Is my chiroprator a nut?
January 21, 2006 2:18 PM Subscribe
Is my chiropractor talking nonsense?
I have been seeing a cranial chiropractor since hurting my neck in a car crash. So today in my session she was gently fingering the top of my spine, base of my skull area, and she said that she had pinpointed the problem area because she could feel my nerves 'fizzing'.
I think she is right about finding the location of the injury cause thats where I get the most pain when she touches me. But can she really be feeling my nerves fizz. Is that scientifically possible?
No.
Very little about chiropractic (good god, I hate that they use an intuitively adjectival form as a noun; what's wrong with "chiropracty"?) is scientifically possible. It's not looked upon highly by scientifically informed skeptics.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:25 PM on January 21, 2006
Very little about chiropractic (good god, I hate that they use an intuitively adjectival form as a noun; what's wrong with "chiropracty"?) is scientifically possible. It's not looked upon highly by scientifically informed skeptics.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:25 PM on January 21, 2006
Response by poster: thanks for that link mr_roboto. I generally like to think of myself as a scientifically informed skeptic, but thought chiropraty was sound because my physiotherapist had referred me to them.
posted by juniorbonner at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by juniorbonner at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2006
Your chiropractor may be feeling inflammation (wholly possible) and just speaking very sloppily.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2006
she said that she had pinpointed the problem area because she could feel my nerves 'fizzing'.
She's full of shit; go see a real doctor.
But can she really be feeling my nerves fizz?
What does "fizz" even mean?
Is that scientifically possible?
For her to feel your nerves "fizzing" without an instrument? Jesus, no.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 2:40 PM on January 21, 2006
She's full of shit; go see a real doctor.
But can she really be feeling my nerves fizz?
What does "fizz" even mean?
Is that scientifically possible?
For her to feel your nerves "fizzing" without an instrument? Jesus, no.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 2:40 PM on January 21, 2006
(Or to speak less sloppily myself, feeling swelling characteristic of inflammation.)
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:43 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:43 PM on January 21, 2006
juniorbonner writes "thought chiropraty was sound because my physiotherapist had referred me to them."
Don't get me wrong; chiropractors can definitely help with back pain, just like massage therapy and physical therapy. Their theories are nonsense, though.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:48 PM on January 21, 2006
Don't get me wrong; chiropractors can definitely help with back pain, just like massage therapy and physical therapy. Their theories are nonsense, though.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:48 PM on January 21, 2006
Very little about chiropractic (good god, I hate that they use an intuitively adjectival form as a noun; what's wrong with "chiropractic"?) is scientifically possible. It's not looked upon highly by scientifically informed skeptics.
What's so non-sensical about the idea that your bones can pinch your nerves? Chiropractic care has a good track record, and "real" doctors often refer people to them.
OTOH, your chiropractor is definitely talking nonsense about nerves fizzing..
posted by delmoi at 2:51 PM on January 21, 2006
What's so non-sensical about the idea that your bones can pinch your nerves? Chiropractic care has a good track record, and "real" doctors often refer people to them.
OTOH, your chiropractor is definitely talking nonsense about nerves fizzing..
posted by delmoi at 2:51 PM on January 21, 2006
Unless your spine is full of pop-rocks instead of real nerve endings, I'm thinking your chiropractor was most definitely talking out of her ass. Even if she correctly identified the spot or source of your problems, go see a different doctor. Ask around to get recommendations for someone reputable.
posted by Meredith at 3:01 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by Meredith at 3:01 PM on January 21, 2006
She identified the problem area, right? She's a trained professional, so if she says she can feel "fizzing", I'd suspect it's likely she can. Not can-of-soda fizzing, but if she's got experience she's probably more sensitve to that sort of thing, and maybe just describing it badly. If she sorts you out, I'd say it wouldn't matter if she said she could feel sledgehammers...
posted by djgh at 3:06 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by djgh at 3:06 PM on January 21, 2006
She identified the problem area, right? She's a trained professional, so if she says she can feel "fizzing", I'd suspect it's likely she can.
