this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2024
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Gonna be completely honest: a chiropractor saved my life.
I experienced an injury and literally couldn't walk for 3 months. Three doctors kept ignoring my pain and thought I was exaggerating. They kept treating me like a drug-seeker and I couldn't afford more visits due to be uninsured & now unable to work. They also would not refer me to a physio/physical therapist without more appointments and several expensive tests.
A chiropractor gave me an initial "adjustment" and I was finally able to hobble for a few minutes without collapsing. But I could not afford more appointments.
The pain and anguish went on for over 2 years. I was literally on the verge of killing myself by the end of it.
Finally.. my dear mother referred me to another chiropractor and offered to pay for a few appointments. I was at the point of ending it anyway, so I figured "why not?"
I went in, the guy took x-rays, and informed me that one of my vertebrae was lodged in my pelvis, pinching so many nerves, he was surprised I was even standing. He said he'd see me again to assess me, then the third appointment he would hopefully be able to help.
To keep this from being any longer, he fucking fixed it. Over 2 years of near unbearable pain, and he cured it. I could walk upright. I could reach upward. I could reach the floor. I could hug my kid again.
He then told me to come back at least 3 times per week to keep everything in shape and I was like "lol no". To be fair, I did 3 more appointments to make sure this wasn't a fluke, but after that, I researched everything with a mind clear of pain and figured out how to heal and maintain.
Am I stupid for going to a chiropractor? No. I was poor. I was desperate. Did it help? Yes. Would I recommend them to others? Fuck no. They're predatory in the way they maintain their "patients". Swear to god, I'm pretty sure he tried to fuck something up in my shoulder to get me to return later.
But don't blame all folks who go to chiropractors. Some don't have much of a choice.
Still anecdotal and we could point you to all the people who lost their ability to walk due to chiropractors.
A physio or an osteopathic physician could have done the job just as well if not better ๐คท
If I would have had the opportunity to go to a physio or physical therapist, I absolutely would have.
Unfortunately, I was unable because I had no money or insurance, and the doctors able to to refer me to one simply would not.
I was not at a chiropractor because I wanted to be: I was there because no one else would help me.
I am not endorsing chiropractors: I was explaining why folks might go to one.
They might have been able to but they didn't, and they didn't get sent to them by all the other doctors that saw them.
Because chiropractors don't work within the medical system and are reckless enough to take action without playing "20 ways to cover your ass" before they are willing to act, you sometimes get stories like this.
I've met chiropractors with above average medical knowledge for your typical mall worker. Being able to afford and use an x-ray machine implies more effort than any chiropractors I've met as well. But yeah, if you are gonna kill yourself or you are having a movement related issue and are unable to get doctors to treat you, they aren't that bad.
No, I'm saying an anecdote is no better than an anecdote of the opposite experience. In the end chiropracty isn't recognized as medical science and they didn't go so someone who is actually qualified to attempt to fix people's health issues.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
No, it isn't medical science
Chiropractic is not medical nor is it science.
Everything that isn't from a peer reviewed source is anecdotal.
With that said, being a chiropractor is not a reserved title, and the peer reviewed research doesn't shine a good light on the chiropractic domain in general. There is a few edge case where it might work, but is otherwise about as good as the placebo effect.
what if your peers are quacks too?
In the US, for sure. It doesn't have to be that way though.
Those doctors sound awful. It's hard to imagine them at least not taking an X-ray if you came in telling them you have acute pain due to an injury, and why tf wouldn't they refer you to PT? Glad you're better
Yeah it's absolutely crazy that a chiropractor was the first person to think of X-raying chronic back pain.
Shit, I have back pain a lot less severe than this fella and my primary care straight up referred me to an MRI at my first appointment, which wasn't even primarily about my back. Doctors should have to maintain an empathy license.
It's usually the insurance company, not the doctor. My wife had to do a round of PT for her badly torn meniscus before they'd approve an MRI
Right?
Even if you're worried about drug seeking behavior, that's what the X-ray is for, confirmation.
I was actually x-rayed at the hospital after the initial accident, but they did so while I was lying down. The chiropractor x-rayed me while I was standing.
Hospital even told me that they don't catch much of the muscular-skeletal issues that may crop up in patients.
I assume they didn't want me wasting time & resources. Plus, y'know.. I was poor & uninsured.
Appreciate your kind words! I'll never be back to 100%, as I was left with a lot of nerve damage for leaving it for so long, but I can walk again without pain, which I'm so fucking thankful for!
Fyi, you have (had) a decent malpractice suit against the first doctors, if you care to entertain that.
That's a valid testimonial. Chiropractors exist because sometimes they fix people with chronic pain and mobility issues. However many bad ones there are some of them legitimately help people who fall through the cracks of generalized medicine
Yeah I had a chiropractor (the woo woo kind, not the 'have you been in a car accident' kind) who could twist my head and make something crack and then I'd get no migraines for a year or more. So I would go back once every year or two when they came back, and he'd do it again. Nothing else has ever worked like that. $40 a year to prevent migraines?
He was older and is retired and I have not ever been able to trust any other chiropractor to be able to do that.
And one time my mom had shoulder pain and her doctor sent her to a chiropractor and they fixed that.
I don't think it's magic but also don't think it's nothing. Like massage or other physical manipulations it can do some things.
They are predatory but that is not the only reason for them to make you return. What they do is merely stretching of muscles and ligaments releasing spasms and stress in them. These develop due to trauma, both due to injury and also due to one's daily activities. So the stresses and strains return.
These treatments are like Tai chi or yoga, which gently manipulates your body to its entire range of movements.
Chiropractor does violent manipulation thus are prone to injury.
Oh, no doubt.
There are obviously better more ways to get proper treatment from real licensed professionals who actually know what they're doing.
Unfortunately, those ways often require insurance, a doctor referral, or a lot of money.
I had a similar situation, couldn't walk anymore, chiro saved me big time.
But any time I bring it up I get downvoted to oblivion and everyone grasps at straws to try to explain it away.
leave america
This has the same energy as "Why don't homeless people just buy a house?"
Plus, other countries have their own issues with their healthcare systems. I am guaranteed nothing.