Chiropractics? or not?

Archibald

interesting comments...

as someone who had his spine put back together after discovering just how hard the ground can be, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the "chiro" that has been helping me.
strangely enough, he hasn't done the old "snap, crackle n pop" bit on my spine now for a couple of years. 'Network Spinal Analysis' has been the key. we discussed it at length before embarking on it, and it has been well worthwhile.
i currently ride xc and enduro on the mtb (hardtail), as well as road riding, with no real back issues...
i'd recommend him to anyone. his original background started in radiology before moving onto chiorpractic. as for x-rays, he gets a full spinal x-ray done before he touches you, and knows how to read it - went through it all with me showing me everything. no further x-rays since. nor have i looked back.

as for the "free first visit" advertising - he doesn't advertise. all word of mouth recommendations... doctors or medicos advertising?? havin' a larf!!

Felt_Rider

Watch it now you'll be accused of practicing voodoo.

I wouldn't want someone touching me without an X-ray. Most chiros will do the x-ray to see if there are areas that they need to avoid or to send the patient onto a medical specialist.

I have not heard of the "Network Spinal Analysis"
I will have to Google that later and check it out.

Most of my issues are minor at this point.
I pop it out and he pops it back in. Simple and quick.

Archibald

my understanding of it is that it works on the principles of;
a) the body having the ability to heal itself
b) the body's natural reactions in "fight or flight" modes to the chiropractic "adjustment" or crack. where your body may perceive this to be an "attack" on itself and then resist (fight) the adjustment and preferring to revert to it's previous situation... like your pop in/pop out senario - why does it keep popping back out? more preferrable for it to stay fixed...

it's taken a while to get used to the new method, but once I got the hang of it I've come along in some serious leaps n bounds with regard to my injuries.

it's probably considered by some as more of a "quack" or "new age" thing, but it's working for me and working well.
"if it works, use it" has been a philosophy I've paid attention to for some time now...

Felt_Rider

So is it like accupressure in a sense?
Based on what I have read so far it is more like touching or pressing on the spine. Is there movement to the misaligned vertebra or just a light touch?

I have a chiro appointment today so I will ask my doctor what he knows.
He does use an instrument called an "activator" that makes a slight tap on some of the low force treatment, but the most part I still like the old school method.

One of the methods I have been using at home is an inversion table and that has also worked for me for a little decompression action in my low back and has also helped with hip misalignment and discomfort.

Like you say it is good to find what will work in a natural sense rather than letting a medical doctor load us up on meds that really only mask the pain. Although for some people that have very accute problems I understand the need for meds.

Archibald

you create the movement yourself, not the chiro. the touching is light but stimulates the nervous system. nowhere near the force of accupressure.
as bizarre as it sounds i've actually felt the vertebrae move without any contact from the chiro, and just through the breathing and 'respiratory wave'.

the activator thingy is like a mild 'cracking'/adjustment, but done in a more precise and local location - if that makes sense.

as for inversion, a friend of mine swears by bunji jumping. he had some nasty back problems from several months working bent over yardarms on tall ships (the old sailing ships). he did one bunji jump and it "straightened" him out, so to speak. it works for him, so he uses it...

tumbleweed77

now that's one crazy way to adjust your back... but hey, if it works, it works.. me on the other hand, am not so crazy about falling off something while being tied by the ankles... i can't imagine what that actually does to the human body though... do you get taller? lol..

patch70

But also remember: when it comes to the decision making, a health care professional is more likely than you to be right.
So if you do go against their advice, do accept responsibility for doing so!

dkrenik

Isn't that why one would go to a health care professional (or any other professional) in the first place?

So you're saying that you agree with me on that point.

To add/clarify, western culture (US anyway) tends to place health care prfessionals on a pedastal. Last I checked they were human and not omniscient. The newspapers and internet are full of examples of doctors, nurses, etc who've made mistakes. They don't always know the answer and, in my experience, few of them them will tell you when they don't. I've never had trouble being able to tell between when someone is guessing and when someone actually knows "the answer". When you know that they're guessing, you must press them on it. If you don't feel comfortable with their response tell them so and use your own judgement and accept responsibility for it.