It's not difficult to pinpoint a problem area when you get feedback like this: I think she is right about finding the location of the injury cause thats where I get the most pain when she touches me.
Look: though I hate chiropractic medicine in general, there are practitioners who are not total frauds, I guess. This woman - who claims she can feel nerves fizzing - does not sound like one of them. This smacks of "therapeutic touch" to me and I would not see her for care again.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:18 PM on January 21, 2006
It's not difficult to pinpoint a problem area when you get feedback like this: I think she is right about finding the location of the injury cause thats where I get the most pain when she touches me.
Look: though I hate chiropractic medicine in general, there are practitioners who are not total frauds, I guess. This woman - who claims she can feel nerves fizzing - does not sound like one of them. This smacks of "therapeutic touch" to me and I would not see her for care again.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:18 PM on January 21, 2006
I've given people backrubs and been able to locate bad knots/sore spots because they felt fizzy/electric/buzzy. Nerves fizzing? Unlikely. A mystical gift? No way. Maybe it was the backrub-reciever's response, maybe a mnior difference in the feel of an inflamed location, maybe something else altogether. Regardless, I'd be willing to accept there is something different there. Her explanation, however, seems entirely silly.
posted by lorimt at 3:41 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by lorimt at 3:41 PM on January 21, 2006
Perhaps it's something like small muscles tensing up (rapidly, even?) due to a particularly sensitive area? I suppose that could be described (very unscientifically and somewhat poorly) as "fizzy nerves."
My parents believed in chiropractic, so I went when I hurt myself when I was younger. Sometimes it was helpful, and sometimes, these people are little better than witch doctors.
posted by JMOZ at 4:02 PM on January 21, 2006
My parents believed in chiropractic, so I went when I hurt myself when I was younger. Sometimes it was helpful, and sometimes, these people are little better than witch doctors.
posted by JMOZ at 4:02 PM on January 21, 2006
"forget it, homer, it's chiro-town"
if it helps your neck don't stop going there
posted by suni at 4:11 PM on January 21, 2006
if it helps your neck don't stop going there
posted by suni at 4:11 PM on January 21, 2006
No, no, no ,no,no - all of you hush. Hear that? You can't? Well, it may be because you lack special sensory abilities that only her chiro can appreciate. I say you give it fifteen or twenty visits more and then you should be able to get a better sense of whether she's completely batshit insane or just partially and the rest is just avarice.
posted by docpops at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by docpops at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
Yes, you are wasting your money. No, she can not feel nerves. Go see an orthodpedist.
posted by raaka at 4:34 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by raaka at 4:34 PM on January 21, 2006
I'm a health care skeptic (including the limits of allopathic medicine). There are different types of chiropracters, one school believing that you can fix most any disease through the spine. This is quackery. There is another school who believes you can align the spine by aligning the spine, which I would say is true. If the chiropracter doesn't claim too much and has a proper humbleness about the profession, maybe it's okay. Otherwise, if a duck quacks. . .
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:09 PM on January 21, 2006
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:09 PM on January 21, 2006
Maybe what she senses with her fingers is: "...when firm pressure is applied over the trigger point in a snapping fashion perpendicular to the muscle, a "local twitch response" is often elicited. A local twitch response is defined as a transient visible or palpable contraction or dimpling of the muscle and skin as the tense muscle fibers (taut band) of the trigger point contract when pressure is applied. "
My guess is your chiropractor meant 'fizzing' as a contraction of physiatry - it may be chiropractic jargon.
My advice is to stay open to alternate therapies, yet be skeptical of all medical claims, including those from doctors. If a therapy works for you, ignor the naysayers. There are still mysteries to be discovered in the human body.
posted by mediaddict at 5:37 PM on January 21, 2006
My guess is your chiropractor meant 'fizzing' as a contraction of physiatry - it may be chiropractic jargon.
