Chiropractic

[ChargerDad]

I've been seeing chiropractors off and on since high school..  typically have 1 incident a year my back goes out and I can barely get out of bed or walk... My old chiro was almost as big as me (I'm 6'4" 285)..  He manhandled me in such a way that I wasn't sure I should hug him or punch him if I saw him around town..  It would take a few treatments of feeling worse than I came in when I left but my back would be better.. He retired, and the lady who took the practice over is barely 5 feet tall..  I went the first time assuming that there was no way this little lady would be able to help me, but she is the 2nd best chiropractor I have ever been to (I think my brother is the best, but he's in Minneapolis..).  You will find that chiropractic care is a diverse discipline..  how they care for you will depend on which college they went to, and even which teachers they had while in school.   I've had chiro's that worked on my wallet more than they worked on my back, but other people had good luck with them..  For those with back trouble, finding a chiro that works for you is a life saver:-)  The two biggest changes I made that helped my back get better were to quit carrying my wallet in my back pocket, and to quit carrying heavy bags over my shoulder..  a third change that I can't quite pull off is to cut down to the 240-250 range:-P

[bigG]

The guy that iced for 20 minutes first got me straight. I could barely walk and breathe at the same time going in. I was much better walking out. Gave me some easy stretches and they still work. 1-3 times per year is well worth it to me. The guy I have now is just right. Not too Russian cave; but still gets different adjustments done on the spots near the pain. The chair/knee/ankle stretch works really well on me. Exercising it by making wood actually helps it, IMO.

[imnofish]

I've been seeing chiropractors off and on since high school..  typically have 1 incident a year my back goes out and I can barely get out of bed or walk... My old chiro was almost as big as me (I'm 6'4" 285)..  He manhandled me in such a way that I wasn't sure I should hug him or punch him if I saw him around town..  It would take a few treatments of feeling worse than I came in when I left but my back would be better.. He retired, and the lady who took the practice over is barely 5 feet tall..  I went the first time assuming that there was no way this little lady would be able to help me, but she is the 2nd best chiropractor I have ever been to (I think my brother is the best, but he's in Minneapolis..).  You will find that chiropractic care is a diverse discipline..  how they care for you will depend on which college they went to, and even which teachers they had while in school.   I've had chiro's that worked on my wallet more than they worked on my back, but other people had good luck with them..  For those with back trouble, finding a chiro that works for you is a life saver:-)  The two biggest changes I made that helped my back get better were to quit carrying my wallet in my back pocket, and to quit carrying heavy bags over my shoulder..  a third change that I can't quite pull off is to cut down to the 240-250 range:-P

Getting the wallet out of my back pocket was huge for me, too.  Also working on the weight issue and have slowly dropped 15lbs. in the last 9 months or so.  The big thing will be to stay active this winter and keep from overindulging my sweet tooth. 

[bigG]

I get a healthy winter appetite, too.  you just feel like eating thicker when it gets cold out.

[npope]

Interesting for us to share experiences on the subject - everybody's situation is a little different, as is the manner in which their chiropractor may have approached the situation. While I am not a medical expert, I have seen the X-rays of my neck and they look a lot like the comparative picture in the chiropractor's office that shows a "healthy" spine and a "messed up" spine - guess which one is mine. Bone spurs, uneven disc spacing, lack of natural curvature, yada, yada, yada. While a trip to the chiropractor brings significant relief, it is only for a couple of days. The muscles and tendons in the neck don't pull things back together the way they once did and thus, after a few days of relatively good alignment... I am convinced that chiro does not have a curative potential for my situation, although every chiropractor I initially met with stated with confidence that he had the answer - maybe part of his training. The biggest waste of money occurred when I did the bio-feedback ("go to a happy place in your mind when the pain comes") followed by hypnosis. The latter BTW only works on a very small percentage of the broader population, as I was told after the guy collected his fee for services.

So I try to get to the gym on a regular basis and do stretching (an old man's form of exercise) and limited neck exercises to try to maintain some muscle tone. If I could figure out how to improve my posture, I would. One might think that would be something a person could manage, but it is an odd thing to change life long habits - it just doesn't work that way.

[imnofish]

I was impressed by my first chiro's working relationship with some of the doctors at our local hospital/clinic (Mayo).  At one point, he was trying to help my wife during the early stages of her spine problems.  After a few visits, he noted her body's negative response to his efforts and referred her to a doctor for further analysis.  That particular doctor has a history of sending patients to the chiro, if their symptoms indicate potential benefit from it.  The doc did a great job of following through, bringing in a specialist, involving physical therapists, and educating her work supervisors, etc., to get her back on her feet and appropriately modify her job expectations.  This enabled her to work for many years, before she finally became disabled from her problem.  I really think there should be more of this type of cooperation between medical docs and chiros.