trying2pedal

Anybody using a chiropractor? How long have you been using your doctor? And what have your overall experiences been while riding?

thehammerdog

ya mean Quacks?
Why would you even consider going to one?

Mark Kelly 

Chiropractors are not doctors.

To quote Tim Minchin: Do you know what they call alternative medicine which has been proved to work?.... Medicine.


(at 3:20)

mihlbach

I would never visit a chiropractor. Chiropractics aren't doctors, nor is anything they do based on science.

https://www.chirobase.org/

https://www.chirobase.org/01General/skeptic.html

trying2pedal

I was in a motorcycle accident about 2 years ago. I wasnt walking straight and recived a "complementary" adjustment. I went to about eight adjustments, none the less I have started walking straight, but have not been back since. Truth be told, It did feel good and I was contemplating another visit but decided to run it past the board. Since I started riding it has changed my life and I don't feel I need "adjusting" it just felt so darn good.

pdedes

you're better off with a good massage therapist and physiotherapist.

Mose

As one who just married a very bright girl with a DPT degree- go see a PT.

Chiropracters have recently begun learning legit PT techniques (spinal and other joint mobilizations, and some other things) that appear to make them more legit, but most of it is still BS.

The goal of a chiropracter is to make you feel better only for a little while so you have to continually come back for "adjustments."

The goal of a PT is to make you well for life, until you do the next stupid thing and injur yourself in another way. Which has been my MO for a while now.

rogerstg

The problem with most chiropractors is that many don't "cure" you, just put you on a regular maintenance plan for adjustments.

The problem with most GP doctors it that they prescribe drugs too easily, still not fixing the problem. Sometimes they send you to therapy, which is like going to a chiropractor.

The problem with surgeons is that they usually think cutting is the way to go.

So... my approach is incremental. Chiro, then GP then surgeon/specialist. I lucked into a "good" chiropractor that fixes problems. I've seen him for a half dozen progressive chronic issues over the last 20 years and he has fixed them all.

If not cured in a reasonable amount of visits, I'd progress to a doctor, then surgeon/specialist. Thankfully I have not needed it yet.

I'd only go if something hurts and has for a long time. If you want to feel good, get a massage

Mose

Going to a good PT is not at all like going to a chiropractor. Also, another nice thing about PTs is that they're actually trained to recognize the limitations of their own treatments and know when it's appropriate to go see an ortho instead.

JonnyV

Yup, I go to a chiropractor all the time. Part of the reason is his office is next door to my work. Part of the reason is after carrying a 400lb treadmill I need a little tweaking if the delivery doesn't go just right. Another part of the reason is he's one of my best friends.

datlas 

As a medical doctor, I generally am not a "fan" of chiropractic and would aim for PT.

That said, I have plenty of patients who have had some benefit from chiropractic.

I also have plenty who have not been helped.

I try to be openminded so if you want to give it a try, go ahead.

I figure we are just not smart enough to understand why sometimes chiropractic "works" and sometimes it doesn't....comes down to individual situation.

Again, the 99% correct answer to BF questions:

It depends.

rangerdavid

I am always in favor of trying the least intrusive means to fix a problem. If I go to a surgeon, he's going to say he can fix it with surgery, and he probably can. But I'd prefer to try chiropractic first. if that works, fine, then I'm done. If not, then I can always go the other route.

big chainring 

Oh man. I went to a chiropractor for 7 years. Up to twice a week at times. I thought my lower back would never get better. Then I just quit going. I had enough. After about 6 months my back felt great. The constant realigning of my spine did more harm than good. I figure your body finds its own alignment, and disturbing it causes problems.

Kylerk

The problem I've had with Chiropractors in the past is that they are primarily trained to utilize techniques (called - "adjustments") that will re-align a spine that for some reason has gone out of alignment and caused someone pain, thus reducing that pain. The problem is - they are not trained in "cause and effect". That is, they are not trained to determine WHAT caused your spine to go out of alignment in the first place. Thus, your spine will soon go out of alignment again, and you will soon have to return for another spinal adjustment, because you know it's the only way you can get quick relief for your pain. Then a cycle ensues - this is basically their business plan.

If you have back pain, the most important thing is not quick relief, but finding out what is causing the imbalance in your body and having it addressed. I've found that this can best be accomplished by seeing a Osteopath who can evaluate the way your muscles, nerves, ligaments, etc. work together in a "firing pattern" for various movements, they can then determine the weaknesses in your body that are bringing about imbalance and send you on to a Physical Therapist where those weaknesses can be addressed.

merlinextraligh

Thus, the answer is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Doctor who will likely prescribe physical therapy, can prescribe medicine if indicated, or refer you to a surgeon if necessary.

merlinextraligh

Just another thing to consider, if you go to an Orthopedist, or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician theire education consists of 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of internship/residency.

They will then prescribe physical therapy to be done under their guidance by a PT that has 2 years of undergraduate school and 3 years of PT training.

Conversely, a chiropractor traditionally has only been required to have 2 years of undergrad then 4 years of Chiropractic.

