Chiropractors, how do you pick one

[JCasper]

I have had a very bad neck pain since Saturday. It is a problem I have had in the past, but is way worse this time. I can't sleep and I am very stiff when I get out of bed. Yesterday I couldn't even eat a bowl of cereal without slopping on my self. I couldn't move my neck forward, back, left or right.



I have never been to a Chiropractor before and have an appointment today at 3:00. Now some people are telling me I should not let him do anything without taking X-Rays.



A friend of mine recommends some guy over in SE Portland that is real cheap, but he says is the only guy that can help his neck pain. That guy does not take X-Rays, his office is a dump and he smells of cigarette smoke.



Any help would be appreciated. If I don't get any sleep tonight I don't think I will come to work tomorrow.



Joe

 

[ACoyle]

Just my two cents. I hurt myself last fall. Symptoms similar to yours. I started to go to a Chairopractor. I would feel better then I left the office and then a copule days to four days later, I would have to go back. After a month or 2, I realized that I was not really making progress.



I went to an opthpoedic doctor, who put me into physical therapy, within a week, I had lasting improvement. While I am not 100% yet. I am getting closer.



Check out this link and see if it dosen't fit your ills.



http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000442.htm

 

[JCasper]

Thanks for the info. I have an appointment with my regular doc in about 30 minutes. I didn't feel right about having the Chiropractor start adjusting things until I talked to the doc first.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I'd suggest you go see a D. O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) instead. A DO is a full medical doctor that can also do everything a chiropractor can. If you go to a chiropractor I guarantee you'll be told your problem can be soplved by chiropractic care. Most chiropractors believe just about everything comes down to that. A DO will check you out medically first and use chiropracty if it's applicable. I have 2 fused vertabrae in my neck and ILd be a quadraplegic had I seen a chiropractor that didn't x-ray first. I saw a DO and was referred for PT and when that didn't work was sent to a spine specialist.

 

[Jumbo Jet]

My neurosurgeon, after the MRI, cautioned me to never let a chiropractor touch my neck. Something about the possibility of paralysis.



Get a real examination.

 

[JCasper]

I went and saw my doctor and she agrees with me it is a nerve that is pinched/irritated in some way. Either from twisting wrong or lifting. It has been a problem in the past for me and she suggested a Physical Therapist, not a Chiropractor. My Uncle is a PT so I will talk to him about it. She said that a PT is a lot more careful then a chiropractor.



She also gave me some Vicodin so hopefully I can sleep tonight.



Joe

 

[RDupree]

lots of advice on this topic. i have a really bad back from acar wreck in 1976,my chiropracter keeks mewoking and walking.

my knees are worn out too,all the doctors i went to about them said i needed replacements,i found a good chiropractor and now i have no pain in my knees.

i don't trust the doctors!

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

I love mine. Granted, finding a good one is tough. But I know that this guy fixes things that can leave me immobile. I also do some EMS work for his martial arts club and one of the docs that works with us is a highly respected neurologist, and there is no way he would associate with a snake oil salesman.

Like anything, a good one is rare, and worth his weight in gold.

Good luck, I hope you find the relief you need, regardless of the source.

 

[dpuckett]

I agree with Schlickenmeyer- finding a good one isnt easy. I have found ones that use the so-called Activator methods do the most for me. They use a little spring loaded gun to move each vertebra individually, without the traditional crunching and cracking.



My g/f's dad is a chiropractor (makes for some ill feelings on his part when I let it be known I'd drive back to Poplar Bluff for treatment), but I think him mediocre at best. I go to one in Poplar Bluff who is also certified in acupuncture, yet she isnt one of these who believes chiropractic can cure all your ills, like my g/f's father. I've gone to her for 10 years, and when I was still rodeoing, there were a few times she sent me to an independent lab for x-rays just to double check.



Most of all, trust your gut instinct. If a nerve is pinched, chances are a chiropractor can straighten it out. If it wasnt a bad car wreck, it should be good in 3-4 visits, tops. Whiplash I had in 99 took 2 weeks and about 6 visits. Went to my g/f's dad in Feb 06, because he deals with insurance companies directly, and he took 3mo, and I still wasnt right. Chiro in Poplar Bluff got it right in 3 visits. Physical Therapist could straighten it out as well, I'd guess. The main thing is to let the muscles relax and get the vertebrae back in their place.



Daniel

 

[Alphacowboy]

My neurosurgeon, after the MRI, cautioned me to never let a chiropractor touch my neck. Something about the possibility of paralysis.



Get a real examination.