My advice is to stay open to alternate therapies, yet be skeptical of all medical claims, including those from doctors. If a therapy works for you, ignor the naysayers. There are still mysteries to be discovered in the human body.
posted by mediaddict at 5:37 PM on January 21, 2006
I don't buy into chiropractors in general, but if there was a nerve issue or a tensed muscle, there may be '"fizzing" feel as the muscle(s) twitch. I'd base my decision on going again on the cost versus benefit. If you feel better without any residual pain from a lighter than normal wallet, then it may not be so bad.
On preview mediaddict said it better
posted by forforf at 5:51 PM on January 21, 2006
On preview mediaddict said it better
posted by forforf at 5:51 PM on January 21, 2006
Is my chiropractor talking nonsense?
Yes. It's unnecessary to read the rest of the question.
posted by aladfar at 5:56 PM on January 21, 2006
Yes. It's unnecessary to read the rest of the question.
posted by aladfar at 5:56 PM on January 21, 2006
I'll have all of you know, from one with a general distrust of the chiropractic field (me!) I think she COULD be right and telling the truth.
In a previous askmefi thread, I mentioned (and it seemed numerous others mentioned too) that I experience the feeling of soda can slowly opening (fizzzzzzzz) in the back of my neck at the base of my spine every few days usually in sets of 3-5 times within an hour of waking up. Spinal fluid? Nerves? I don't know. But I do know that one can feel a fizz sensation on the back of their neck.
posted by pwb503 at 6:16 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
In a previous askmefi thread, I mentioned (and it seemed numerous others mentioned too) that I experience the feeling of soda can slowly opening (fizzzzzzzz) in the back of my neck at the base of my spine every few days usually in sets of 3-5 times within an hour of waking up. Spinal fluid? Nerves? I don't know. But I do know that one can feel a fizz sensation on the back of their neck.
posted by pwb503 at 6:16 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
To corroborate pwb503's comment, I also feel something like a sqwuzz in the back of my neck occasionally. I think it's got to be related to cerebrospinal fluid -- the week after I had a spinal tap, I got this nearly nonstop. (If you have a bottle full of water, shaking it's going to make little noise; take some water out, and it gets louder and more frequent.)
That said, uh, could I, or someone else, feel it from the outside? I'm not convinced. But I'll try next time.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
That said, uh, could I, or someone else, feel it from the outside? I'm not convinced. But I'll try next time.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
At the risk of getting beat over the head with a bat here...
There are various alternative practices which involve the practioner feeling or sensing things which to the average joe and/or vehement non-believer, are not there.
These would include things like Reiki and Reflexology, and even some forms of Accupuncture/pressure. Your chiropractor might be utilizing these in her treatments in some form or another, thus, according to one who believes as much, she would be able to feel fizzing, vibrating or other such sensations which others wouldn't normally be sensitive enough to sense or tune in to.
Let the carnage begin.
posted by RoseovSharon at 10:32 PM on January 21, 2006
There are various alternative practices which involve the practioner feeling or sensing things which to the average joe and/or vehement non-believer, are not there.
These would include things like Reiki and Reflexology, and even some forms of Accupuncture/pressure. Your chiropractor might be utilizing these in her treatments in some form or another, thus, according to one who believes as much, she would be able to feel fizzing, vibrating or other such sensations which others wouldn't normally be sensitive enough to sense or tune in to.
Let the carnage begin.
posted by RoseovSharon at 10:32 PM on January 21, 2006
My experience has been that if it sounds like someone is talking some mystical-lord-of-the-rings-ass-mumbo-jumbo to you, they probably are.
For a while, I was suckered by a Craniosacral "practicioner." She had me convinced that she could know what my body needed through her "listening exercises," and then solve all of my problems by applying light pressure to a few areas of my body.
I honestly wish that I had done some more research at the time. A simple Google search for the terms craniosacral therapy and fraud returns nearly 800 results.
However, I should have been able to know what was going on, because any time I would press her with detailed questions on the subject, she would give me really sketchy-sounding answers.
I would say that you should ask your therapist what "fizzing" means, and then proceed to ask lots of detailed questions. If their answers don't satisfy you, go with your gut.
