chiropractor/arthritis
Angie
I was just curious if anyone has been seeing a chiro for arthritis. My 8
yr old daughter is going to one for her back (unbalanced pelvis leading
to scoleous). I like this doctor and some of the info he gave on her
sounds like it could relieve some other joint pain like wrist and
shoulder and so on. I thought about checking into this and wanted to get
ya'lls thought on this. Thanks a bunch...
Angie
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Lady Andy2
Hi, Angie... my first question has to be, has your daughter been diagnosed as
having arthritis by a medical doctor? If not, I would highly recommend you
take her to someone in traditional medicine BEFORE you resort to the
alternative of chiropractic.
Personally, I believe every single person who is examined by a chiropractor can
be claimed to have an unbalanced pelvis, or subluxated spine, or legs of
uneven lengths, or other such things. They use this to make you think there
is a problem where there is none.
For myself, I don't really trust chiropractic (surprise, surprise !), but I can
understand using a GOOD and ETHICAL one for back pains ONLY. By ethical, I
mean one who knows his limitations and will refer patients to medical doctors
when warranted. I absolutely do not believe that chiropractic can cure cancer
and all manner of ills, as some claim. I also believe that practitioners of
chiropractic can cause serious harm if they manipulate someone in the wrong
way, and it is very possible to harm the back or spine of a youngster easier
than that of an adult.
There was a very interesting expose on chiropractic on my local t.v. station a
few months ago, saying that at their conventions and sales meetings they are
discussing how to increase their business by stressing the treatment of
children (not traditional in their field).
A good chiropractor would work with the medical doctor, supporting sound
medical advice and not engendering mistrust in the medical profession and
proven medical treatments.
A healthy dose of skepticism would seem to be a wise course of action here.
Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Lady...@aol.com
PS: I especially hate the chiropractor who haunts my post office parking lot
with his skeleton on a rack, trying to talk people into his "free
consultation" so he can diagnose problems.
Angie
Wait a minute....let me clear something up. My daughter (8yr) is going to chiro
that I thought about going to. I'm the one with the arthritic pain. I have an
appointment on Friday with a RD to start checking into things but in reading the
info I got back from the chiro about what the different vertebrae do for your
system, I thought about checking this chiro as an option. I would much rather do
something like this if it helps instead of taking medication. I already have
stomach problems from the alieve or advil I've taken (I tyake for pain and also for
a week before my period to reduce the hormone levels) so I don't really want to
have to go to a gastro dr for this. I'm not big on spending days on end in a
doctors office that I seem to be doing now with my daughter and the chiro. I have a
real problem with them since one took 8 months to refer me to a neurologist then I
get told by another in not so many words that it's in my head. Things like this go
away. Ah huh...sure. I wish I would have kept a journal since I was 15.
BTW my daughter does have an unbalanced pelvis....x-rays show alot and 2 doctors
have diagnosed with a mild case of scoleous and the one (chiro) said it's due to
the pelvis. He took the x-rays while she was standing so that gravity would have an
effect. She was complaining about her back which is why it was mentioned to a
doctor (general pract). From what I've seen in the chiro cracking her back is
mostly the way that any of us who cracks our own would do it.
Angie
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Fred Weiss
Hi Angie,
My wife works for a Chiro. He is pretty conservative when in comes to arthritis. He
claims there is some movement that could cause additional damage to already damaged
joints.
However he does do allot of ultrasound therapy on inflamed joints which seems to help
me.
My RD told me never to let the Chiro since I have PA.
Stay well,
Fred
computor
I think most medical doctors just say to stay away from chiros without
really knowing what they do. After our doctor told my daughter she was
just going to have to learn to live with her pain (pain so bad she would
faint from it), I decided I didn't care what the doctors say, I was
taking her to a chiro. I asked around for advice on a gentle chiro and
took my daughter to her. No xrays were needed since the spinal problem
was so obvious. After an hour of very slow and gentle manipulation,
guess what? My daughter said her pain was reduced by half. A few weeks
of treatment and she was moving again almost normally and nearly
pain-free. End result: I'd trust a chiro before I would an md when it
comes to issues of pain and mobility. Sure there are bad chiros, but
there are bad and dangerous doctors too.
Laura
Carolyn
I believe there was a study done in Ontario in the last few years. The
conclusion was that chiropractic could be an effective and lower-cost
way to treat chronic lower back pain. However it was not recommended
for more serious diseases, including arthritis.
I have had serious doubts about chiropractic treatment ever since a
friend who is a massage therapist said she had seen more than one case
of a person whose joints had been rendered hypermobile as a result of
repeated adjustments.
