An upper cervical chiropractor more or less saved my life, using the NUCCA system. Eventually I went to chiropractic school and now every day I save people from a life of pain and problems.

As mentioned above, I also tried about 15 different chiropractor or chiro techniques before I tried NUCCA. In three weeks it did more than 3 years of regular chiropractic. NUCCA is the most difficult chiropractic system there is, and now after 10 years of practice I am feeling comfortable with it.

Rainman, F-U. MD's who believe the lies that big pharma pushes on everyone are not real doctors. Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc. Super common problems and anyone with a brain working in health care should quickly realize that drug therapy is an absolute joke. MD's who swallow the big pharma lie ares quacks or stupid as hell.

monthly or more for at least 15 years. I would go weekly if I could free up the time.

Chiropractic used to be seen as a dark art or snake oil. But today there are accredited schools of chiropractic.

I have a back issue from a collapsed spine, and some issues associated with that. Recently, I had a "attack" that caused me terrific discomfort sitting, walking, or just standing still. In seven sessions, my chiropractor not only had me up and at 'em again, but I've been walking about two miles every day without a problem.

Yes, I like my chiropractor. He often diagnoses me with pending trouble before I know it. And then fixes them before they develop into something.

I have a good one. I go once a month for maintenance adjustment. More if i do something stupid and wreck myself! I have the last appt. of the day, and the appt. frequently stretches into 30+ minutes. We discuss topics of Christianity, our families, and guns. We shoot together at my gun club several times a year. If I have a hot appendix, I won't go to him. If my back hurts, I will, before I would go to an MD. He is a trusted and valued member of my health care team. No less, no more important than the MDs, RNs, and DDSs on my healthcare team.

Raingirl hurt her back last week and a friend of her's recommended a chiro.

Thanks for the feedback, just wanted to know if it was snake oil...

They're like having a good back.
A good chiropractor is irreplaceable.

You just have to know what to use them for. Back and neck issues, absolutely my first call, then our massage therapist. Only then do I call the MDs (preferably DOs) and go for physical therapy.

Messed up my back pretty good a few years ago. Saw "regular "doctors for a few years with no relief.. I finally went and saw the head of neurosurgery at The Cleveland Clinic. He advised a Chiropractor even though he wasn't allowed to officially believe in them.

After about a month of regular visits I was feeling human again. Now I go every 2-3 months for maintenance therapy

Snake oil and wishful thinking.

Do some more research and do not rely on biased users telling you how great chiropractic Care can be.

Maybe 20, 25 years ago, I was teaching a one-week course at a client location in Raleigh NC. Middle of the second day, my back "locked up" (I don't know a better term). Severe muscle spasms. Excruciating pain.

Fortunately, two of the people in the class were able to help.

One was a guy from the teaching division of my company. I was using a new release of the course textbook that he had just written and he was sitting in on the class to see how the revised course went. I asked him to take over the teaching.

Second guy was a student. His uncle was a local chiropractor. The student called his uncle to let him know that we were on the way, then drove me to the uncle's office. The uncle worked on me for a bit, got me loosened up some, gave me a cane to help me walk, and sent me on my way (no charge). It helped some, but I was done for the week, no way I was going to be able to stand up in front of a class all day, every day.

Hotel sent somebody from housekeeping to help me pack, I could not do it by myself. I went to the airport to go home. Check-in lady looked at me, called for a wheelchair, and put me in first class, where there was more room for my 6'3".

I'm pretty sure that if it was not for the partial relief that the chiropractor gave me, I would have been sitting in the hotel room for a few days, in agony, unable to do anything.

I tried two different chiropractors for chronic neck pain I was having in my early 30’s. The first x-ray’d me and told me I had sublimations of the spine that needed to be corrected by some little tool that “bumped” along the spine. She did the first “adjustment” at that inintial appointment. Then she used classic sales techniques to try get me to commmit to some absurd schedule of 2-3 visits per week for at least a few months. Obvious racket. I said no thanks, asked for my X-ray and moved on. The 2nd one read the X-ray and showed me where I had sublimations but was pointing out entirely different spots than the first. Suggested a regular schedule of visits to correct. My bullshit meter was sounding so I said I had to think it over. I was relating what happened to a friend who happens to be an MD (OBGYN) and he said maybe I should try a different pillow. Told him the kind I was using and he recommended getting a thicker one and not stacking the two I had been. Figured for about $20 it was worth a shot. Pain went away within a week and never came back. Either a pillow cured my sublimations or those to quacks were full of shit. There may be really good chiropractors out there but the two I saw not them and left me with a very bad impression of the profession in general. To be fair, if there are good chiropractors, I’m sure they are frustrated by the ones like I saw making them look bad.

