Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with chiropractor

Back walk massage in Tokyo?

avocade — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:03:28 -0800

I've got a bad back and neck from playing piano and double-bass a large part of my life, and lately working a lot at the computer. Since I'm in Tokyo for another couple of days or so, I thought I'd ask around for the absolute best massage in town, that also won't break the bank. (It's a pretty sizable traveler's bank, but I'm not rich.) I've seen the (in?)famous massage where a woman (men are too heavy me guess) walks on the back and cracks the joints. Is that something recommended? Looks darn cool! :)

Your ribs are right where you left them. Or not?

eleyna — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:13:22 -0800

"Two of my ribs have been out of alignment"—Does that ever really happen? I have a friend who writes to me that her doctors told her that two of her ribs have been out of alignment, and that is what has been causing some bizarre and painful symptoms. She's going to see a chiropractor, who is "committed to fixing her".

I was a medical transcriptionist for 5 years, and I've been around the block on the internet, but I've never heard of ribs being "out of alignment", and... well... Basically I want to know if this is real, or is this made-up?

Please help me get back in the saddle!

bunnycup — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800

Where should I start - a chiropractor, a sports massage, an orthopedist, acupuncture or what? I recently started horseback riding again, and though I have NOT suffered a fall or other acute injury, I have had crippling pain in my upper back (between shoulder blades) for about 2 weeks. I have tried stretching and gentle yoga, soaking, heating pads, ibuprofen etc., resting the muscles - and none of it has helped. I really want to get back in the saddle sooner rather than later, because it is really helping me cope with a very difficult personal situation and has become my primary form of exercise.

I know there are a lot of directions to go, and I've gotten some conflicting advice about what to pursue first: a chiropractor, a sports massage, an orthopedist, acupuncture or a few other things. If anyone has some advice on which may be most likely to help, which should logically precede the others, which is not likely to help at all, or any other thoughts, I would be really grateful. If you want to accompany your advice with any recommendations for specific practitioners in the Bucks County, PA area, I would welcome that, though it is not the primary purpose of my question.

Assume cost is not really an issue (my insurance covers these things if referred by my PCP) and I have easy access to each type of practitioner. I am female in my 20s.

Quack-proof chiropractic treatments

johannahdeschanel — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:59:38 -0800

Does anyone know which medical journals, books, or online sources are credible for research on chiropractic treatments? It seems a lot of chiropractors have recieved criticism for their quackery. Any physicians out there know a better source of information on the topic of curing back pain and improving posture? Are back braces still considered an important part of the treatment?

Alternatives to chiropractry.

robotot — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:59:50 -0800

What alternatives are there to chiropractic manipulation? (Yes: I know, you are not a medical professional!) My wife recently went to a chiropractor for a sore back (muscular - we're keeping a heat pack on it and it should be fine in a day or two). He also took an xray and showed her where her spine deviates from a healthy spine. Now he wants her to come back twice a week for manipulations, otherwise it WILL get worse. What alternatives are there to spinal manipulation?

I don't altogether trust chiropractors, and am not convinced that two (expensive) sessions a week are going to help "fix" my wife's spine.

I'm thinking yoga, pilates, dance classes etc, and a generally healthy lifestyle, and just being more aware of one's posture can help fix it.
Please give me your thoughts, ideas, criticisms.

I'm a hurtin' skeptical wuss.

wafaa — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:00:06 -0800

I finally broke down and went to a chiropractor. Now BOTH sides hurt, and much worse. I have had a pain in my shoulder blade region for three weeks. Right side, down my arm, tingly fingers. Friends and such kept insisting I go to a chiropractor. I called yesterday and got right in. He was very thorough. I had some heat and electrode-weird shit done to my back. X-rays, lots of stuff. He mentioned pinched nerve, but wouldn't commit to that.

Today I went again and he explained my x-rays (disintegration of the lower cervical spine, bone spurs (?) upper thoracic, advanced arthritis). My hips are messed up, I guess, and more stuff I didn't need to hear. He did some adjustments--the scary cracking stuff,

Now, both arms burn, both shoulders. Is this normal? And what's up with that plunger-looking thing he popped against my neck?

Everyone told me that I'd get "cracked" and feel soooooo much better. This dude has a treatment plan lasting 24 weeks--and that's not including the maintenence therapy.

Altas pain?

