Are chiropractors MD's. ?

[Stormy Kromer]

Are chiropractors real MD's ?

 

[Koolau]

Are chiropractors real MD's ?

My understanding is that they must receive a Doctorate of Chiropractic but they do not receive an MD degree.

 

[Chuckanut]

Not in my state. They are doctors of chiropractic. For example, they can’t prescribe meds or do surgery. But they can recommend supplements, massage therapy, and manipulate your spine. A lot of DCs in my area team up with massage therapists.

 

[rk911]

My understanding is that they must receive a Doctorate of Chiropractic but they do not receive an MD degree.

Correct. I'm seeing one this week to see if he can help with pain caused by a pinched nerve. The DC is doctorate level degree equivilent to an MD.

 

[disneysteve]

No, a chiropractor is not a medical doctor (MD or DO). A chiropractor attends chiropractic school, not medical school.

Now if you want a doctor who employs manipulative medicine in their practice but is also a fully trained and licensed physician, seek out a DO - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Most DOs don't use manipulation in their practice but those specializing in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) do exactly that.

 

[Chuckanut]

No, a chiropractor is not a medical doctor (MD or DO). A chiropractor attends chiropractic school, not medical school.

Now if you want a doctor who employs manipulative medicine in their practice but is also a fully trained and licensed physician, seek out a DO - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Most DOs don't use manipulation in their practice but those specializing in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) do exactly that.

My new doctor is a DO. I read about DOs on a website. But, So far I can’t tell any difference between him and my now retired previous physician.

 

[CaliKid]

Only in their own minds!

 

[Stormy Kromer]

OP here. The reason I ask is that I have been suffering from a type of arthrithis for 2 years, PMR. A friend of mine heard it and talked to his "chiropractor" buddy and said he'd get me an answer. His chiropractor buddy said "I've never heard of PMR, let me look it up. Within an hour he had a cure for me and for $150 a treatment he'dhave me cured!!

For the past two years I've been seeing a Reumataligist who spent 20 years at the Mayo Clinic before meeting me. We meet every three months and he knows my blood work better than I can say. I am in daily pain, a lot. Thats how this works I'm told.

A chiropractor told me to leave him and let him take care of me. Your thoughts?

 

[CaliKid]

OP here. The reason I ask is that I have been suffering from a type of arthrithis for 2 years, PMR. A friend of mine heard it and talked to his "chiropractor" buddy and said he'd get me an answer. His chiropractor buddy said "I've never heard of PMR, let me look it up. Within an hour he had a cure for me and for $150 a treatment he'dhave me cured!!

For the past two years I've been seeing a Reumataligist who spent 20 years at the Mayo Clinic before meeting me. We meet every three months and he knows my blood work better than I can say. I am in daily pain, a lot. Thats how this works I'm told.

A chiropractor told me to leave him and let him take care of me. Your thoughts?

I would go with your gut here.

My first thought was this is stupid and tell the quack that. However, for $150 why not try it AND see the real doctor also!?

 

[RetiredHappy]

I am glad a chiropractor worked for you. For me, I wouldn't let a chiropractor touch me. Not even with a ten-foot pole. If I were you, I will continue to see your real doctor, i.e. a rheumatologist.

 

[TheWizard]

No...

 

[disneysteve]

OP here. The reason I ask is that I have been suffering from a type of arthrithis for 2 years, PMR. A friend of mine heard it and talked to his "chiropractor" buddy and said he'd get me an answer. His chiropractor buddy said "I've never heard of PMR, let me look it up. Within an hour he had a cure for me and for $150 a treatment he'dhave me cured!!

For the past two years I've been seeing a Reumataligist who spent 20 years at the Mayo Clinic before meeting me. We meet every three months and he knows my blood work better than I can say. I am in daily pain, a lot. Thats how this works I'm told.

A chiropractor told me to leave him and let him take care of me. Your thoughts?

Is this a serious question? Are you really going to trust someone who admitted to have never heard of the disease, googled it, and now claims to be able to cure you for the low low price of $150 per visit? Talk about a scam. This is the poster child for it.

To be clear, I am not opposed to chiropractic care. I’ve seen one myself many times as has my wife and my mother. But you need to choose carefully when selecting one. Unfortunately many of them are extremely unethical.

 

[zinger1457]

Did you actually discuss this with the chiropractor yourself or is this just what your friend is telling you? Sounds fishy to me, no legit chiropractor would make a cure claim like that without doing an in-person exam, stay away if he did.

 

[Koolau]

I would go with your gut here.

My first thought was this is stupid and tell the quack that. However, for $150 why not try it AND see the real doctor also!?

You never know. An orthopedic surgeon said I needed surgery on my shoulder. Instead I went to a physical therapist who diagnosed my problem by looking at me lift my arm. She had me good as new in 5 sessions of PT.

 

[Winemaker]

Chiropractors and physical therapists have had more success than any of the Primary or Specialist Physicians I've ever gone to for pain. I am a 6'5" male who worked in a coal mine for 35 years in a 7'coal seam. Sometimes the height was lower, sometimes higher. Physically demanding job. MDs always wanted to prescribe pain relievers or muscle relaxants. Chiropractic/ physical therapy/ deep tissue massage has made my life so much better. That being said, I did have one chiropractor that was too small/weak to do the job and wanted to see me 2x week for months. His assistant was much stronger and cognizant of my needs.
If your back hurts, it's a muscular/ alignment issue, if the pain goes down your leg/and or is constant , you need an orthopedic doctor.

 

[CaliKid]

You never know. An orthopedic surgeon said I needed surgery on my shoulder. Instead I went to a physical therapist who diagnosed my problem by looking at me lift my arm. She had me good as new in 5 sessions of PT.