I (stupidly) went against my gut and thought "this person knows what she was doing" and wasted a lot of time and money.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:57 PM on January 21, 2006
For a while, I was suckered by a Craniosacral "practicioner." She had me convinced that she could know what my body needed through her "listening exercises," and then solve all of my problems by applying light pressure to a few areas of my body.
I honestly wish that I had done some more research at the time. A simple Google search for the terms craniosacral therapy and fraud returns nearly 800 results.
However, I should have been able to know what was going on, because any time I would press her with detailed questions on the subject, she would give me really sketchy-sounding answers.
I would say that you should ask your therapist what "fizzing" means, and then proceed to ask lots of detailed questions. If their answers don't satisfy you, go with your gut.
I (stupidly) went against my gut and thought "this person knows what she was doing" and wasted a lot of time and money.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:57 PM on January 21, 2006
Response by poster: A lot of amusing, interesting and contradicting posts, thanks guys.
I think I'll just ask her to explain herself next time I go
posted by juniorbonner at 7:55 AM on January 22, 2006
I think I'll just ask her to explain herself next time I go
posted by juniorbonner at 7:55 AM on January 22, 2006
I have been studying neurology for 15 years, and I have not once encountered a description of nerves "fizzing." During that time, I have examined the nerves of many thousands of patients, and I have not found any of their nerves to fizz, nor have I encountered anything which I could sensibly describe that way.
If someone told me that they were able to detect fizzing nerves, I would immediately become very skeptical about their ability to interpret what they were observing, never mind their competence to treat my injuries.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:45 AM on January 22, 2006 [1 favorite]
If someone told me that they were able to detect fizzing nerves, I would immediately become very skeptical about their ability to interpret what they were observing, never mind their competence to treat my injuries.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:45 AM on January 22, 2006 [1 favorite]
I am a what most people would consider a pretty grounded, scientifically minded person. I've also done a fair amount of massage in my life.
People consistently tell me that there is something unusual and positive about my touch. It's not that I'm a good masseuse, but they consistently say that there's something that feels unusually good as soon as I touch them. I don't know what it is, but I call it "energy" and think of it as a positive thing and hope that it does some good and leave it at that. To the extent it is "energy" it is undoubtedly very different from the kind of energy that physicists work with. No ergs or joules involved.
The way I perceive the massage recipients body is similarly obscure. The best way to describe would be to say that I feel their body with my body. In other words, after I begin massaging them, the parts of their body that are tense become tense, or otherwise sensitized, in my body. I can also, with my fingers, directly feel tension in their muscles, and different levels of heat in different parts of their body. I can also do this (and this is the most unusual) when my hands are a few inches away from their body.
I don't have explanations for this that jibe in any particularly simple way with the rest of my world view, which has me using things like computers and driving cars with internal combustion engines, and feeling despair that creationists are trying to drive evolution out of our schools. But I don't let that worry me.
As for chiropractors, I've been to good ones and bad ones, just as I've been to good and bad massage therapists. I agree that a lot of the mumbo jumbo that chiropractors use is silly and baseless. But often their treatments are effective, especially for muscular and skeletal issues (e.g. back pain). I certainly would not trust a doctor's opinion of chiropractry anymore than I would trust a Microsoft engineer's opinion of OS X. Doctor's are notoriously competitive as a profession, and they are trained to be very sure of their own world view and very distrustful of practices that they weren't taught.
So my recommendation would be to ignore terms like "fizzy" (or ask the chiropractor if you want), and just pay attention to whether the treatments help your condition or just plain feel good.
posted by alms at 5:04 PM on January 22, 2006
People consistently tell me that there is something unusual and positive about my touch. It's not that I'm a good masseuse, but they consistently say that there's something that feels unusually good as soon as I touch them. I don't know what it is, but I call it "energy" and think of it as a positive thing and hope that it does some good and leave it at that. To the extent it is "energy" it is undoubtedly very different from the kind of energy that physicists work with. No ergs or joules involved.
The way I perceive the massage recipients body is similarly obscure. The best way to describe would be to say that I feel their body with my body. In other words, after I begin massaging them, the parts of their body that are tense become tense, or otherwise sensitized, in my body. I can also, with my fingers, directly feel tension in their muscles, and different levels of heat in different parts of their body. I can also do this (and this is the most unusual) when my hands are a few inches away from their body.
