What's the worst/best thing about going to a chiropractor?

Question

Please base your response on either personal experience or your own perception of chiropractors (no names please). If you are a chiropractor, please do not answer. Are these "guys" know-it-alls? Do they really help you? What sort of education do they have - medical degrees or what? Are they really doctors? Do they have you go a million times without getting better? I'd like an honest opinion either positive or negative. What questions should I ask if I decide to go to one? Are they worth the money? Would you go back a second time?

Answer 1

I have gone to wonderful chiropractors who adjust me in one session and I leave feeling pain free and great! I have also met chiropractors that will keep you coming back and back for adjustments that they say they have to ease you into just to get your money. My 'good' chiro told me you dont 'ease' things back into place, you get them back in immediately or the pulled muscles will just keep pulling things back to where they were and you never get anywhere with gradual adjustments. Chiros have to go to school but are in no way considered medical doctors nor can they write prescriptions. But a conscientious chiro can do great good to a person who is suffering from a dislocated disc, joint or other orthopedic ailment that can be 'fixed' by putting it back into place.

Answer 2

I got free chiropractic care after I got into a nasty car accident. I had back problems before that because I would carry around a really heavy backpack, so my back pain would intensify.
I think the chiropractor didn't work miracles, but I noticed small improvements over the course of my visits. When I first went I had tremendous headaches and I was kind of sore, but as those side effects wore off, so did my overall back pain. And afterwards, a lot of my symptoms were relieved, and I noticed my posture improving.

My only gripe is that I didn't like the actual mechanisms they used. They have a very "twist and snap" kind of method, which to me felt very invasive (I don't like people cracking my bones by just pushing down on me), so I asked for an adjuster (a pen thing that goes really fast and moves your bones) to be used on me.

But chiropractors are not medical doctors, but rather are "alternative medicine" types of doctors. Their theory is that a lot of different symptoms stem from the spinal chord (for example, you can tell them about indigestion, and they'll do something with your back.)

I noticed a difference after as few as one visit, maybe 2.

If you decide to go to one, I think you should look at their facilities first off (see what equipment they have.) You should ask them what methods they use and at least try doing one normal appointment and see how you feel. Ask them how chiropractic methods work. If they do not seem knowledgable, don't go there. Oh, and it's a bonus if they do an electric pre-screening (what they did for me so they could show me my nerve pinching and progress.)

Good luck! :)

Answer 3

Unless you see an MD after their name they aren't Medical Doctors. If they call themselves doctor, they may have a PhD which is a doctor but not a doctor of medicine.

In regard the chiropractors being worth what you pay them, I'd go see a Massuese (to see if they can help) and then a General Practitioner (if it's really bad) before a chiropractor.

Answer 4

Definition of Chiropractor

Chiropractor: Someone who practices chiropractic. Chiropractic defined as a system of diagnosis and treatment that is based upon the concept that the nervous system coordinates all of the body's functions and holds that disease results from a lack of normal nerve function and employs manipulation and specific adjustment of body structures such as the spinal column so that pressure on nerves coming from the spinal cord due to displacement (subluxation) of a vertebral body may, it is believed, cause problems not only in the back but some distance from it as in the leg. Chiropractors therefore work to manipulate the spine with their hands to realign the vertebrae and relieve the pressure on the nerves. Chiropractic treatment is believed effective for muscle spasms of the back and neck, tension headaches, and some sorts of leg pain.

Modern chiropractic was founded by Daniel David Palmer, a grocer, who performed his first chiropractic adjustment in 1895. The term "chiropractic" derived from the Greek "chir-" referring to the hand + "prassein", to do = to do with the hands (to manipulate) dates to 1898, the year Palmer founded the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

Not all chiropractors are alike in their practice. The International Chiropractors Association believes that patients should be treated by spinal manipulation alone while the American Chiropractors Association advocate a multidisciplinary approach that combines spinal adjustment with other modalities such as physical therapy, psychological counseling, and dietary measures. For some years the American Medical Association (AMA) opposed chiropractic because of what it termed a "rigid adherence to an irrational, unscientific approach to disease." However, Congress amended the Medicare Act in 1972 to include benefits for chiropractic services and in 1978 the AMA modified its position on chiropractic. To become a doctor of chiropractic (D.C.) requires minimally 2 years of college and 4 years in a school of chiropractic.

Answer 5

Chiropractors arent doctors, the visits take 5 mins, they crack your back, paying no attention to releasing the muscles that made your spine ache in the first place, you give them $50, they tell you you have to come back for more visits, 70 at least, they usher in another person, you go home and ache, and think "Hes makin a lot of money to make me feel bad" Take my advice go see a deep tissue massage therapist $50 gives you an hour, your moneys worth and you feel much better.

Answer 6

They're not medical doctors. I wouldn't go to one. Some people swear by them, but then some people swear by faith healing.

Answer 7

the best thing is temporary relief at best

the worst thing

is their

invoice