I worry especially about the trend I have seen for chiropractors to
claim that children need adjustments. I saw a pamphlet that recommended
adjustments starting with the pregnant mother and continuing for the
infant. The assumption seemed to be that everyone needed adjusting from
the moment they were born.
Carolyn
c...@interlog.com
computor
Carolyn wrote:
>
> I believe there was a study done in Ontario in the last few years. The
> conclusion was that chiropractic could be an effective and lower-cost
> way to treat chronic lower back pain. However it was not recommended
> for more serious diseases, including arthritis.
>
> I have had serious doubts about chiropractic treatment ever since a
> friend who is a massage therapist said she had seen more than one case
> of a person whose joints had been rendered hypermobile as a result of
> repeated adjustments.
>
> I worry especially about the trend I have seen for chiropractors to
> claim that children need adjustments. I saw a pamphlet that recommended
> adjustments starting with the pregnant mother and continuing for the
> infant. The assumption seemed to be that everyone needed adjusting from
> the moment they were born.
>
> Carolyn
> c...@interlog.com
Well, since my daughter's problem and mine is that we are already
hypermobile, I'm not too worried about that, even though the mds think I
should be. I figure that, if my c-3 or SI have slipped out of place,
why not slip them back in? I know it isn't a permanent solution; I know
they'll slip out again, that there is no permanent solution. They've
been slipping in and out for far longer than I've been seeing a chiro.
The difference with the chiro is that I get to live with less pain. By
the way, we got our referral to our chiro from our massage therapist.
I'd be skeptical of any health practioner who thought that everyone
should undergo the same treatment regardless of age or condition. But
some babies probably do need adjusting, just as some baby boys probably
do need circumsion for medical reasons.
And what kind of "more serious" disease is meant by that Ontario study?
And what kind of arthritis? Since arthritis isn't just one disease, I'm
immediately skeptical of the wording and real meaning of any such
statement. Did they actually study any statistically large enough
groups to issue a blanket warning against chiropractic for *all* serious
diseases, including *all* forms of arthritis? Or did they simply
exclude anyone with a "serious" disease (whatever they meant by that)
from the study (as medical studies tend to do), and then state that
their findings in favor of chiropractic for lower back pain can not be
extrapolated to include those with "serious" disease? Medical study
designers work very hard to design studies that will only include
patients who have a particular problem with specified symptoms, and to
exclude all others. I understand the reasons for that, but also
understand that that means that the usual warnings about findings not
being applicable to people with "serious" diseases, or to children, or
to women/men, etc., do not mean that the treatment is contraindicated.
It just means that they don't know.
laura
Carolyn
Hi Laura --
Sorry, I don't have the details of the study -- I just remember reading
about it. I will try to find out more.
I certainly wouldn't tell anyone to stop using a treatment that works
for them. And I know there are good chiropractors. I just think people
should be aware that chiropractic is effective for some problems, but
not all.
Carolyn
Msciciel
>I like this doctor and some of the info he gave on her
>sounds like it could relieve some other joint pain like wrist and
>shoulder and so on.
I believe that there are good and bad chiros just as there are in all areas of
the medical profession. However, since chiros are not monitored as closely as
MD's, you must be on the alert.
I had a very positive experience with a chiro a number of years ago. I had
fallen off a running horse and had a compound fracture of my lower left arm. It
was a real mess and was set with plates and screws. Eight weeks after the
surgery, the arm was still so weak that I couldn't even lift 3 pounds or rotate
my wrist. The ortho was absolutely no help. He would just grab my arm and twist
my wrist and inform me that I wasn't excersising it enough. This would cause
incredible pain and I would be in tears after every visit.
My husband knew of a good chiro who had helped him after a spinal fusion and
took me to see him. This chiro took one x-ray and was appalled when I told him
about the treatment I had received. He explained that rotating my wrist was
practically impossible because the location of the plates prevented it. He also
said that the bones weren't knitting and gave me huge doses of Vit. C and
calcium. Within a few days I could tell the difference. Within two weeks, the
x-rays showed that the bones were healing well. The wrist still doesn't rotate
normally because I have never had the plates removed ( Ihate the idea of
surgery), but it really doesn't keep me from doing much of anything.
I should mention that this chiro was not one who insisted on multiple visits.
He would suggest what he thought would be helpful but left the decision to the
patient.
