Chiropractic

A couple of months ago, I started getting awful headaches in the back of my skull, radiating down my neck. I saw my physician, who diagnosed a neck sprain, prescribed Ibuprofen and recommended rest and ice packs. I wasn't totally convinced he was right, because the headaches were very sporadic. While the Ibuprofen helped, I'm very anti-drug, and I figured it was just masking the problem, not helping it.

On the advice of a co-worker, I saw a chiropractor. And of course, I examined his credentials. He received his D.C. from Palmer College of Chiropractic;

http://www.palmer.edu

After some heat packs (to relaxe the muscles), ultrasound therapy, and a "trigger point" massage to my neck, he did the "adjustment". Laying on the table, the chiropractor lifted my head, manipulated it for a few seconds, then turned it quickly to the side. I thought he broke my neck, based on the loud "cracking" sound I heard. He did it the other way, with the same sound.

When I got up, I felt like a million bucks. The headache was gone, and I felt like someone had put my head on a swivel, the range of motion was so improved.

I talked my wife into going, because she's had chronic lower-back pain since her pregnancy, and she got similar results. We're both converts.

If you're having back or neck pain, I highly recommend seeing a chiropractor, it's truly been a blessing for me.

 

I agree, common otc drugs only mask the source. Im antidrug myself. Glad it worked for the both of you. I may head that way myself after learning about your experience. My case is back pains. However, its good that you checked with your doctor first. Body aches can by symptomatic of disease or just plain old stress. I'm looking forward to a foot massage when I travel to Japan this summer.

 

I'm very happy that you're feeling better Bruce.

I've had similar experience with chiropractic care. I see the chiropractor once a month just to make sure that everything stays aligned. I like to call it cracking my back because my doctor always makes a partially hidden grimace and then calls it an adjustment without obviously trying to correct me.

It really is too bad that many in the medical profession don't seem to accept the value of chiropractic care. When people I know mention back pain, I usually suggest that they see a chiropractor. More often than not they act like I just suggested that they go see a witch doctor or somthing.

 

Back issues have been paramount in our household since my wife Marina's 17 hours of spinal fusion surgery just over two years ago, followed by nearly two years of weekly physical therapy. (She is now fully recovered, and five inches taller!)

For whatever it's worth, the position of the UC San Francisco Spine Center, and the UC San Francisco Sports Medicine Center is that chiropractic can be of real value, but that one should only deal with chiropractors who are members or supporters of the National Association for Chiropractic Medicine (http://www.chiromed.org/), which seems to be a very small minority.

 

I agree with its adherents - there is great value to what is known simply as chriopractic.

In the U.S., chiropractic is a licensure-based field, thus if someone purports to be a chiropractor, he or she must be licensed as such (and must hold a D.C. degree from an accredited school - you can search for a list of them on Wikipedia). That's one form of consumer protection.

(For what it's worth, I favor graduates from the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, IL - now the National University of Health Sciences. Some of the most clinically sound chiropractors I've met.)

Another is that they will be listed in the National Chiropractic Directory, which is maintained by most chiropractors in the U.S. - You can search for a chiropractor at http://www.chirodirectory.com.

But this is a field in which, like psychology, if you put ten chiropractors in a room you are likely to get ten different schools of thought. My recommendation, FWIW: find a chiropractor with a diversified practice (that is the actual name of the method) as opposed to one particular school of thinking (like Gonstad, Palmer, or straight).

Four other hints to protect yourself as a consumer, with the most important first: (1) Find a chiropractor who accepts traditional insurance (such as Blue Shield) - it means they have gone through the quality checks needed to qualify for insurance reimbursement and that their credentials have been thoroughly examined by a traditional insurer. (2) Find one who is willing to admit when he or she cannot treat a condition. Spinal stenosis, for example, does not repsond well to chiropractic - if you get a doctor who guarantees relief from such a disorder, find another chiropractor (there are no guarantees). (3) Find one who, right off the bat, orders X-rays - they're more clinically competent than the quacks who are anti-radiology. (4) Avoid like the plague chiropractors who recommend questionable therapies such as magnets or chelation - you want a chiropractor who complements and augments allopathic (traditional) medicine, not one who rails against it.

Past that point, it's a fascinating field to examine, since you find everything from born-again to trés nouvelle-age chiropractors. And for many (though not all) conditions, it does help.

 

Thanks for the personal account Bruce! I am going to keep that in mind, I have Kaiser and they cover Chiropractic. One thing I try to do is stretch a few minutes before bed time (I have been doing that routine since I was ten). It really helps, I recommend it to everybody. It helps the posture, and is generally good for the whole body.


Abner