I don't have explanations for this that jibe in any particularly simple way with the rest of my world view, which has me using things like computers and driving cars with internal combustion engines, and feeling despair that creationists are trying to drive evolution out of our schools. But I don't let that worry me.
As for chiropractors, I've been to good ones and bad ones, just as I've been to good and bad massage therapists. I agree that a lot of the mumbo jumbo that chiropractors use is silly and baseless. But often their treatments are effective, especially for muscular and skeletal issues (e.g. back pain). I certainly would not trust a doctor's opinion of chiropractry anymore than I would trust a Microsoft engineer's opinion of OS X. Doctor's are notoriously competitive as a profession, and they are trained to be very sure of their own world view and very distrustful of practices that they weren't taught.
So my recommendation would be to ignore terms like "fizzy" (or ask the chiropractor if you want), and just pay attention to whether the treatments help your condition or just plain feel good.
posted by alms at 5:04 PM on January 22, 2006
Junior, before you have any more manipulation of your upper neck, please take a few minutes to read about some of the risks.
posted by Snerd at 7:36 PM on January 22, 2006
posted by Snerd at 7:36 PM on January 22, 2006
I have been a professional, licensed massage therapist in the state of Florida for 4.5 years (look it up; license # MA33430) now and have massaged hundreds of people of all different body types in my career. Over the years you do develop a sensitivity - you must learn to palpate and assess before you begin treating troubled areas. To do this you must be receptive and not forceful - you can't just jump right in there and start attacking people - that is not professional. You really need to pay attention to what you are feeling and sensing with your fingertips as well as with your heart [empathy] -- the human being is not merely a system of pipes but a living being. I can't say I've experienced a sensation I would call "fizzing" but that could just be her word choice - I've experienced many other things from feeling a "knot" or generally toughened muscle (like an overcooked steak) to perceiving subtle energies. Yes that's right, I said subtle energies, and that includes having seen colored auras surrounding people's bodies, which was something that occurred spontaneously, not something I tried to do, and in fact I have chosen to block out my ability to see "ethereal" energies/beings/whatever because I don't know how to deal with that when it gets scary. Perhaps some of you remain close-minded for this same kind of fear.
Before I went to massage school, I was an extremely opinionated, super logical atheist with a lot of pride. My views on the world were pretty black and white, absolutist. A lot of that has changed since I have experienced what I have over the last few years - I think many of you, if you had the same experiences, would open your minds more and stop being so narrow in your views! Really, I now see it as very arrogant of us as human beings, small and relatively insignificant as we are, to assume we know all there is to know or that we have the answers, especially to larger questions involving the nature of reality, this universe, etc. Science isn't about seeking "facts" but about building upon the knowledge already gained - it is ever changing. Just because something cannot be scientifically supported by research (maybe it can't even be tested scientifically!), doesn't mean it's automatically false. It's just unknown. For something to be "falsified" scientifically it must be studied (in a well-designed study - if you design a study poorly you will get inaccurate results) and that study must be replicated to ensure it's not a fluke.
This reminds me of how the field of psychology has changed through the years, shifting from the paradigm of behaviorism to a more cognitive approach. For instance, years ago behaviorists said personality didn't exist - it's an illusion and we are stupid to think we have a personality, some consistent array of characteristics attributable to "you." They claimed everything is merely situational - if you are happy, it is probably because you are eating a donut or whatever, and not because "you are a happy/jolly person." While this view has its value and I think we'd be wise to not internalize so many events and define ourselves rigidly, obviously this is an incomplete, inadequate oversimplification. Behaviorists studied personality very poorly - personality must be studied idiographically which means individually designed to the person, and when you study it in this way, there are consistencies and strong correlations. Anyhow, the point of this is... If I went back in time and spoke of personality to a hardcore behaviorist when behaviorism reigned, I'd be scoffed at. Just please remember this when you are so quick to be critical.