My regular physician is now a DO. He will do an occasional "manipulation" (the
osteopathic terminology for a chiropractic adjustment). I believe that most of
today's DO's are moving away from this practice and it is a pity.There are some
real benefits, especially with back and neck problems. In my Dr's case, he has
arthritis himself and the manipulations put a strain on his back. DO's can
prescribe medications and most of them prefer to do this rather than the
manipulations. However, I have found that DO's seem a bit more open to
"alternative" treatments and take a bit more of an "holistic" approach to
medicine and I like that. Another benefit is that I can really talk to him --
and even yell at him if I feel like it -- and he just smiles (bless him)! He
does understand about pain.
To close on an unhappy note, I will loose him before long. He is going to take
early retirement because of all the nonsense from the HMOs & PPOs. If anyone
has any suggestions on how we as patients can help our good Dr's with this
problem, please post it. I, for one, would be more than happy to do anything I
could to help Dr's return to the practice of medicine instead of fighting with
paperwork and attorneys.
Ann
Angie
Hmmmm....Thank you, Elaine and everyone else. I did go to the RD. Very friendly and
helpful. She did some minor tests and found that I do have a case of carpel tunnel
tho it's not bad right now. She wasn't too sure of my shoulder but was thinking
along the lines of a messed up rotating cup. (No, I'm not a pitcher.) She did a
blood workup and sent me for x-rays. She put me on relafin and oxi....something or
other (sounds like a naproxen product....daypro?) for a couple weeks (finish one
then start the other). I have another appointment in 2 weeks with her. In her exam,
she found a tender spot on my lower back and had that x-rayed too. So in the
meantime, I'll take my med that she gave me. I plan on seeing a chiro still. Like I
said, I'd rather try something that I don't have to take med for. If it works,
great.....if not, it was worth trying. My stomach's messed up from the alieve now
that I have to take coated stuff. I'll be at a chiro anyway with my daughter and
maybe he'll give me a 2 for 1 special....LOL.
So what else could aggrivate a rotating cup? I have had 3 kids in the last 8 years
(8yr, 6yr, 3yr.) That has been my only repetitive motion (RD linking it to carpel
tunnel)other than getting this computer 3 years ago but we can't figure the
shoulder thing. I guess I'll have to wait for the pictures to come back...I guess
I'm a bit anxious.
Thanks for your support....
ElaineY
Hi Angie
Here's a quick support for the chiro...Back in March I was having a horrible
time. In severe pain in my shoulders, neck, wrists, hands, several knuckles
and sometimes my right knee. I went to a regular doctor -- told him family
history of lupus, arthritis etc. and he gave me naproxin and sent me for blood
tests. No relief. I couldn't even pick up my baby! So, I went to a chiro,
while waiting for my blood test results. She checked me over, and wouldn't
diagnose me with RA until she heard from my MD -- however, in the mean time,
she helped me with careful adjustments, and recommended a diet that avoided
wheat, flour, sugar and processed foods.
Long story short -- I ended up going to a rhemetologist (sp?) who said that I
have the early symptoms of RA, but not the RA factor in my blood -- I was to
manage the pain with advil -- every 4 hours. At the same time I followed this
diet (as best I could), and continued to see the chiro.
I am much improved from March, with good days and bad. Down to seeing the
chiro once/month . Some days aren't so good -- and I think it has a lot to do
with my diet, which I'm still trying to figure out.
So, did the chiro help me? Yes. I'd say so. I'm staying away from lots of
pills, and trying to cope in a way that helps me feel like I have more control.
Sorry for the length, but just a note on what she actually did for me -- neck,
back and hip manipulation. She also did some work on my hands and wrists with
a "stimulator" which does mini adjustments, very gentle. She also hooked me up
to a "muscle stim" machine that helped relieve the tenseness of my shoulder and
neck muscles which have been aggravated by the whole thing.
Hope this helps.
macka...@gmail.com
> I was just curious if anyone has been seeing a chiro for arthritis. My 8
> yr old daughter is going to one for her back (unbalanced pelvis leading
> ya'lls thought on this. Thanks a bunch...
> Angie
>
I also had arthritis and took chiropractic treatment at http://myhhchiro.com. I feel good after the treatment and my lower back pain also recovered from chiropractic treatment.
Diane Meng
news:9aa4ef54-beed-41f4...@googlegroups.com...
hope everything works out well for her and you too. Please update us when
you can. So glad you got some relief from your chiro. I tried that and he
is sooooo nice and competent, but he said I have so much pain and things
wrong with me all over my body that he couldn't give me any treatments that
would help me. He was so nice and honest. He even said to please keep in
touch with him and let him and his recep know what the doctors find out
about me. I'll do that soon. Please take care of your daughter and
yourself, Angie.
Gentle hugs,
Diane