-I- Chiropractor Newbie
Shan
I've been having back pain in my left sidefor 7 years (I'm only 21).
Lately though it's been getting so bad it's interrupting my normal
activities; I can no longer do sit-ups, twist to the left, or sit up from
a laying position without enormous pain. I've never been to a chiropractor
and the only thing I know about them is that my mom always told me they're
a scam. But I'm at my wit's end and I'm willing to try anything! So,
questions:
Has anyone had back pain be cured by a chiropractor?
How much was the cost?
How many sessions were necessary?
Are there any licenses, certifications, etc. I should be on the lookout
for when selecting one?
Has anyone been scammed by a chiropractor?
Any other comments of interest?
Looking forward to doing sit-ups again,
Shannon
Maggie Morris
Shan <mcdo...@students.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> Has anyone had back pain be cured by a chiropractor?
the problem with a lot of back pain is that its chronic. well, at least,
mine is. but yes, i have had acute back pain cured by chiropractic.
> How much was the cost?
well, here in chicago i paid 40 dollars without insurance, 20 dollars
with. that's per appointment. and that's for an adjustment, not
necessarily for other sorts of treatments. i was lucky and had a really
nice chiropractor who did not charge me for a form of therapy i needed
becausemy insurance refused to pay for it. but the price might be less in
other areas. back in buffalo, my copay was 10 dollars a session.
> How many sessions were necessary?
well, when i had acute back pain, i think i went 4 times in quick
succession and then tapered off. but my back was so bad i couldn't move.
i generally go every couple months for an adjustment for my chronic neck
problem.
> Are there any licenses, certifications, etc. I should be on the lookout
> for when selecting one?
i'm sure there's something akin to an American Institute of Chiropractic.
But you can't be a doctor of chiropractic without a doctor of chiropractic
degree, and i don't know how hard it is to get one or what schools are
more prestigious than others. i do know that there is a big chiropractic
school here in chicago that is well regarded within the chiropractic
world.
> Has anyone been scammed by a chiropractor?
i have not.
> Any other comments of interest?
i think chiropractors often get a bad rap as not being "real" doctors.
but there don't seem to be any "real" doctors that'll fix my back. and
i'm a big fan of both my chiropractor in buffalo and my chiropractor
here. i have had very good experiences with chiropractic.
-mags
--
La la la la la . New clothes, I have new clothes.
I have new clothes." -Cordelia Chase
Angela Reid
"Shan" <mcdo...@students.uiuc.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.GSO.4.31.01050...@ux5.cso.uiuc.edu...
>
> I've been having back pain in my left sidefor 7 years (I'm only 21).
> Lately though it's been getting so bad it's interrupting my normal
> activities; I can no longer do sit-ups, twist to the left, or sit up from
> a laying position without enormous pain. I've never been to a chiropractor
> and the only thing I know about them is that my mom always told me they're
> a scam. But I'm at my wit's end and I'm willing to try anything!
First, (have to ask) have you tried a variety of doctors? If you go to one
who finds no cause, try another. And another. And another. And if a g.p.
doesn't help you, ask for a referal to a specialist. I went through a lot
of crap with my headaches before I found a g.p. who was willing to admit he
couldn't help me and move me up the line to a neurologist. Knowing what I
know now, I 'd have sped up the process.
According to Loren Fishman, author of _Back Talk_:
*Most back pain is curable; less than 10 percent becomes chronic.
*More than 25 percent of people who go to orthopedic surgeons have referred
themselves.
*The initial treatment any doctor is likely to prescribe is aspirin or other
nonsteroidal painkillers.
Make sure that your back pain isn't caused by a serious underlying medical
condition that can be treated before you seek a chiropractor. Meanwhile,
this site could be useful to you. It has a lot of good information,
including some exercises that might help:
http://www.highlands-ortho.com/backpain.html
And you can go here to ask your questions of actual chiropractors, or to see
the questions previously asked them:
http://www.allexperts.com/getExpert.asp?Category=965
>So,
> questions:
> Has anyone had back pain be cured by a chiropractor?
My brother did. It recurs periodically and he has to return, but he went
from chronic back pain to intermittent pain, and he's very pleased with the
experience. Hopefully if you wind up going that route, it'll work for you,
too.