Now I'm not saying that all chiropractors are saints - I worked for one of the largest chiropractic practices in Orlando back in 2001 and in 2003 they were actually shut down for insurance fraud - they were paying the impoverished community to get in car accidents and then collected thousands from the insurance companies. These were people who, with their intense hard labor jobs and every day survival-level stress, probably needed treatment anyway .. but that doesn't justify insurance fraud. :) I hated, absolutely hated, that work environment. Looking back on it and the jokes between some of the therapists and doctors, I think I was one of the only people who didn't know about these shady activities, and looking back, I think that really decreased morale and I always felt none of them (minus 2 or 3) sincerely cared for what they did day in and day out ...
Also please remember that even if this woman is legitimately concerned with your healing and doing what she knows best - just because you don't heal does not automatically mean that she is a quack or inadequate - she might not be the right doctor for you, just as I am not the right massage therapist for some (a small percentage) of my clients, and that is fine. We all have different approaches, expectations, preferences, etc. etc. etc.! Especially in massage therapy, with so many massage modalities and styles, I think you are more likely to encounter some incompatibility issues. The same goes for counselors, or almost any doctor you see. Even in the "hard science" driven medical community, it is often advised to seek 2nd and 3rd opinions.
I should admit I'm very angered by people who say "No, you absolutely cannot feel any such sensations at all!" I think you are dead wrong. I'd like to see YOU practicing as a massage therapist or chiropractor for a minimum of 3-5 years and then come back and report what you feel - I guarantee you will become a more sensitive person, unless you specifically choose not to and take nothing more than a super clinical, physiological-only view of what the human being is.
Anyhow, the bottom line is - are you really getting better or are you not? My suggestion is to base your decisions on that, but also I suggest to speak freely with your doctor if you have concerns. If I was seeing the same doctor repeatedly and not healing, I would bring it up in discussion - and if their explanation or alternative plan of action didn't appease my desire to seek a solution, then I'd go elsewhere.
Lastly.... I suspect this post won't be very popular, but I only hope to at least slightly pry open one of your tightly little closed minds to at least consider another point of view, because I have been blessed with that in this life and am a better person for it. Okay, now go ahead.. vehemently attack and pick apart something I've said - I know you want to ;)
posted by mojabunni at 8:32 PM on January 22, 2006
Before I went to massage school, I was an extremely opinionated, super logical atheist with a lot of pride. My views on the world were pretty black and white, absolutist. A lot of that has changed since I have experienced what I have over the last few years - I think many of you, if you had the same experiences, would open your minds more and stop being so narrow in your views! Really, I now see it as very arrogant of us as human beings, small and relatively insignificant as we are, to assume we know all there is to know or that we have the answers, especially to larger questions involving the nature of reality, this universe, etc. Science isn't about seeking "facts" but about building upon the knowledge already gained - it is ever changing. Just because something cannot be scientifically supported by research (maybe it can't even be tested scientifically!), doesn't mean it's automatically false. It's just unknown. For something to be "falsified" scientifically it must be studied (in a well-designed study - if you design a study poorly you will get inaccurate results) and that study must be replicated to ensure it's not a fluke.
This reminds me of how the field of psychology has changed through the years, shifting from the paradigm of behaviorism to a more cognitive approach. For instance, years ago behaviorists said personality didn't exist - it's an illusion and we are stupid to think we have a personality, some consistent array of characteristics attributable to "you." They claimed everything is merely situational - if you are happy, it is probably because you are eating a donut or whatever, and not because "you are a happy/jolly person." While this view has its value and I think we'd be wise to not internalize so many events and define ourselves rigidly, obviously this is an incomplete, inadequate oversimplification. Behaviorists studied personality very poorly - personality must be studied idiographically which means individually designed to the person, and when you study it in this way, there are consistencies and strong correlations. Anyhow, the point of this is... If I went back in time and spoke of personality to a hardcore behaviorist when behaviorism reigned, I'd be scoffed at. Just please remember this when you are so quick to be critical.