Big_B — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:12:18 -0800

Is my "Atlas" really out of whack? Have you heard or experienced NUCCA upper cerivical realignment? I got a massage the other day, and I was talking to my masseuse about the wierd lightheadedness problem I have that won't go away and she suggested that my "Atlas" may be out of whack and to see her upper cervical guy. I have heard a few horror stories about chiropracters, and this guy is not on my list of providers so I am a little leery of going. That said my neck/upper back has been hurting all week and I still somewhat have the lightheaded thing going on, and headaches too.

Does anyone have any experience with the Atlas and/or upper cervical realignment (NUCCA)? Also I am curious as to costs involved, although if someone could make me feel normal again I would gladly devote a portion of my paycheck to them!

I read some of the other chiro threads, and the general consensus seems to go either way on the quakery aspect.

Does interferential electrotherapy work?

Smedleyman — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:40:50 -0800

What is, and how useful is, if at all, interferential electrotherapy? I got put through a wall a bit ago in a scrape and I’ve been having some back problems. So I’ve been seeing (grudgingly) a chiropractor. And to be honest, after seeing Jacobs Ladder, always been a bit curious.
The realignment and all that with the hands is fine. I usually treat myself and others (stretching, exercise) for sports type injuries in much the same way.
But they gave me this ‘interferential electrotherapy’ - stuck some sticky pads to my back and gave me these electrical impulses - apparently to ease pain and reduce spasms and swelling. Pain doesn’t bother me, so I wouldn’t take drugs for it anyway, but I know how drugs work.
This seemed a little too much like voodoo to me.
Anyone have any experiance with this treatment and chiropractors in general?

Help me learn more about osteoarthritis, its treatment and its associated costs.

Effigy2000 — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:04:14 -0800

My fiancée has just been told by her chiropractor that she has osteoarthritis. I have questions about the condition and, more specifically, how we can mimimise the cost of treating it under Australian Medicare. My fiancée, who is 23 years old, has long complained of back problems. Late last month we finally managed to get ourselves into a financial position where we were able to afford to go see a chiropractor, who did some tests and subsequently had some x-rays ordered. Yesterday, during the follow up consultation, he told her she has osteoarthritis. He's now telling us she needs to see him 4 times a week to fix the problem.

I've done my googling and wikipedia research and already I've learned much about it. But I'd like to know more, perhaps specifically some personal stories of people who have it and how they've coped with it and treated it.

On the money side of things, we're happy to pay whatever needs to be payed, but the problem is that at $45 a pop, this is going to cost some serious money. One estimate we've come up with puts the total cost around $2000. Now as I've said, it's money we know we have to spend (its for her health, after all) but it's still going to hurt us finacially at a time when we just started to talk about the possibility of saving some money.

I've done my research and found out that chiropractors aren't covered by Australia's Medicare system, so that isn't a possibility. But I wonder if there are any other avenues we, as a couple living in Queensland, Australia, can do to perhaps minimise the cost.

And yes, we've looked into private health insurance but with a minimum 2 month waiting period and a limit of what appears to be around $400 per year on chiro work, that dosen't seem to be something worth persuing.

So my questions therefore are as follows;

1) Are there are other ways that osteoarthritis can be treated by the public health system under Medicare, hopefully in a timely manner (we don't want to wait weeks/months/years to get it fixed) and preferably at a relatively small cost?

2) If not, can any Australian MeFites reccommend any ways we can go about minimising the cost of the treatment?

3) Can you please give me any more general advice about osteoarthritis, its treatment and the likelihood of my fiancée being one day cured of the disease (or at least, I understand it is a disease, so correct me if I'm wrong there too)?

It's all early days yet, and I'm still learning about the whole thing as I go along, but any and all advice you might all be able to provide me would be greatly appreciated.

Are chiropractors and osteopaths different? Are they quacks?

handee — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 04:29:21 -0800

Chiropracty and osteopathy: what's the difference, and are they respectable fields of medicine or means of separating sick people from their money (or somewhere in between)?

What do you do with a quacky Chiro?

Biblio — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 06:53:48 -0800

I think my friend's "doctor" is a dangerous quack. Do I tell her? How? A very close friend of mine (as in, like a sister) has chronic health problems related to obesity. She also has an intense mistrust of doctors, scientists and authority figures. Last year, two seperate doctors asked her to consider bariatric surgery, which led her to dump them and start seeing a chiropractor. I tried to be supportive at the time, despite misgivings, but after hearing about this guy for a year now, I am afraid she is just endangering her health further.

