Does anyone have experience with Chiropractors? There are like a million near me so I know if I don’t like one I can try someone else.
I started with a smaller family run place instead of the big chain. Equal Spanish and English speaking with is a plus.
Their program is 3 initial consults for $150
initial consult, xrays, nerve testing, and posture evaluation
adjustment and follow up xray
meet to discuss treatment plan
The only thing that felt weird is they said the third meeting is 60-90 minutes and they want my husband to be there to “buy into my treatment”.
The doctor was focused on a bigger picture approach to pain management and asked “what would having this pain me managed mean for you in your life?”
She also was talking about how the nerves in our spine are connected to all of our organs. I believe everything around bone alignment and pain, but I don’t know if I am buying the jump from “your spine dictates your lung and heart health”
Any red flags in what I described? Has chiropractic services helped you manage back pain? I am open to any comments, I am new to this.
I have seen a chiro for about 15 years (three different practices because I moved states and the first one I found in the new state wasn’t great). I also have a friend who has seen a chiro for about that same amount of time that I think is a total quack, so I think this is super super dependent on the provider, and I think it’s an industry that is ripe for charlatans. (My personal bias before I continue on is that I don’t really do much ‘woo,’ as in, some things are definitely inexplicable about the body, but like in an acupuncture way, not an essential oils way, if you know what I’m saying.)
For me, having someone who attended some form of medical school was important. One of mine went to full on medical school, and the other was a practicing BSN who then went back for the PHD in chiro. The treatment plan you’ve described sounds appropriate (although an MRI would probably be more thorough depending on what injuries you have/had), but the husband thing would be a big red flag to me too. Does your insurance not cover chiro? I don’t believe I have ever had to pay any up front fees outside of copays/coinsurance.
As for having helped me, yes I would say it has helped me immensely over the years. My back injury is a significant, chronic disability from which healing is not an option, but they have improved my quality of life significantly through massage, manipulation, and stretching/exercises.
As you probably know, I’ve struggled with back problems for a really long time. I would 100% recommend going to see a physical therapist who specializes in back pain (and athletes!), and not a chiropractor. I’ve seen dozens of practitioners over the years and the only ones who made a noticeable difference were PTs. I’ve also had a lot of harm done to me by chiropractors. The main thing IMO that will help back pain is learning specific strengthening and mobility exercises to target weak muscles, vs getting adjustments that don’t last. There also isn’t a lot of evidence to support doing things like taking an X-ray, getting adjusted and then taking post adjustment x-rays. A lot of back pain really has nothing to do with what is being shown on imaging, and even if your x-ray looks fine that doesn’t mean your pain has disappeared and vice versa, you can have terrible imaging but not really be in any pain!
A PT will be able to make a plan for you based on your muscle strength/weaknesses and pain, and the kinds of activities you like to do, and they can also do manual release and other techniques like that to give you relief while you work on strengthening.
I have several family members who are chiropractors, and I don’t go to any chiropractic services. From everything I’ve read, chiropractors are as good as anything else for back pain, mostly because there is no great treatment for back pain. It’s as likely to clear up with the passing of time as with anything else.
Chiropractic is based on a whole theory of human health that is… not scientific. It might help you with your back. It might not. It won’t clear up your pneumonia, for sure.
I agree that physical therapy might be a good place to start.
If you run it over the leaves, does it do anything? It doesn’t really have to chop them up fine.
We have usually raked up enough to throw onto the flower/veggie beds, and run the mower over the rest once, and just ignored them, but we also don’t care what the grass looks like.
If you bag them, will the city take them? That a good job for kids.
I am deeply suspicious of chiropractors but went to one that helped for a while.
my biases
I have a strong bias towards non-intervention due to a PhD in biomedical engineering. I don’t believe in woo stuff but I also don’t think MDs read their own literature enough and are biased towards intervention regardless of side effects. (This is most about orthopedic surgeons but is inclusive of other MDs). I do also overcome my disbelief in woo stuff once every two years or so to see if whatever modality will help with stress relief/posture stuff and it usually does at least a little while the treatment is ongoing but once it stops I haven’t been fixed for good.
My rules: don’t go for an injury they could make worse, only go for stuff that’s sort of general and chronic and could also be fixed with massage (aka no slipped disc treatment). I would not get an x-ray, all it will tell you is that you’re asymmetrical which everyone is. I did not go to one that also offered crystal treatment.
I did go for ~6 months in grad school and it helped with back pain due to stress/posture. It didn’t fix anything permanently and it seemed like they wanted me to come in for weekly $25 treatments for the rest of my life which I’m not into.
Making your husband be there is weird unless there’s something specific they need to teach him or he needs to drive you home for some reason.
I’m not sure if this is already covered since I didn’t read all replies, but the red flag for me that your husband be present is the same red flag with time share presentations or other high pressure sales tactics. They want the spouse to be present so that they can high pressure you into making a financial decision and remove your excuse that you need to discuss the financial commitment with your spouse.
And if it’s not the reason, I am still weirded out by that request/requirement.
This is my impression as well, leaning harder on the charlatan side, although that’s probably mostly from being used as the designated victim for ‘bring a friend to my info session and get $X off your next treatment’ type interactions since a friend of mine had back trouble and tried a lot of things to get relief. There was one guy I was pretty impressed with who talked a fair amount about stretching, strengthening muscle groups, and listening when your body said stop. There were others…most weren’t very memorable beyond one with a pricing scheme that made no sense (no idea about the chiropractic part, but the crap numbers were pretty obvious) and one who started with beet juice, made it to tree frog genetics over the course of about an hour, and I don’t think appreciated me pointing out that that was nonsense according to basic high school biology (in my defense I was tired, and I tend to answer questions like ‘so what did you think’ very honestly at that point).