Just because someone doesnt have a DR title doesnt mean they are worthless... I DONT trust Doctors, considering one about killed me, and have had a few others do more harm than good on other occassions, I dont trust them. Now, my Kinesiologist DOES have a DR title, but is WAY better than any Chiropractor! here is actually my DRs website... http://drterryfranks.com/ and heres a link on WHAT a Kinesiologist does. http://www.kinesiologycentral.com/cgi-bin/gate2?hkdoc~klmain.html



Also, another thing you might want to look into is the ARP program. ARP is actually run by a very good friend of mine and has FINALLY started making some headlines on his revolutionary way of healing people! His business has exploded in the professional sports arena, and is going to burst into the general public arena VERY quickly! He just reciently made headlines in the USAToday a few months ago! Check it out, I dont know if any clinics are close to you, but if there is one, GO, trust me, you will not regret it man! http://www.arpprogram.com/arpprotocol/index.html

 

[Alphacowboy]

Most of all, trust your gut instinct. If a nerve is pinched, chances are a chiropractor can straighten it out. If it wasnt a bad car wreck, it should be good in 3-4 visits, tops. Whiplash I had in 99 took 2 weeks and about 6 visits. Went to my g/f's dad in Feb 06, because he deals with insurance companies directly, and he took 3mo, and I still wasnt right. Chiro in Poplar Bluff got it right in 3 visits. Physical Therapist could straighten it out as well, I'd guess. The main thing is to let the muscles relax and get the vertebrae back in their place.



Daniel

Couldnt agree more! Chiropractors that have you come in 2-3 times a week are ripping you off. I go to mine, he makes my adjustments, and he tells me, when my body needs to be seen again, call and make an appointment. Follow what your body tells you, it knows what it needs.



PS, I have been through physical therapy, its worthless. I about broke my neck in JR-High playing broomball. a month of physical therapy, made things actually worse. I ended up going to 2 different Chiropractors (the kind that want you back 2 times a week) and things got better, but NOT fixed. Eventually I found a kinesioligist and with in a few visits, I was about back to normal. I finally am getting rid of the scar tissue and starting to feel "normal" its been a long road, probably a total of 5 Chiropractors (now that I think about it) and 2 kinesioligists till I found one that is DAMN good. I wish i had a number for you to call to get a good referal so you dont have to search for so long to find a good one. Tell ya what, i'll call Franks tomorrow and see if he recommends someone in your area. Dr Franks is WORLD known, I got lucky you could say. Just to see him is a 8 month wait for new patients!

 

[The patriot]

I've gone to chiropractors for years. IMO I havent seen any long term improvement. That's not to say it dont happen.

As to "how to pick one out"? Damed if I know. I went on word of mouth.

 

[JCasper]

Couldnt agree more! Chiropractors that have you come in 2-3 times a week are ripping you off. I go to mine, he makes my adjustments, and he tells me, when my body needs to be seen again, call and make an appointment. Follow what your body tells you, it knows what it needs.



PS, I have been through physical therapy, its worthless. I about broke my neck in JR-High playing broomball. a month of physical therapy, made things actually worse. I ended up going to 2 different Chiropractors (the kind that want you back 2 times a week) and things got better, but NOT fixed. Eventually I found a kinesioligist and with in a few visits, I was about back to normal. I finally am getting rid of the scar tissue and starting to feel "normal" its been a long road, probably a total of 5 Chiropractors (now that I think about it) and 2 kinesioligists till I found one that is DAMN good. I wish i had a number for you to call to get a good referal so you dont have to search for so long to find a good one. Tell ya what, i'll call Franks tomorrow and see if he recommends someone in your area. Dr Franks is WORLD known, I got lucky you could say. Just to see him is a 8 month wait for new patients!

My uncle is a Physical Therapist and I just sent him an email. I am going to see if he can help me out or if he can recommend someone closer to me.

 

[fest3er]

My uncle is a Physical Therapist and I just sent him an email. I am going to see if he can help me out or if he can recommend someone closer to me.

A chiropractor has his place; he knows how to slip bones (joints) back into place. But it must be balanced with PT. If it is just a bone slipping out of place, then most likely you have muscles or tendons that are pulling that bone out of place; they do that because they are compensating for other muscles that canot do their fair share (for whatever reason). A good chiropractor will combine his treatment with PT, in order to get the muscles back into shape so they stop pulling the bones out of place while he relieves the discomfort by snapping the bones back into place.



That said, if a few weeks of chiro/PT makes no different, go see a top-notch surgeon. You'd be surprised at how many people have problems just like Steve SL had: spurs/growth on neck vertebrae that impinge on nerves; most often it is a natural occurence, unrelated to prior injury. Steve had his neck operated on for that, as did two of my brothers. A third brother needs the surgery. It is a very common, albeit not risk-free, surgery. Weeks of exercise will follow the surgery to get all the muscles back into balance.



