I am a great believer in chiropractors. I've heard the horror stories about them, too, but my perspective is that I've also heard horror stories about "traditional" doctors. I've been to chiropractors many times and have always been satisfied with the outcomes.
The chiropractor I now go to routinely is very health oriented. In fact he just charges the co-pay my health ins. would charge for visit's in excess of what is permitted by my health insurance. My husband is going to him as well now, and it has helped him tremendously too. He even saw my son for free and did not require all the usual pre-work due to his being younger with no prior car accident issues, etc. Between a health product I take and our chiropractor, I no longer take 2 prescription Motrin a day and muscle relaxers stemming from a bad WC injury and several car accident's.
Wow! Nearly everyone seems pretty satisfied to say the LEAST, with chiropractic. I am definitely down with the diet/exercise tips presented here! But I can't help but notice that no one specifically mentioned YOGA. jeffathome: I also hang upside down from hang up. This really stretches my back and feels really good. Phil Stones: Obviously some mixed views here - I think it depends on the chiropracter concerned - my experience - It didn'thelp my lower back pain one bit - but the visits proved expensive! I just learnt to do things different, exercised to strengthen core muscle groups and it has gradually eased over the past 5 years. I concur. I tried Chiro when i had a back injury that had me HORIZONTAL for 2 weeks CONTINUOUSLY. I forced myself to get to a Chiropractor. His treatments proved useless. He never even HEARD of Yoga, which I find hard to believe. He tried calcium pills. I tried pycnogenol, other 'extracts', and mega doses of vitamin C. NOTHING worked. So in complete desperation, I turned to good ol' western meds - muscle relaxers & pain relievers, and anti-inflammatories. (I think the Anti-inflamm did the important work). After a week or so the acute pain and disability disappeared, but I had NO strength in my left arm & hand. I did YOGA and other stretching exercises and returned to normal within a year of continuous stretching. AND remembering to ALWAYS stretch after my workouts, with a hot bath after regular and intense sessions. I am certain that my NOT doing that on a particular day caused the problems as I was in that injured state that very evening, after neglecting that streching/cooling down down process. Never had such a problem after that event more than 12 years ago. I think the practice of YOGA can solve or prevent just about any problems like these. PLUS, you don't need a health care plan to do YOGA! (or other effective exercises). I can't see myself ever going to a Chiropractor again. But, I still keep an open mind. Natural methods are the best imho, but you may have to use drugs for some issues. Surgery I'd avoid of course, unless you are CONVINCED it is the only way. Anything you can do yourself, like diet, exercise, etc. seems to be the best option of all.
Interesting, I had gone to a chiropractor after getting rear ended at 50MPH while stopped in traffic, I could see it coming as the girl was putting on makeup while driving at 60 mph on crowded highway, so I braced myself best I could, but still hurt my neck and back a bit, suppose it was the old whiplash issue. I wasn't hurt much, thank God, but I still was told had to go to hospital, and from there, they did all sorts of xrays, etc., then said I had to go to chiropractor even though I only had a little pain in back, stiff, tender, etc., as one would expect. I never knew why I had to go, but I went, and I kept going, three times a week, and no progress at all, in fact, everytime I had adjustment I would feel worse coming out than when going in. lol I had booked vacation to Aruba a couple months earlier, so I said forget the chiropractor, I needed a vacation more than him since I always felt more pain after leaving and no progress at all as I saw it after almost three months and over a thousand dollars out of my pocket to date. Guess what, after lying on the beach the first day for eight hours, no pain, and even after renting motorcyles and going off road, a little tennis, you name it, no pain, and it never returned throughout vacation of two weeks, or after, so was chiropractor keeping me in suspended pain knowing just what to do to keep me coming back, or was is a fluke? Never saw another chiropractor again, and won't ever again either. lol And we wonder why healthcare costs are out of control? Wealth Without Health is Worthless,
FREEBUSINESSES FREEBUSINESSES: I never knew why I had to go, but I went, and I kept going, three times a week, and no progress at all, in fact, everytime I had adjustment I would feel worse coming out than when going in. lol Nothing like knowing your own body. Back adjusting is complex, and involved. One size does NOT fit all! You and only you have a certain understanding of your own body and what kinds of stressed you have been subjected to. Even if only on the subconscious level. No doc can do that for you. Yoga, other exercises, or the beach in Aruba! I believe we all have instinctive knowledge of what is good for us. That's the best resource. A resource that pays to develop and harness. Low cost too! Self help/responsibility can help get health costs under control.
As a Doctor of Chiropractic myself. I want to thank everyone for the nice comments on my profession. Yes, we are NOT all created equal. There are over 91 named chiropractic techniques. I specialize in the Gonstead method. I have only had ONE patient come to me 3 times in 1 week. Most of my patients are seen once per month. The Gonstead creed is find it (the misaligned bone(s)), fix it, then leave it alone. Less is more. On the comments where after the treatments were done and you felt worse 99.9% of the time is the chiropractor adjusted a segment (bone) to high. I learned this the hard way. You would be absolutely shocked how low back pain can be the result of misaligned feet bones, knees, or hips. It makes sense because you take several thousand steps per day and your low back takes the brunt of those steps. Again thanks for all the great comments.
I wouldn't be where I am today without my chiropractor! I have lived a better quality of life, because I have horrible back problems! When your body is in alighnment the way it was meant to be, your body is at it's best! I have been going for 11 years! Big Diffference!
I have gone to the same chiro off and on for years. Once everything is aligned the way it should be you will be amazed at how much better you feel overall. One thing that my chiro has changed is adding a massage therapist instead of using the electro-therapy. I get a 15 min. massage on the affected area (usually shoulders and neck) which relaxes the surrounding muscles much more than the therapy ever did. Most of the time now he barely has to touch my spine and it pops pretty much by itself. I also include a 60 minute deep tissue massage at least once a month. It does wonders for relaxation and tension relief.
I'm young and already have lower back problems from bad posture. I've been to doctors, a chiropractor, specialists and a personal trainer. The chiropractor gave me temporary relief, but that was it. I didn't think it was worth the money to spend on something that wasn't helping long term. When I visited the personal trainer, he told me the truth about the pain and then what to do about it, including stretches and exercises. In my opinion, that's the best thing you can do. Stretch and exercise it, cause it needs to be stronger in order to support your weak back. It works well for me, and actually feels a lot better than it did years ago.
echolian: When I visited the personal trainer, he told me the truth about the pain and then what to do about it, including stretches and exercises. In my opinion, that's the best thing you can do. Stretch and exercise it Oh yes! The word for this 'stretch and exercise' strategy is HATHA YOGA!
15 years of riding horses tends to leave your spine in a bit of a mess... and there are certainly good chiros and bad ones, you soon learn which ones work and which don't. If it is a mechanical problem, your spine is causing it (like a trapped nerve) and you have a good chiro then the relief that you will get will be instant - you might feel like crap for a week after, but its more of a bruised feeling, that's all.