Felt_Rider

I would like to add another little twist to this statement.
For example, I have seen this as a common example in coworkers as well based on their experiences, my previous family doctor entered the room wearing a lab jacket with Lipitor emobroidered, her ink pen was labeled with Lipitor and her note pad had Lipitor as a header.

Can you guess how she diagnosed my annual physical?
I was told my blood pressure was too high and that she was going to recommend that I take blood pressure medication and that I needed Lipitor for cholesterol. Now I agree that my blood pressure was a bit high at that point, but she had not yet taken a blood sample so how could she know about my blood cholesterol level?

I told her that I would not be taking any medication until I tried to do something on my own, which turned into my cycling addiction. This year my annual physical came out good under a different physician with lowered blood pressure and the blood sample showed no sign of high cholesterol.

In summary I believe there are plenty of medical doctors in the USA that are sponsored by the pharm. companies to a certain degree and my feeling that $$$ means a little more than recommending that the patient eat a better diet and exercise. If I had blindly trusted her I would probably be taking the Lipitor and blood pressure medicine instead of cycling.

Okay....I am done ranting

tumbleweed77

Doctors seem themselves on pedastals too.. so when someone comes to them w/ a problem that's in their scope and they don't know... who's gonna say that they don't know and lose the pt? they want to seem in control and so some of them will just start trying different things hoping one will work or at least satisfy the pt. I dislocated an ankle and ended up at a podiatrist instead of an orthopod... he put me in a walking cast, told me not to move it... i saw him once every 4-5 weeks where he'd do yet another x-ray (if it's not broke the first 3 times, it won't be the 4th)... check the pain levels (which was severe) then sent me on my way... 5 months later i started PT with ZERO range of motion after he told me that he should have done surgery and that he didn't think it would take as long as it did to heal conservatively. mean while, I was out of my gymnastics coaching job for 6 months... 10 months after the first, i dislocated the other....I put myself in my old walking cast, changed networks to see an orthopod.. he liked the cast, but told me to start personal physical therapy as soon as i can and to walk on it when it doesn't hurt... i was in the cast for 2 weeks, walking with a few braces for 3 more and running and jumping 2 and 3 months after... this injury has already surpassed my first a whole year later! ( venting my own story... which is also the start of my cycling.. no more gym :-( )

patch70

You would think so. But there are increasing numbers of people that go to HCP's and then tell them what investigations they want done and what treatment they want given. In some cases, the HCP will tell them that there are other investigations or treatments that are more appropriate. It is in these scenarios that I am saying the HCP is more likely to be right. Please note that I did not say "will be right".

Absolutely. If you are going to go against the HCP's advice in the above scenario, don't then sue them when things go wrong with the treatment that you insisted on!


Not in my part of the world! Only the very old and some migrant groups show any respect to doctors and even less to nurses, physios etc.

In response to your other comments and to those that followed, you guys need to find better doctors (or podiatrists as the case may be)! There are plenty of humble, intelligent, 'un-drug company influenced' docs around my parts that will very happily admit it when they don't know the answer and then refer you on to someone that will.

dkrenik

Well, with the HCP situation and all the excellent Grenache & Shiraz I might consider relocating

tumbleweed77

That's exactly why I changed out of my entire network.. to find a better doctor... who, i might say is WONDERFUL! i would have changed during the whole fiasco, but if I changed networks during treatment, then insurance wouldn't cover it...

recoverydoc

Well I guess i should jump and contribute to this thread being that I am a chiropractor who works with cyclists. I work with all types of physicians and get referrals from neurosurgeons and primary care docs. As long as we look at being honest with each of our limitations and work together to get the patients better, I think everyone wins. With cycling you need to find someone who has a backround in treating cyclist no matter what their backround is, and that would be your best bet.

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