Also consider that no major university in the United States offers a Chiropractic degree. Perhaps there's a reason?

jayp410

My wife goes to one regularly and swears by it, but the problems keep recurring. I have lower back issues a three or four times a year which typically last for 5-10 days but I'm afraid that a chiropractor might mess up my spine worse than it already is. I've discovered that jogging (a few days after the injury) actually *fixes* my back when I get this problem. Also I bought one of those inversion tables that lets you hang upside down, and it looks promising but I haven't used it a whole lot yet.

mihlbach

Chiropractry is based on the theory of "subluxations" (spinal misalignments) for which there is no real evidence. Cracking your back seems to have theraputic benefits for some, but there no evidence that chiropractors realign anything. In fact, if they were able to change your spinal aligment by twisting your back, that would be very dangerous. In fact neck and upper back adjustments are dangerous and can cause stroke due to damage of the vertebral artery.

BTW, osteopaths (doctors with the DO degree) have the same training as MDs, and do all the same things MDs do. However, the practice of osteopathic manipulation (OMM or OMT), which the vast majority of most practicing DOs do not use, is no more evidence based than chiropractry and much of it seems like complete mysticism to me, although like chiropracty, some patients report theraputic benefits. All DOs are trained in osteopathic manipulation but most of them abandon it early in their careers and basically act like MDs. Most DOs are fine, but I would avoid any DO who claims to be able to cure all your ills with OMM.

tuxbailey

I have chronic lower back issues for over 20 years. The issue has been better since I have become more active it flares up 2-3 times a year which makes life pretty miserable and it usually recovers in 1-2 weeks with rest. My primary care doctor had sent me to PT for a period time. It helped but it didn't fix the root problem. And i don't want to consider surgery since it is not severe enough for that.

So I had another episode two weeks ago, and after trying to tough it out for a week I finally went to a chiropractor that is across the street from my work place (recommendation from a coworker.) I was hurting and I was walking with like a 15-20% upper body tilt.

I don't know if it is voodoo or not, but the first session gave me immediate relief and I was able to walk straight.

I do think I need to work on my core to strengthen the lower back muscle (it will help the biking as well.) But in the future if my problem flares up I will definitely go again.

hurley1718

I go on a regular basis. My hips go out a lot and causes lower back pain. Also my dad is a chiropractor so I am used to getting regular adjustments, however he lives in FL now.

I have also had success with chiropractics, but my feelings are also biased.

Will G

I've only used a chiropractor once. I severely tweaked something in my neck under high G loads while flying. It felt like someone jammed an icepick into the base of my neck. Went to the doc and he gave me muscle relaxers and set me up with various thermal and massage therapy sessions to fix it and was told it would probably be a few weeks before I could fly again. The pain got much, much worse and had to make a trip to the ER and got some really good pain medications. The following Monday, I was back in the Flight Surgeons office and a different doc was there. He did the neck popping routine and I was back in business by the end of the week. So, I think it does work for certain conditions but I'm not sure it would work for long, term recurring conditions.

Mose

As far as I know, all states require PTs to have an actual Masters degree (I think it's always a Master of Science) and require a BSc prior to graduate/professional school. And now many states (MA being one of them) are requiring all PTs to have doctorates. My wife has a four year degree plus her DPT, which ordinarly takes an additional 5 years but she was in an accelerated program and went to school year round for 3.

Seattle Forrest

Chiropractors aren't doctors.

Whatever problem you have, when you go into the chiropractor's office, they'll tell you is twenty times as bad as you realize. They'll shoot some x-rays that won't actually be used for anything to seem more legitimate, and then they'll tell you the way to relief is to pay them two or three times a week for a massage, for the rest of your life.

Homebrew01

I get a similar effect by just grabbing the top of a sturdy door (near the hinges), slowly take the weight of my feet (toes just touching the floor) and hanging, trying to relax everything for a minute. It's free and helps when I do it. ........... Think I'll go do it now .... aahhhhh

tadawdy

Basing a therapy on joint manipulation is a problem because the manipulation itself creates more joint laxity, and may not actually affect the position of the joint. This has been investigated with MRI and X-ray.

If you've got a postural deficit, which causes a deformation of the vertebral ligaments and altered muscle length-tension relationships (and gradual bone remodeling to boot), which seems more reasonable?

1. Pop them around, which feels good because it stimulates stretch receptors in the soft tissues, but also further deforms them by taking them into a paraphysiologic state.

or

2. Identify the postural problem and attempt to correct, or at least lessen it, so that the individual will be trained out of faulty movement patterns that caused the problem in the first place.

I'll go with the one that tries to put my back in a normal state, without the added flexibility where I don't want it.

Part of the problem is that NO ONE knows why most cases of low-back pain happen, and people want an answer. When alternative therapies promise relief, and seem to offer it in the short-term, it looks good.

Again, MRI studies on the spine and other joints have shown that the degree of joint deformity (from OA or disk herniation or whatever else) doesn't correlate with pain or disability. Look at L5-S1 or the knee with MRI in the whole population, and you'd expect a lot more problems than people actually have.

There are some manipulative therapies that work with certain joint conditions, but they're typically void of intentional popping. These are the type that some PT's employ.