Now I'm not saying that all chiropractors are saints - I worked for one of the largest chiropractic practices in Orlando back in 2001 and in 2003 they were actually shut down for insurance fraud - they were paying the impoverished community to get in car accidents and then collected thousands from the insurance companies. These were people who, with their intense hard labor jobs and every day survival-level stress, probably needed treatment anyway .. but that doesn't justify insurance fraud. :) I hated, absolutely hated, that work environment. Looking back on it and the jokes between some of the therapists and doctors, I think I was one of the only people who didn't know about these shady activities, and looking back, I think that really decreased morale and I always felt none of them (minus 2 or 3) sincerely cared for what they did day in and day out ...
Also please remember that even if this woman is legitimately concerned with your healing and doing what she knows best - just because you don't heal does not automatically mean that she is a quack or inadequate - she might not be the right doctor for you, just as I am not the right massage therapist for some (a small percentage) of my clients, and that is fine. We all have different approaches, expectations, preferences, etc. etc. etc.! Especially in massage therapy, with so many massage modalities and styles, I think you are more likely to encounter some incompatibility issues. The same goes for counselors, or almost any doctor you see. Even in the "hard science" driven medical community, it is often advised to seek 2nd and 3rd opinions.
I should admit I'm very angered by people who say "No, you absolutely cannot feel any such sensations at all!" I think you are dead wrong. I'd like to see YOU practicing as a massage therapist or chiropractor for a minimum of 3-5 years and then come back and report what you feel - I guarantee you will become a more sensitive person, unless you specifically choose not to and take nothing more than a super clinical, physiological-only view of what the human being is.
Anyhow, the bottom line is - are you really getting better or are you not? My suggestion is to base your decisions on that, but also I suggest to speak freely with your doctor if you have concerns. If I was seeing the same doctor repeatedly and not healing, I would bring it up in discussion - and if their explanation or alternative plan of action didn't appease my desire to seek a solution, then I'd go elsewhere.
Lastly.... I suspect this post won't be very popular, but I only hope to at least slightly pry open one of your tightly little closed minds to at least consider another point of view, because I have been blessed with that in this life and am a better person for it. Okay, now go ahead.. vehemently attack and pick apart something I've said - I know you want to ;)
posted by mojabunni at 8:32 PM on January 22, 2006
I honestly read all that but all I'm concerned with is this : I've experienced many other things from feeling a "knot" or generally toughened muscle (like an overcooked steak) to perceiving subtle energies. Yes that's right, I said subtle energies, and that includes having seen colored auras surrounding people's bodies, which was something that occurred spontaneously, not something I tried to do, and in fact I have chosen to block out my ability to see "ethereal" energies/beings/whatever because I don't know how to deal with that when it gets scary. Perhaps some of you remain close-minded for this same kind of fear.
If you can honestly do that please email me and I will let you know how to earn a million dollars.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on January 22, 2006 [1 favorite]
If you can honestly do that please email me and I will let you know how to earn a million dollars.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on January 22, 2006 [1 favorite]
Is my chiropractor talking nonsense?
Yes.
It's pseudoscience at best, total quackery at worst.
posted by alby at 7:32 AM on January 23, 2006
Yes.
It's pseudoscience at best, total quackery at worst.
posted by alby at 7:32 AM on January 23, 2006
There are very useful pressure points at the intersection of the spine and the skull. Pressing there in exactly the right place at the right time in a massage, has fabulous results, if you suffer the right malady. So she found the exact right place, perhaps?
Calling something 'fizz' may not matter one bit. What matters is whether this fizz means something useful, as in, it produces results. My therapist would hit that spot and just press a bit. Next thing I'd know, my neck would 'click' and relief was wholesale.
posted by Goofyy at 8:58 AM on January 23, 2006
Calling something 'fizz' may not matter one bit. What matters is whether this fizz means something useful, as in, it produces results. My therapist would hit that spot and just press a bit. Next thing I'd know, my neck would 'click' and relief was wholesale.
posted by Goofyy at 8:58 AM on January 23, 2006
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for kicks, ask yr chiropractor what she means by said fizzing.
posted by herrdoktor at 2:24 PM on January 21, 2006