Angela
kathryn jean drennan
>Lately though it's been getting so bad it's interrupting my normal
>activities; I can no longer do sit-ups, twist to the left, or sit up from
>a laying position without enormous pain. I've never been to a chiropractor
>and the only thing I know about them is that my mom always told me they're
>a scam. But I'm at my wit's end and I'm willing to try anything! So,
Have you tried a physical therapist? They're typically better
regulated and have more actual science behind their efforts
than a chiropractor. I've seen a couple of people who've
had permanent back injury from them.
--Katy
ai...@rmta.org
> Has anyone had back pain be cured by a chiropractor?
i've had various pains fixed by chiropractic adjustments. even small,
nagging pains in areas like the legs can be cause by a pinched nerve or
some other minor out-of-whack bit. i've had severe headaches disappear
instantly with neck adjustments.
angela suggested that you look into several other gp's about your pain
before trying a chiropractor. i'm loathe to disagree with her, but i
think it might be better to see if a simple adjustment will help you
first. is anyone aware of adjustments relieving pain and masking other
problems? it doesn't seem likely to me that it would; given the procedure
involved, i'd assume that it simply wouldn't help if there were some other
medical problem causing the pain.
> How much was the cost?
> How many sessions were necessary?
my father-in-law joe is a chiropractor, so i get adjustments for free. i
do know he charges $30 per session, but i don't know if that's
typical. it doesn't sound too different from what maggie said she paid.
> Are there any licenses, certifications, etc. I should be on the lookout
> for when selecting one?
> Has anyone been scammed by a chiropractor?
joe is very unhappy with the ethics of many of his colleagues. he
actually kept his office in st louis even when he moved 100 miles away,
because he didn't know anyone he'd want to refer his patients to. he
briefly considered opening a new office near where he now lives, but he's
still commuting 7 years later.
i don't know what to tell you to look for, though, and my in-laws are out
of town right now. next time my mother-in-law calls to check up, i'll ask
about it. however, i'd say in general that you should see how you feel
after an adjustment. either it will help or it won't.
> Any other comments of interest?
apparently there are chiropractors out there who do adjustments with
machinery (possibly most of them), and i don't know what that's like. joe
does everything manually, and i tend to think i'd prefer that, but i've
never tried the other way. i'm guessing that most chiropractors don't
have the upper body strength required to be able to do all of it manually.
Aimee the Magdalene
* losing your faith is a lot like losing your virginity *
* you don't realize how irritating it was 'til it's gone *
* - AEL *
* and when they say 'take of his body' *
* i think i'll take from mine instead - Tori Amos *
* once i could see...now i am blind - Trent Reznor *
Shan
> http://www.highlands-ortho.com/backpain.html
>
> And you can go here to ask your questions of actual chiropractors, or to see
> the questions previously asked them:
> http://www.allexperts.com/getExpert.asp?Category=965
Thanks Angela! Both websites were excellant. I had been having trouble
finding a site like this. The exercises it recommended were surprising to
me, but I will definately give them a try.
Shannon
"Short white gloves are now considered the symbol of female repression,
while long white gloves, the symbol of upper class tyranny. Miss Manners
is thinking of combining them to demonstrate that she is a repressed
tyrant." -Miss Manners, syndicated columnist
Ken Tough
>angela suggested that you look into several other gp's about your pain
>before trying a chiropractor. i'm loathe to disagree with her, but i
>think it might be better to see if a simple adjustment will help you
>first. is anyone aware of adjustments relieving pain and masking other
>problems?
Is it possible that people with certain conditions (say like
Angela's) could be at risk from having adjustments first off?
Also, I knew someone who had a spinal cyst/tumor which detection
was delayed quite a lot by starting at the 'symptom relief' end.
[Extremely rare--I don't mean to generate a scare or anything]
For someone like Shannon who's had such back pain from adolescence,
it might seem sensible to establish well with X-rays etc by a
diagnosing doctor, what the cause might be, including mild
curvatures of the spine or whatever.
--
Ken Tough
Kathryn J. Drennan
wrote:
>ai...@rmta.org wrote:
>
>>angela suggested that you look into several other gp's about your pain
>>before trying a chiropractor. i'm loathe to disagree with her, but i
>>think it might be better to see if a simple adjustment will help you
>>first. is anyone aware of adjustments relieving pain and masking other
>>problems?
>
>Is it possible that people with certain conditions (say like
>Angela's) could be at risk from having adjustments first off?