Yes, I think PTs are great and your story is common. This thread is about chiropractors and, in my experience, that's a totally different animal. ymmv

 

[TheWizard]

Chiropractors and physical therapists have had more success than any of the Primary or Specialist Physicians I've ever gone to for pain. I am a 6'5" male who worked in a coal mine for 35 years in a 7'coal seam. Sometimes the height was lower, sometimes higher. Physically demanding job. MDs always wanted to prescribe pain relievers or muscle relaxants. Chiropractic/ physical therapy/ deep tissue massage has made my life so much better. That being said, I did have one chiropractor that was too small/weak to do the job and wanted to see me 2x week for months. His assistant was much stronger and cognizant of my needs.
If your back hurts, it's a muscular/ alignment issue, if the pain goes down your leg/and or is constant , you need an orthopedic doctor.

A COAL MINE, wowza!
And here I was thinking you were blending various Cabernets for a living...

 

[Koolau]

Yes, I think PTs are great and your story is common. This thread is about chiropractors and, in my experience, that's a totally different animal. ymmv

Oh, I agree, it's totally different. But my point is that Doctors tend to diagnose and treat what they know in the way they were taught. So it's like the old "every thing is a nail to a hammer." Sometimes a screw slips in and something else is needed.

 

[Chuckanut]

Has anybody read the book Explain Pain? Apparently there is a psychological side of chronic pain that can trick our brains into feeling more pain than we have to.

I have noticed that when my back is acting up, if I am distracted by something pleasurable, my brain seems to forget to feel the pain. At the opposite end if I am feeling fine, and then do something stupid such listen to an “expert” on social media predict the end of the world as we know it, my joints starts to act up.

 

[Looking4Ward]

I was recently diagnosed with degenerative disk disease and lumbar spondylosis. Several chiropractors in my area heavily advertise "advanced" treatments for such afflictions - spine decompression, etc.

A close friend of mine is an ER nurse and cautioned me not to go anywhere near a chiropractor based simply on the number of "adjustments" gone bad they see presented to the ER.

 

[OldShooter]

Not even close. Quack. Quack. Quack.

 

[MichaelB]

OP here. The reason I ask is that I have been suffering from a type of arthrithis for 2 years, PMR. A friend of mine heard it and talked to his "chiropractor" buddy and said he'd get me an answer. His chiropractor buddy said "I've never heard of PMR, let me look it up. Within an hour he had a cure for me and for $150 a treatment he'dhave me cured!!

For the past two years I've been seeing a Reumataligist who spent 20 years at the Mayo Clinic before meeting me. We meet every three months and he knows my blood work better than I can say. I am in daily pain, a lot. Thats how this works I'm told.

A chiropractor told me to leave him and let him take care of me. Your thoughts?

Chiropractors have role in medicine and can provide a valuable service, especially for people dealing with certain types of back and neck issues.

I have had RA for 20 years and know there is nothing a Chiropractor can do to treat it. I do have considerable stiffness and joint pain, but simple stretching at home is the best way to deal with that. The combination of stretching and daily walking has helped me a great deal.

 

[Aerides]

OP here. The reason I ask is that I have been suffering from a type of arthrithis for 2 years, PMR. A friend of mine heard it and talked to his "chiropractor" buddy and said he'd get me an answer. His chiropractor buddy said "I've never heard of PMR, let me look it up. Within an hour he had a cure for me and for $150 a treatment he'dhave me cured!!

For the past two years I've been seeing a Reumataligist who spent 20 years at the Mayo Clinic before meeting me. We meet every three months and he knows my blood work better than I can say. I am in daily pain, a lot. Thats how this works I'm told.

A chiropractor told me to leave him and let him take care of me. Your thoughts?

Some are probably better than others, like any profession.

There is education required though not an MD, but many people do swear by them. You have nothing to lose by trying a few out and seeing if you find one that helps you.

 

[disneysteve]

My new doctor is a DO. I read about DOs on a website. But, So far I can’t tell any difference between him and my now retired previous physician.

Generally speaking, there isn't any major noticeable difference between an MD and a DO except that the DO, in addition to all of the standard stuff, also gets trained in manipulative medicine. As I said, most DOs unfortunately don't use OMM in their practices unless they have chosen to specialize in that area. Otherwise, it's time consuming and poorly reimbursed. I'm a DO and did use OMM now and then in practice but definitely not on a frequent basis. But my wife and daughter love having me be able to fix them when their backs or necks are acting up or they've got a headache that won't quit. Numerous friends have benefited from my training as well.

The main difference, besides the OMM, is more philosophical with DOs being trained to take a more holistic approach to care.

 

[Ian S]

Generally speaking, there isn't any major noticeable difference between an MD and a DO except that the DO, in addition to all of the standard stuff, also gets trained in manipulative medicine. As I said, most DOs unfortunately don't use OMM in their practices unless they have chosen to specialize in that area. Otherwise, it's time consuming and poorly reimbursed. I'm a DO and did use OMM now and then in practice but definitely not on a frequent basis. But my wife and daughter love having me be able to fix them when their backs or necks are acting up or they've got a headache that won't quit. Numerous friends have benefited from my training as well.

The main difference, besides the OMM, is more philosophical with DOs being trained to take a more holistic approach to care.

I've had several D.O.s in my life mostly as PCPs. My experience has been that they discuss/explain things a bit more than the MDs I've had for PCP. Maybe the holistic training coming through? I've had both a D.O. and an M.D. for orthopedic surgery for trigger finger release and both were great. Currently my PC is a D.O. and he is top notch in my book. By all indications, knows his stuff too.