If you let it go long enough, you could end up unable to lift your arm, never mind trying to hoist a brew. Yes, your muscles can atrophy to the point where a kitten is stronger.



Just like your truck, your body is a system. While you can 'randomly' BOMB your truck - breaking and replacing parts as you go along - to get more power and torque, you really shouldn't do the same with your body. If all the parts don't work in sync, you end up with aches and pains because your body uses the stronger parts to compensate for the weaker parts. The longer you 'overlook' the root cause, the worse it gets, and the longer it will take to regain the balance. As the Moody Blues sang, it's a question of balance.

 

[WDaniels]

Chiropractors, how do you pick one

While they are still hanging in the tree, take a stick and give it a wap. Not hard enough to break the skin but a good solid one. If it has a solid, firm, hollow, squishy sound... . then they are just right for picking. :-laf

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

I agree with the above post, PT is huge. The main reason I have seen inmprovement, he has helped me find the causes of my problems (almost all were bad body mechanics. . leaning while braking on the motorcycle, etc), as well as explaining the way the body works better than most md's have the time to.

I also pay a flat fee, so I go every 2 months now. . but I could go every 2 days.

so long term improvement, yes, but mostly in changing my habits.

Trust your gut indeed. You will know what sounds right when you hear it.

 

[Sled Puller]

A good Chiro is a life saver- a bad one... well I bet they still haven't killed as many people as poorly written prescription drugs.



I spent the first 35 years of life, putting off going to the bone crunchers until I couldn't move. I would go, and then not go back for months, maybe years later.

My work and play finally got me to the point where I couldn't turn my head to the right. Woke up with headaches every day. Gobble pain killers, didn't help.



Found a good one in Pittsburgh, and a sports medicine facilty. He was AWESOME!!



Trouble was, price, and scheduling. He retired a few years later.



I couldn't take the headaches anymore and called the first one in the yellow pages, that was open late, no appointment.



Took xrays, showed me what was messed up. It was ugle.

Said come in 3 times a week, until I could turn my neck and was out of pain, and after that it was up to me.



I figured what I had been doing for 35 years hadn't worked, what the hell. That was 3 years ago, I am a firm believer. No more daily headaches, I have almost my full range of motion. I go several times a month, I feel good.





My sister is another example, in front of a computer for years, her hands started to go numb. Surgeon wanted to Steve St Laurant her neck. Said she'd be paralyzed in 30 days if they didn't fuse her neck.



Chiropractic has kept her hands from going numb, and kept her out of surgery for 2 years now.



Drug doctors and surgeons are last resorts.



Ask around, and if they hurt you, tell them. If they don't listen, move on.

 

[Hummin Cummins]

I agree with Sleddy 100%. I have had lower back problems since I was 18 from a fall from a roof. I have been going to a bonecrusher ever since. I used to just go when I couldnt take the pain anymore. My back will jump out of place if I sneeze, fart, or get out of bed the wrong way. The first one I went to never took x rays. Two years ago it went out BAD. Found myself in bed for 3 days literally crawling to the bathroom on my hands and knees. I found a new chiropractor to go to and the first thing he did was x rays. He drew a vertical line down the x ray where my spine should be. When he got down to the last 5 vertebrae above my tailbone they were off center 3/4 of an inch. He had me come in for adjustments every other day for two weeks and took x rays again and things were right on line. I go once a month now just to keep things tuned up and have felt great ever since. They can also do wonders for helping to get sinuses drained.



Late last summer on a regular visit, he asked if my lower neck / shoulders were sore before I even mentioned it and asked if I had been shooting a bow. (I never mentioned archery to him) He said he could tell by the misalignment in my upper spine that I was doing something different.



After all this babbling all I can say is,

They work wonders for me, choose carefully and by all means get x-rays first.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

My 2 Cents....

Chiropractors are the guys to see if you have unexplained pain (neck, shoulder, back) that regular doctors can't pin down.

 

[Alphacowboy]

Chiropractors are the guys to see if you have unexplained pain (neck, shoulder, back) that regular doctors can't pin down.

I dont totally agree with that. Perfect example, had some abdominal pain this last week, went to my Kinesiologist and turned out I had a kidney that wasnt quite right, a few adjustments in my lower back and the torture of a few pressure points, I walked out of the office with NO MORE PAIN, NONE! All i needed was an herbal suppliment, and thats it, cost me a whooping 81 bucks. Now, if I had gone to the doctor (medical that is) I probably would have had a bunch of tests, throw on some antibiotics and felt miserable for a few more days likely. Now, if he (my Kinesiologist) would have felt that I needed to go in immediately for lets say an appendix or something as serious, he would have told me to go, he told me right away that.



Just my . 02