Are chiropractors legit?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Somewhere along the way I seem to have picked up a horrible grinding noise whenever I roll my right shoulder along with a pain in my neck. Is it worth trying a chiropractor? I've heard iffy things about the field in general...I'd prefer a bit of pain to getting turned into a quadriplegic or something. Anybody have any positive or negative experiences with them?

[alva]

The best money I ever spent was on a chiropractor.

I used to have some trouble in my upper back (just under the shoulder). I had x-rays, the sound thingy..everything. They couldn't find a thing.
The chiro solved it all in about 10 minutes.
Actually I should go one of these days ( I go see him about once a year).

[Flubber]

Originally posted by alva
The best money I ever spent was on a chiropractor.


Actually I should go one of these days ( I go see him about once a year).

Ditto.

I believe that the chances of being turned into a quad by a chiroracter are somewhere around the chances of dying from a drug reaction to an aspirin.


On two occasions I had muscles spasms in my back. The first time I went to a doctor and they just drugged me. It worked to a point but I was pretty looped for a few days.

The second time I went to a chiropracter. They had machines to help with pain relief and once the pain wasn't so acute ( a few days later) they begin working on undelying cause and prescribed a bunch of stretching exercises. Overall a much more effective approach although I will say that the level of stretching and massage was intense

[MarkG]

[Skanky Burns]

[Ecthy]

[chequita guevara]

Re: Are chiropractors legit?

No. They are nothing more than glorified massueses at best and dangerous quacks at worst.

The truth is, as with most injuries, your back will most likely heal on its own. But people tend to associate that natural healing with whatever they were doing at the time. Chiropractors, however, especially the ones who really believe their quack cult science, can cause very serious spinal injuries when they attempt to pop your spine (especiually the neck). (Flubber, there are actually a substantial number of injuries do to chiropractor quackery every year.)

The spine does not "adjust" when you move it. Like any other part of your body, if you push it, as soon as you stop pushing it, it moves back into place.

[Flubber]

Sorry che but in canada people get degrees in this stuff from real legitimate universities. The chiropractor I saw didn't "cure" my back and was honest and forthright that a muscles spasm must resolve itself somewhat with time before they can work on the underlying causes .


Oh and I don't know what standards you have in the US but in Canada, chiropractic care is not some form of quackery.

Chiropractic today is one of the largest primary-contact health care professions in Canada with over 6,000 practicing chiropractors. Approximately four and a half million Canadians use the services of a chiropractor each year 1.

Chiropractic is a regulated health profession recognized by statute in all Canadian provinces and American states. The benefits of chiropractic care are well recognized by other health care practitioners. In a 1995 survey, 44 per cent of Ontario and Alberta physicians indicated that they refer patients for chiropractic treatment 2.



.....


Chiropractic is regulated by provincial statute in all provinces. Chiropractors along with medical doctors, dentists, psychologists, and optometrists have the legislated right and obligation to communicate a diagnosis and to use the title doctor. Each province has a regulatory college established by legislation in the same manner, and with the same structure and similar regulations, as the regulatory bodies for other health care professions. The regulatory colleges are responsible for protecting the public, standards of practice, disciplinary issues, quality assurance and maintenance of competency.



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Seven years university-level education

Chiropractic students undergo a rigorous course of study similar to that of other health care professionals. Entrance requirements are also similar. Students are required to complete a minimum of three years of university before they are eligible for admission to the CMCC accredited program. In fact, over 80 per cent of students entering the CMCC program have completed a baccalaureate degree. The CMCC program requires four years of full-time study, including a year-long internship in the College’s clinics. In Quebec, the UQTR has a five-year program following graduation from a CÉGEP health science program.

http://www.ccachiro.org/client/cca/cca.nsf/web/Chiropractic?OpenDocument

[Flubber]

ohh and the qualifications

Licensing and Regulations
Every province of Canada has its own Chiropractic Act governing the practice of the profession.

Chiropractic is a self-governing profession, each provincial regulatory body having the authority to grant a licence to practise chiropractic. The self-disciplining and regulatory process includes extensive testing, peer review programs, continuing education requirements and the disciplining of practitioners who fail to meet recognized standards of provincial licensing bodies.

In all provinces, the minimum licensure requirements include:

graduation from an accredited chiropractic college
a minimum of 3 years pre-professional university/college studies
passing scores on national examinations administered by the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board, and
passing scores in provincial licensing examinations.
Some provinces also require minimum age, period of residency within the province and evidence of good moral character

So while I don't soubt some injuries as you cite, I also don't doubt that there are injuries from quack doctors doing unnecessary plastic surgery etc etc. I see no reason to denigrate a profession based on your personal beliefs

[DanS]

I have seen a lot of quack chiropractors with degrees. It might be that this is a minority of the profession, but buyer beware.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by DanS
I have seen a lot of quack chiropractors with degrees. It might be that this is a minority of the profession, but buyer beware.

and I am sure there are some quack doctors or lawyers or whatever. There are the dishonest and incompetent out there in every profession

[DanS]

No doubt. Maybe I have seen the dregs of the profession, but... I guess my gut tells me that the dregs of this profession run a little deeper than others.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by DanS
No doubt. Maybe I have seen the dregs of the profession, but... I guess my gut tells me that the dregs of this profession run a little deeper than others.

Possible . . .

I can only go my canadian experience which has been good and I am aware that chiropractic school is not exactly easy to get into here . You need good marks at a legitimate university.

I actually found the treatments used a lot of the same methods as physiotherapy

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally posted by DanS
No doubt. Maybe I have seen the dregs of the profession, but... I guess my gut tells me that the dregs of this profession run a little deeper than others.

Yeah, this seems to be the conclusion I'm coming to in reading and asking around. Just like in this thread, I've talked to some people who swear by it and some who swear at it, so...dunno. I suspect I already know what they'd tell me to do for long term solutions, generic things I should be doing anyway like lose some weight and not sit hunched over a computer for most of the day. I just wasn't sure if whatever manipulations they do might be a short-term solution while I'm working on the longer term stuff.

[chequita guevara]

It's a quack profession that has some decent members. The fact that Canada liscences and degress such BS means nothing, since states in the U.S. do the same. Just because quackery manages to fool lots of people doesn't mean it isn't quackery. Chinese medicine is BS even if 1 billion people believe in it.

The core idea in chiropracty is that a misaligned spine can cause all sorts of health problems, like asthma, etc. That's complete and utter BS. Next, they argue that by aligning the spine properly, they can fix these problems. I want you to push on your spine and note what happens. It moves right back. It's doesn't stay where you moved it unless you hold it there.

As I wrote earlier, they are at best, glorified masseuses. They can give you a really good massage. BTW, in the U.S. most states require training and licensing of masseuses as well. At least they don't claim they cure anything (aside from the reflexologists).

Massage can be very good for you, but that doesn't mean that chiropracty isn't quackery.