I’ve seem a chiropractor and worked with a chiropractor and physios.
The entire industry is open to quacks. Where I live, both get training in the musculoskeletal system, hands on work, and remedial exercises. There is a movement away from the chiro fixes everything movement with younger practitioners. Chiropractors do have some kind of everything is interrelated thing going on, which I am fine with and might not believe their model OR the acupuncture or yoga model, but I think things are linked in mysterious ways.
A lot of physios I’ve worked with are a bit too one size fits all for me.
With that said, a chiropractor or physio or massage therapist or acupuncturist who cares about your health can make it better.
I did chiro after my first kid broke me and it definitely helped get me past the worst of it so I could manage with home exercises. She discharged me after 2 or 3 visits and told me to come back if it got worse after two weeks, but I didn’t need to.
I think the bring your husband thing is a red flag and would refuse and/or go elsewhere.
Definitely agree with most of the replies. I know some people who swear by their chiro experiences but also have several close friends who had bad injuries caused by shady chriopractors. As I understand it, it’s a very unregulated field with a lot of room for predatory practices. Whcih doesn’t mean they’re all bad or unhelpful but means I would be even more skeptical of high pressure sales tactics like bring your husband.
Back pain is so hard to deal with and figure out. It seems like there is a lot of studied treatment and very few definite or one size fits all answers.
I started seeing a chiropractor a few years ago and have seen several since, with wildly varying quality. The best I’ve seen is right now, where they have a focus on sports medicine. My chiropractor spends the entire half hour with me (instead of just 5 minutes for an adjustment) and it’s pretty much like getting an extra massage. In addition, my insurance gives me 24 massage/chiropractic/acupuncture a year, and I figured out that if I get a massage at the chiropractor on the same day, they bill it as one treatment and only one use, not two!
Chiropractors have definitely helped my back pain through adjustments, but it’s temporary. Actually what helped the most was the guy that I really didn’t like but he did identify (with faulty arrogant reasoning through x-rays that didn’t show the whole picture) that my lower back pain is due to a leg length discrepancy. I went to a podiatrist for a second opinion and he sent me to the hospital to get full leg x-rays so that they could actually measure the length of my leg bones to verify. I’ve been wearing a heel lift on my left leg since and most of my lower back pain is gone!
The other thing that really helped was what my naturopath told me. When you get in and out of a car, you twist your body at a weird angle. It’s better to sit down with your legs together, and then pivot on your butt when getting in or out of the car.
You may want to go see a podiatrist first just to make sure you don’t have a structural leg length discrepancy or maybe you just need different shoes to compensate for gait issues! I think because you run so much, any imbalances would add up.
I have had very good experiences with physical therapists to manage and eliminate back pain from nursing. For my 1st, the pain was very severe due to bad posture while nursing and they used heat treatment, manual therapy, and eventually exercise for strengthening. During my 2nd pregnancy I pulled my back coughing and they used heat/massage/strengthening again. They also taught me how to move to avoid reinjury. My pain went from 7 to 3 after 1 session, and down to 1 within 4 weeks. For my 2nd baby I was actually able to apply what I learned about posture and had very little back pain postpartum.
I think you went to prenatal PT, right? If your pain is related to nursing posture or baby carrying, they might be particularly suited to help, but I think a general PT could help here too.
Thank you everyone for your answers! They are super helpful. I am glad I can trust my gut on this, and it is helpful to hear that often the chiro stuff is not permanent - like a massage.
Follow up question - how do you find a PT? I thought you had to be referred by your primary doctor? That sounds like it would be really helpful. The PT I did before birth was a pelvic floor PT specifically. I could see if she would help with this but I am not sure it is her specialty.
My mom made a comment about bringing my husband - you don’t even need to bring your husband to the OBGYN for having a baby, you sure as heck don’t need him for this. Touché mama.
Whether you need a referral depends on your insurance. I was told by my doctor that the local physical therapist practice that is next to the soccer stadium and works on their athletes is the best one. And my former personal trainer said he found that ones that focus on sports injuries tend to be much better and really know what they’re doing.
You don’t need a referral for PT in Colorado, although it is practice dependent. Sometimes I’ve had to get referrals especially for hospital affiliated PTs.
I’ve had several friends recommend Revo PT in Boulder to me, I don’t know if they are near where you are, but they are very popular in the endurance sports community
I’m super late to this discussion. It sounds like the chiro you saw is part of “maximized living” and they are notorious for setting you up with a 12 month treatment plan that will cost you $x out of pocket. They usually do one or two visits and then put together a packed to use to convince you to “invest” in your health. Super high pressure sales tactic.
I have a judo friend who is a chiropractor in name, but he approaches things from a more holistic level that incorporates massage, muscle strengthening, and chiropractic adjustments. He makes a very valid point that the probably is almost always the muscles, which are pulling things out of whack, and you can’t fix it without fixing the muscle (tightening those that need to be strengthened, and loosening the ones that are too tight). I will text you his contact info - he is like 5 minutes from my house, so not too far from where you live.
This is exactly who it is. I just found a bunch of subreddits about them and am not impressed. I am also annoyed because of the options near me, they had the most positive reviews and none of the negative reviews mentioned this!! (over 200 positive reviews).
Thank you for the rec near you and thank you @Panda for the rec in Boulder. If these don’t work out I will look up Revo PT in Boulder.
I feel swindled but I am also glad I recognized the high pressure sales that sent some red flags in my head. I think I just saved 60-90 minutes of my life being threatened that my health is in dire straights and only spending $3k on 40 adjustments will save me (multiple people on reddit said this is what was quoted to them). Thank you, next.