After she said a few things about her treatment that made no medical sense, another friend and I looked up the chiro. He pretty much fits the definition of a quack, with made-up, meaningless awards and degrees, promises of being able to treat autism and ADD with his skills, his own line of nutritional products and diagnostic tools like live cell analysis and electro-magnetic imaging. I also found out that he is performing accupunture without a license, drawing blood without being certified as a lab and using equipment the FDA has banned. He has had his chiropractic license suspended in the past for negligence.

Meanwhile, my friend is not getting any healthier, and she's not treating the diabetes, which is causing liver damage. For some reason, her husband, who is normally a pretty skeptical guy, is sold on the chiropractor as well. She's only 35, with 2 young kids, and it kills me to see her putting her eggs in this whacko's basket. Do I tell her what I know? Do I just report him to the appropriate authorities? What would you do?

Is there such a thing as a functional, femme shoe?

Pocahontas — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 17:23:34 -0800

Help! I need women's shoes. I've been looking for a long time, and can't seem to find the shoes that fit my many requirements. These are the requirements:

And yes, I did check this thread out.

must be flats (no heel at all -- orders from my chiropractor)
must be dressy (to go with black slacks, my usual MO)
no Danskos (my ankles turn out)
must be more attractive than Earth Shoes or Clarks (more tapered around the toe area)
must come in black or dark brown
must cover most of the top of my foot (no ballet slippers or loafers that have a low vamp)

stress fracture by chiropractor?

abee — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 12:58:18 -0800

Could my chiropractor have caused a stress fracture? I've been running regularly for a few months, and recently went to a chiropractor for an upper back issue. They fixed that wonderfully, but while I was there they cracked my hips. When they did, it hurt really bad and hurt badly after as well. I went back four more times, and they "re-adjusted" it, but it kept hurting. So, I stayed off of it. Running and any impact killed and so I made an appt. with a sports physician. After an MRI, and I don't even know how much this is all going to cost, it was determined that I have a stress fracture in my hip/pelvic joint. I have to stay off it for a month and can only swim, so I have to ditch my races and stop training. I'm a little pissed actually. Anyways, it seems strange that the chiro and my pain coincided. Does anyone (chiropractor answers especially appreciated here) know if it was possible that they caused it? I'm not looking to sue, as I'm pretty sure I signed my life away liability wise when I was in the office, but am interested to know if it was something I did or that was done TO me, so I can avoid the injury in the future. My doc really didn't want to be the one to answer this question, so here I am.

What to do with my higher shoulder?

striker — Fri, 12 May 2006 08:41:49 -0800

Standing upright and relaxed, my left shoulder appears to rest higher than my right. Who do I go see? I had a first visit with a personal trainer this week, and he pointed this out to me. It was suggested that I may be out of alignment in some way, or it could be nothing. I'm athletic (soccer player on weekends), but I've never lifted before. I'm rarely injured although I have had a couple (literally) of lower back issues over the past couple of years (many months apart, irregular, lasting a few days to a week and a half), and my shoulder does seem to do weird popping things if I ask it to, but never painful. Do I go see some type of physical therapist, a chiropractor? Do I not worry about it and just monitor my weightlifting?

Just how effective is chiropractor back cracking?

kookoobirdz — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 15:05:44 -0800

If I already crack my own back and neck, will chiropractor cracking do anything more for me? I've read the other chiro-tagged posts here. I'm not asking about whether or not I should be cracking my own neck and back (sounds like I shouldn't, but there it is) and I'm not asking whether chiros are quacks (mixed results, but sounds like plenty of people find them useful for some things) or whether I should see an osteo or accupuncturist or other type of specialist.

I'm just thinking about going to a chiro and am wondering if I'll be wasting my time, especially since my insurance doesn't cover it. Have any of you who have cracked their own necks and backs but have also had chiros crack them noticed a substantial difference in what the chiro does?

I've got chronic lower back pain and now have to crack it various ways when I wake up just to get loose and get a bit of relief. I'm not sure how much more it could be cracked. If I'm already doing it, can a chiro crack it further or better in a way that provides longer-lasting relief? On the same note, should I avoid cracking it the morning of the day I go see him? I mean, can things be double-cracked in a short time or should I save it up so he can really give a hum-dinger crack?

