you will have a picture or your results..

Answer 2

I first started getting chiropractic care at 14 years old (roughly 16 years ago). I was having bad migraines, the kind that are sound and light sensitive every so many weeks and I was popping Advil like crazy. I was also getting shoulder and neck pulls that would keep me from being able to turn my head/move my arm. My mom and dad finally took me to a chiropractor who found the root of the problem after doing an initial check (the one they do with your feet). I was experiencing the headaches from an old car accident (whiplash) as a child that went undiagnosed and as a teen had manifested into back and neck pain. After that first adjustment, I never got another migraine: I do however go once a month for an adjustment as I spend a lot of time working on the computer and get tension headaches and pull by ribs out when I try to carry too many groceries or my teaching bag is to heavy and pulls my neck out.

I really think it helps. My former and my subsequent chiropractor (I moved) use the "activator" method, which is a small tool that helps them pinpoint the exact problem and apply the necessary pressure to the exact spot. I have had the manipulation method, but it makes me nervous (I don't like the idea of someone twisting my neck between their hands...it's creepy).

My insurance covers my chiropractic care. You might want to carefully check the different chiros. avail. in your area prior to service. I went to one place when I first moved that tried to tell me after seeing my x-rays that I needed to come in three times a week for at least 6 weeks (At $50 a pop). I immed. called my former chiro. and he said no way-more than once a week is all a normal chiro. would do for even the worst case.

You can find a doctor in your area at:
http://www.amerchiro.org/search/memsearch.cfm

I hope you'll give it a chance. It really does help and you may find that other symptoms you have may be due to your vertebrae needing realignment.

Answer 3

Chiropractic can really help someone with headaches and neck pain if the problem is stemming from a misalignment of the spine (called a subluxation) that is pinching/damaging the nerves that run out between the vertebrae. Because our Central Nervous System (brain, spinal cord, and nerves) controls EVERY function of our bodies, it is so important to make sure the spine is in the position it was intended to be in. So yes, I think you can be helped by a good chiropractor, and have seen it many times in the office I used to work in.

I just wanted to respond to the comment that said chiropractors only schedule so many visits to make money, and if you don't feel immediate relief after one or two visits then it's not working. This is clearly not the case. How long do we wear dental braces to straighten out our teeth? Would you wear them for a few days and expect your teeth to be perfect? Would you go to a gym once or twice and complain if you weren't thinner? Making relatively drastic changes to the body takes time.

If your bones, ligaments, and muscles are trained in the "bad" position, it will probably take 3 visits a week for a month or two to get you back to where you should be. You will probably start feeling better within the first few weeks, and that's when you decide if you continue with care or just stop. Do you want to correct the problem (correct the spine's position) or do you want to get rid of the symptom (pain)? Most people (from my experience in the office, anyway) who complain of the pain coming back never followed through with the care plan, and stopped coming after their pain was gone.

Anyway, I really hope things work out for you and that your chiropractor is able to help you! (And yes, there are some good DC's and bad DC's out there, but if you've gotten a few recommendations, did some research, or have seen some happy/healthy patients in the office, you should be fine.)

Answer 4

I had a lot of help from my chiropractor. But some caution is in order. My mother had a very bad experience with a chiropractor she found just looking in the yellow pages, and it took my chiropractor 3-4 treatments to undo the damage from the other guy! So try to find one who has treated somebody you know and helped them. Most chiropractors are pretty good (some REALLY great), but there are a few bad ones. I was amazed at how much better I felt after just a few treatments, so I am a definite fan, just cautious.

Answer 5

Hi there. I was in the same position. And it actually helped me! at first I had to make sure I went regularly, but after awhile the problem was fixed, and now I'm fine. I would also suggest getting your eyesight checked out (if you haven't already), since that can also cause headaches.

I haven't seen the chiropractor in a year, and now I'm fine. (they would probably keep reschedualing appointments, who wouldn't want the money? so try taking a break after a while, and see if the headaches still occur. If they do, then go back for a while and try again, if they still persist, there may be another source of the problem-->breast size can affect it too if your a woman)

Answer 6

I grew up in a chiropractor's home. My dad was one(he passed away in May). I have found several good one's since my dad quit practicing, and found that you usually can't go wrong with the ones who went to Palmer College in Iowa. Now I know that there are good ones who didn't go there, so don't get me wrong. But the one's I have seen were great. You just have to do your homework. Ask around. As far as if it works or not, I have always had awesome results. And yes, it is something that you should do every few months once you get back on track. It's maintenance. Our spines go out all time and we can't always "feel" it, but it happens and will cause problems eventually if not re-aligned. Little things like headaches or a stuffy nose are alot of times caused by a spine out of place. "Toe walkers" would come see my dad all the time and it was corrected; people who just tried chiropractic as a last resort before possible surgery ended up not having to have surgery. So, I'd say it's worth a try, but don't just try once and say it didn't work. You have to go a few times to really tell if it's going to work for you. Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Answer 7

They do help, but not treat the problem completely. If you are going to a chiropractor, be careful about believing everything he/she says. In the old days, a simple problem can be treated with one or two visits. Today, the same problem will take 6-7 visits. To quote my co-worker, "all of them went to some money-making seminars and decided to adjust a little at a time in order to charge for more visits". When going to a chiropractor that tells you it takes many visits to fix an easy problem, make sure you tell him that if you don't see any results soon, you will not come back (don't get talked into buying a package). They will do a lot more if you tell them this.

Answer 8

I had torn ligaments in my back about 10 years ago, and where physical therapy did nothing for me, my chiropractor was able to work some "magic" on me. It was great. At first I had to go 4 days a week, but soon it was once a month and now when I feel my back get out of line, I go in for a quick 3 min adjustment. For me, the chiropractor was INCREDIBLE. I imagine with your symptoms, you should experience similar results. Good Luck!!

Answer 9

I hated going. I went to one quack who just did "non-violent" adjustments--didn't do a damn thing for my whiplash/crick in my neck or whatever it is. The other one I went to was one of those crazy back-crackers--f*ck, did I hurt after those sessions! I gave her a few chances, then gave up--I couldn't stand the pain after seeing her and it just kept getting worse. Those two were total quacks and didn't help me at all. I mean, back when I was playing rugby, I had whiplash (I got it when I was about 14, and I played rugby 4 years after I got it) and I was a tight-head prop (I had to put my neck under the other team's arms in the scrums.) I was using my neck all the time and had big crazy muscles in my neck and shoulders. My neck would get snapped sometimes--like, people could hear it snap--but it never hurt like it did after seeing the chiropractor. Exercise really helped me and chiropractors didn't. So draw your own conclusions.

Answer 10

My wife visits a chiropractor weekly and because of the type of problems (severe scoliosis) she has will probably for the rest of her life. But she walks away without a headache or locked rib heads after each visit.

Most people are helped by chiropractors, and after a couple of visits they can stop seeing them, if the underlying problem can be resolved. (scoliosis is a long term problem)