Anyone use a chiropractor?

[Brat]

Originally Posted by tapper

Health-wise, my goal is to still be able to easily climb trees when I'm seventy.

My Dad fell out of a tree when trying to filch apples when he was in his 70s. Nothing harmed but his dignity.

[Goonie]

Originally Posted by tapper

Health-wise, my goal is to still be able to easily climb trees when I'm seventy.

At age 73, my Grandad had climbed about 35 feet up in a huge tree in his front yard with a chainsaw to trim and prune it. His neighbors called the police because they thought he'd flipped his cork. The cops showed up and asked what he thought he was doing up there, and he asked them if it wasn't fairly obvious. They then called my Dad and explained to him what was taking place, and he told them that if he said he was trimming the tree, then he must be trimming the tree! That sort of thing was normal for the old guy!

[FinanceGeek]

I'll go "middle of the road" on this one. Chiropractors have traditionally been second (or possibly third?) class citizens in the world of medical professionals. Their training is less intensive than what MDs (or even many nurses) go through, and there have been a lot of excessive claims of efficacy which don't seem to hold water.

That having been said, I think that chiros have a (limited) legitimate role in the treatment and resolution of orthopedic issues for which surgery is inappropriate or inadvisable.

For the record I have seen a DC a few times in the past, and I believe he helped me with the issue I was experiencing.

[Celany]

I go to one regularly & re: strange claims, it did improve my allergies (among other things). I have no idea what I'm allergic to, but I get allergies most spring-times & fall-times & miserable sinus headaches. when I go to the chiro, the headaches & sniffles get dramatically better.

it has also improved my posture. I need to work harding on having better posture on a regular basis, but between the chiro & the weightlifting, it has made a positive difference.

I will continue to go to one regularly for the forseeable future.

[mykidslovedogs]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

I know this will be an unpopular viewpoint, but I've concluded, in part due to my background in neuroscience, that many (most? all?) chiropractors are frauds. I'll qualify that by saying that many believe in what they do, in the same way that many whole life insurance salesmen believe in what they sell.

The "hands on" aspect of the treatment results in a strong placebo effect. When evaluating reports of cures, view them alongside similar reports of cures from revival meetings, colored light therapy, aropmatherapy, cerebrospinal manipulation, etc.

My superstitious sisters have spent > $100,000 on chiropractors with no results that I've seen (other than to eliminate their savings).

I agree. I had one who popped my neck when I specifically asked her not to do it. My ears rang for over a week, and now, my neck always pops. It's never been the same since. My dad went to see one who claimed they could cure the pain in his lower back which emanated down his legs. I warned him to go see a good orthopedic doctor first. Did he listen? Noooooo. Instead he let the Chiropractor pop his back and the guy ended up fracturing one of the bones in his tail bone. Nice job! It took almost a year before my dad's pain subsided. He finally saw an orthopedic Dr. who gave him steriod injections, and that seemed to do the trick.

Oh yea, and the one who treated me tried some kind of "kinesiology" on me. She put different kinds of substances in little jars on my stomach and then tested the strength of my arms and legs to see if the substance(s) made me weak. If they did, then I automatically had the food allergy, and, almost $200 later, I was told to reduce/eliminate the amount of sugar and wheat in my diet. Duhhhhhh! Like most people don't know too much sugar and wheat is not good for you. I told her that I had a hard time believing in her "science" and that I was sure she almost always made the same conclusion for all of her patients. I am sure that ticked her off a bit, but come on....what kind of science is that?

Most insurance doesn't give much coverage for Chiro, and it amazes me that people are willing to spend so much out of pocket on them.