I felt the same way until I messed up my back years ago. On the urging of my wife I went to my first one that actually hurt me worse. But not giving up I found another one that was pretty good. Then, I found #3 that is great. Has kept me moving throughout all my stupid stuff without anything more than an extra strength Motrin.

Find a GOOD one, preferable one that does not base his/her practice on PI cases.

My story:
I had pretty bad back and left leg pain for years, and finally went to see a chiropractor. Multiple visits, about once every month, over maybe a 2 year period. X-rays only showed normal wear-and-tear on my spine, etc. The pain would return eventually, however, hence the monthly visits.
Upon the recommendation of a good friend who is also a MD, I went to see a neurosurgeon.
The neurosurgeon prescribed a MRI, which revealed a spinal cord tumor. Pretty rare. That neurosurgeon removed as much of it as he could via surgery. That was 13 years ago. Pain-free, ever since.
The point?
For some things, a chiropractor may work for you. They treat the symptoms.
A neurosurgeon and a MRI, on the other hand, will treat the problem. If it is treatable.
My $.02.

quote:

Originally posted by Salty Dawg:
I tried two different chiropractors for chronic neck pain I was having in my early 30’s. The first x-ray’d me and told me I had sublimations of the spine that needed to be corrected by some little tool that “bumped” along the spine. She did the first “adjustment” at that inintial appointment. Then she used classic sales techniques to try get me to commmit to some absurd schedule of 2-3 visits per week for at least a few months. Obvious racket. I said no thanks, asked for my X-ray and moved on. The 2nd one read the X-ray and showed me where I had sublimations but was pointing out entirely different spots than the first. Suggested a regular schedule of visits to correct. My bullshit meter was sounding so I said I had to think it over. I was relating what happened to a friend who happens to be an MD (OBGYN) and he said maybe I should try a different pillow. Told him the kind I was using and he recommended getting a thicker one and not stacking the two I had been. Figured for about $20 it was worth a shot. Pain went away within a week and never came back. Either a pillow cured my sublimations or those to quacks were full of shit. There may be really good chiropractors out there but the two I saw not them and left me with a very bad impression of the profession in general. To be fair, if there are good chiropractors, I’m sure they are frustrated by the ones like I saw making them look bad.

I was fearful I'd have an experience like this when I was suffering from neck and shoulder pain. After ~1year of massage therapy (it's the only thing the massage therapy really didn't solve) and after talking with my MD (who is generally anti chiropractor) and massage therapist I decided to give it a try.

At the first visit the Chiropractor laid out a treatment plan. 2-3 week for x weeks, decreasing to 1x week and finally to 1 month. I was concerned that it was all about money. But I was in pain and didn't have to prepay.

Honestly, it worked out exactly as the chiropractor said. HUGE relief and sorry I handn't started the process sooner.

Recommendations
Not all Chiropractors are created equal. I like those with a hands on method. I avoid those using tools. (Saw one or two that were subsisting when my Chiropractor was on vacation.)

Talk around and get recommendations. My guy sold his practice - to another Chiropractor that I like. Both use a hands on approach.

Another person that gets good reviews is the Chiropractor that works with the local hockey team. Couple people in our office use him.

Chiropractors can't cure everything (like the posting immediately above.) If you don't get relief pretty quickly, you either have the wrong Chiropractor or Chiropractic will not work for whatever you have. (Advice from a friend who had an uncle that wrote a text book for Chiropractors.)

I grew up in a house where Chiropractors were viewed as witch doctors to be avoided at all costs. (My mom was an RN.) It was really hard for me to go to a Chiropractor but I'm sure glad I found a good one.

I have back/neck pain. I have been going to a pain mgmt. Dr. 5 or 6 yrs. now. Started seeing the chiropractor in their office about 4 yrs. ago. He got my neck fixed and I got shots and pain has gone for now. Still see him once a month for my back. Lower 3 vertebrae were compressed and hopefully getting better. Medicare pays but leaves an $8.09 co-pay which Blue Cross/Blue Shield picks up.

Glorified masseuses. Ever see a cardiologist, or any other medical practitioner for that matter, with a magnetic sign on his or her car or hawking their trade from under an e-z up canopy at a fair? Those are what’s known as clues.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Rainman, F-U. MD's who believe the lies that big pharma pushes on everyone are not real doctors. Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc. Super common problems and anyone with a brain working in health care should quickly realize that drug therapy is an absolute joke. MD's who swallow the big pharma lie ares quacks or stupid as hell.

Yeah, type 1 diabetics do really great without their insulin.

Hint: they will be dead within a few days.

Go down to Houston and get the Ring Dinger