Also, there's my neck. I wish I had never started cracking it, but it almost cracks itself these days. I've got limited turn mobility to the left and am hoping a chiro can help with that (and, you know, not give me a stroke). But if I already crack it, will his cracks do much more good? Thanks everyone.

Help my knotted back

Jase_B — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:02:31 -0800

The muscle in the left side of my upper back, just below the shoulder blade, is always getting pulled and knotted. How do I manage it properly? I went to the chiropractor about a year ago and it turns out that I have a slight S curve in my back. Nothing's painful or anything, however I always seem to get that knotted, pulled muscle feeling in the left side of my upper back, just below the shoulder blade. It usually flares up when I've been sitting with incorrect posture, or lying down all twisted, and happens at least once a week, and lasts for about 3 days each flare up. It doesn't really hurt, it's just annoying and makes me want to press right in the spot with my fingers all the time. The muscle that I press feels like a hard piece of thick string. Getting a massage on it feels really good.

Also, the chiropractor didn't really give me a good explanation on the relation between my curved spine and the knotted muscle, just a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo about nerves being pinched and sending less signals around my body or something.

So, apart from, never having bad posture, or never lying down twisted, is there anything else that I can do to avoid the flare-ups? And is there anything I should do when it does flare up?

:-(

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 19:12:02 -0800

My neck cracking habit is killing me. I crack my neck all the time. Some days it happens more than other days but I do it every single day at least 4 times.

On days where it's really bad I will crack my neck everytime I get a chance and my head neck and shoulders will feel sore all day long. Most of the time I use my hands to press my chin up to the side. Sometimes the tips of my fingers feel numb right after I crack it.

This is a disgusting, repulsive, terrible habit. I remember being totally grossed out by neck cracking before I started myself.

My mother who has the same unfortunate habit went to a chiropractor who told her that there were many cases of people who had quite literally *killed themselves* with overenthusiastic neck cracking. I have absolutely no doubt that if this is indeed possible it will happen to me if I do not stop soon.

I've tried before to stop. But then that tense/stiff feeling just builds up until I can't stand it until *snap crackle pop* ((bliss))

I want to be like how I was before I started this terrible habit when my neck just felt normal all the time. This is making me miserable. I can't afford to see a chiropractor on a regular basis.

Please, for the love of mankind, help me.

If chiropractors are frauds, what do doctors do for bad backs?

agropyron — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 07:38:23 -0800

We've all heard that chiropractors are quacks. What is mainstream medicine's answer to recurring back problems? Has anyone here had success with these methods? Six minutes of googling and browsing quackwatch.org/chirobase.org hasn't given me an answer to this question...

My wife has had back problems for a long time. A trip to the chiropractor usually makes her feel better for at least a few days, sometimes up to a month. Then her back goes "out" again, and she's back at the chiro. This (along with the danger of the methods) is one of the criticisms I've heard of chiropractic care.

If chiropractic methods are dangerous, what would a traditional MD recommend for someone whose back is always "out"? I always assumed they'd just recommend surgery or something. Do they send you to physical therapy? Has anyone here had success with this kind of treatment?

Yes, yes, go see a doctor. Well Mister Smarty Pants, your answer may help convince my wife to do just that.

Are all chiropractors quacks?

medpt — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:42:08 -0800

Are all chiropractors quacks? Are there good ones and bad ones, or is the whole professional a big scam?

What is walking on someone's back called?

gottabefunky — Tue, 04 Jan 2005 13:49:07 -0800

I looove it when my girlfriend walks on my back - nothing gets out those big knots like a well-placed heel. Is there a name for this? Any suggestions on improving/refining the technique? Any dangers, providing she doesn't step right on my spine?

Extreme neck pain

corpse — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 11:29:35 -0800

Neck pain. Sharp stabbing neck pain, you know the kind you get when you sleep in a odd postion and wake up with a "crick". I woke up this morning with such pain, and now I can't turn my head to the right at all. This has happened before, but never to this degree. I sneezed earlier and thought I was going to cry. What's the remedy? Wait it out? Heating pad? Ibuprofen?

Back Pain

Grod — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:04:32 -0800

Back Pain. How do I get rid of it? I've tried changing my chair, the level of my keyboard, what side of the bed I sleep on. I've been stretching. Nothing works. I am in agony. I've never had back pain like this before. I've always had back discomfort, aches -- that sort of thing -- but never debilitating pain. I'm only 22. What should I do?