>Also, I knew someone who had a spinal cyst/tumor which detection
>was delayed quite a lot by starting at the 'symptom relief' end.
>[Extremely rare--I don't mean to generate a scare or anything]
With some conditions (possibly including versions of the chiari
malformation like Angela's, but more commonly rheumatoid arthritis and
other arthritidies) there are real risks to chiropracty. One of those
risks is a fracture of the odontoid process/dens of the first/second
vertebrae which can be completely catastrophic (I've seen the
aftermath of this one; it's rare, but a good reason to at least get a
medical eval before chiropractic stuff.). Also, there's absolutely no
evidence that I'm aware of that chiropracty is any more effective than
good conventional medical therapy and physical therapy for back
injuries. (you may have to be persistant to get that pt referral, but
it's a good thing).
Having said that, chiropractic treatment is probably at least as good
as a good massage.
--Katy
Michelle Haines
> Having said that, chiropractic treatment is probably at least as good
> as a good massage.
Unless it's one of htose chiropractors who's of the opinion that you
can cure all the ills of mankind with a little spinal manipulation.
*who still hasn't finished rolling her eyes at her sister's statement
that her kids had colic because of birth trauma*
There's a bit contingent over at MKP/MKB/MK who thinks ear infections
are cured by sacral manipulation. Also, there's a guy who regularly
posts to MKP that "fetal skull squashing" could be eliminated if
only chiropractors could act as baby catchers.
Michelle
Flutist
Kathryn J. Drennan
<mha...@Io.NANC.com> wrote:
>Kathryn J. Drennan <kdre...@u.washinnospamgton.edu> wrote:
>
>> Having said that, chiropractic treatment is probably at least as good
>> as a good massage.
>
>Unless it's one of htose chiropractors who's of the opinion that you
>can cure all the ills of mankind with a little spinal manipulation.
Yup. See the post about how chiropractors (even well meaning) could
kill you if you had RA or other, rarer stuff.
>*who still hasn't finished rolling her eyes at her sister's statement
>that her kids had colic because of birth trauma*
*chuckle* Um..... how does she suggest that we avoid the trauma of
birth? C-sections are pretty trauma-free for the kid, but they're
still a distinct second choice to vaginal births.
>There's a bit contingent over at MKP/MKB/MK who thinks ear infections
>are cured by sacral manipulation. Also, there's a guy who regularly
I assume you mean "big" there. :) That's insane. I trust these
people haven't read a lot about biology/science/health. I wonder how
they think that Sacral manipulation cures acute otitis media.
>posts to MKP that "fetal skull squashing" could be eliminated if
>only chiropractors could act as baby catchers.
Aside from the fact that the "fetal skull squashing" happens as the
baby passes through the pelvic outlet and (to a much lesser extent)
vagina. If the chirpractor can't change that, he can't prevent it,
although it may be amusing to watch him try.....Also, what's so bad
about fetal skull squashing? It's designed to be a little squashed at
birth. The skull sutures can slip and compress over each other so
that the kid doesn't get a skull fracture at birth. I mean, aside
from epidural/subdural/brain bleeds which although bad, are very rare,
and not necesarily due to "skull squashing".
When I was a kid, they squashed my skull, and I liked it. I had to
walk home from the hospital uphill bothways through 10 feet of
snow......
--Katy
Michelle Haines
> *chuckle* Um..... how does she suggest that we avoid the trauma of
> birth? C-sections are pretty trauma-free for the kid, but they're
> still a distinct second choice to vaginal births.
Well, my sister isn't the most educated person in the world, and her first
ever real job was for a chiropractor, you see....
> I assume you mean "big" there. :) That's insane. I trust these
> people haven't read a lot about biology/science/health. I wonder how
> they think that Sacral manipulation cures acute otitis media.
These are also generally the anti-vaccination, anti-doctor, anti-
just-about-all-modern-medicine crowd. They have a few valid points
about soem things....about others....wacko city.
> Aside from the fact that the "fetal skull squashing" happens as the
See, now you're simply assuming that Todd Gastaldo has the
ability to ... make sense.
But generally, it's a rant about things like forceps, birth in the
lithogamy position, and overlly medalicized birth. A few of his
objections might make sense here and there if he weren't constantly
spouting, "MDs are lying and babies are dying!" and how chiropractors
should be certified doctors, yadda, yadda, shut up already.
Michelle
Flutist