Chiropractors

[PRC]

I've got some lower back pain at the moment and several colleagues are suggesting I go see a Chiropractor while several other colleagues are suggesting that Chiropractors are just quacks and are not legitimate medical practitioners.  I've never been to one, never really heard the positive or negative reviews of them one way or another so I bring this poll to the masses. 

What is the opinion of Languish on Chiropractors?

[derspiess]

Never visited one, so I don't have anything to go on.  But what else are you going to do if you have back problems?

[Tiamat]

Quacks. But if your pain problem is all in your head, you'll find chiropractors to be excellent medical practitioners.

[Tiamat]

Never visited one, so I don't have anything to go on.  But what else are you going to do if you have back problems?

Visit an orthopedic surgeon, neurosurgeon, or physiatrist.

[Vince]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

[Korea]

I once had a chiropractor give me a sample back and neck fixin...I was in horrible pain for the next two weeks.  >

[Darth Wagtaros]

Never visited one, so I don't have anything to go on.  But what else are you going to do if you have back problems?

Steal oxycotin and drink a lot.

[Barrister]

But what else are you going to do if you have back problems?

Massage therapist / physiotherapist.

There are all kinds of problems with chiropractors, and some limited goodness.  Chiropracty started out with some absolutely outrageous claims - that almost everything health-related can be tied to sublimations of the disks of your spine.  There has never been any medical evidence to this effect.

Chiropractors do give some short term relief of pain, so in that I guess they do some good.  It is not a long-term solution to anything however - it's never a "get your spine manipulated 6 times then you'll be good".  You'll always be going to your chiropractor.

And there's the small but real risk of strokes / aneurysms that are connected to spine manipulation.

[Barrister]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

Why do you have to keep going for 8 years?  If they could truly fix you you wouldn't have to keep going...

[Tiamat]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

This is what we call a placebo effect.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

This is what we call a placebo effect.

I used to watch you on the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon.  You do good work.

[Tiamat]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

Why do you have to keep going for 8 years?  If they could truly fix you you wouldn't have to keep going...

Although I agree with you in general about chiropractors, this reasoning is faulty when it comes to chronic conditions. There is value in medicine that truly manages the symptoms.

[Vince]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

Why do you have to keep going for 8 years?  If they could truly fix you you wouldn't have to keep going...

They adjust your spine so you have to go back every 6 weeks or so to get readjusted

[Vince]

Legit.  Been going to one for 8 years.  The people that call them quacks have never gone to one.

This is what we call a placebo effect.

It fucking works that's all I care about.   

[Barrister]

They adjust your spine so you have to go back every 6 weeks or so to get readjusted

It's quite the racket they have going, isn't it.


Vince - what is your medical concern?  Have you seen a doctor about it, or even better, a physiotherapist?