Are chiropractors quacks?

sideways14a said:
I have heard the gas thing before from chiros.
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Technically it's true and you'll hear it from Rheumatologists too... although I believe it's more correctly described as air bubbles in the synovial fluid, rather than just "gases and inflammation". That air being released is (if done properly) what the cracking sound is.
However, none of those I used to work with would recommend a chiropractor.
 
When I was in my early 20s I was rowing competitively at a reasonable level and I suffered sciatica which was unbearable. I saw two Physios who helped initially with the discomfort but they couldnt get to the bottom of problem. About 3 months later I was told to go see this guy who was paritally sighted. He was a chiro, and I had no idea what to expect, but people said he performed miracles. So I went to see him and within a month my Sciatica was gone and I was back rowing. I couldn't quite believe it. He was so partially sighted he had to be within a few inches to see with any clarity, but that did not hinder him at all. It was quite something. I've heard horror stories too, but I can only go by my experiences and this guy was amazing.
 
Rroff said:
Not pointing at you just hooking onto your post but unless you (in general) understand the mechanics of what is going on self-adjusting can do more harm than good even when it might give relief, lessened a bit if you can read your own body but a lot of people aren't that in tune. Same with poor chiros who just proscribe a generic treatment in response to a symptom rather than try and understand what mechanically is going on, why and what the long term outcome would be of not treating it and the various approaches to treating it.
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i would like to give yoga a try. i imagine it would do wonders for my posture and flexibility. the underlying issue is posture. i was given a new desk at work and the chair there is crap. it's likely what exasperated the issue combined with a poor sleeping position.
 
RxR said:
A bit of basic info on chiro from the NHS website.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/
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Yeah basically it can help a bit with muscle/joint issues... but why bother? Note you can get homeopathy on the NHS too, it isn't widely used or available though.

You'll likely have to pay privately - not too surprising... guess what is available instead on the NHS though - physiotherapy. Why might that be? Because it works and physios aren't quacks but are legit medical professionals who will work alongside GPs or surgeons/consultants: Orthopods, Rheumatologists etc... as part of a multidisciplinary team.

I mean if someone has a legit medical issue then probs better to go to your GP as a first port of call, get referred to hospital if needed, actually get seen in hospital by the relevant department/clinic (rheumatology etc..) then once they've diagnosed the issue perhaps end up with physiotherapy or occupational therapy if needed... and of course if you're with Physiotherapy or occupational therapy and on their books/popping back for appointments etc.. and it doesn't work out then you might get referred back by them to say a surgical team etc..

Of course you can pay out of your own pocket for a quack who may or may not just offer the same sort of thing a Physio can anyway... may or may not try to treat a load of other BS too, claim silly things from x-rays... and doesn't work in an MDT team in an NHS hospital, doesn't have the advice of specialist consultants who've seen you before, doesn't review your case in an MDT meeting, doesn't have the option to send you back to to a consultant or surgeon... in fact quite possibly dislikes real medical professionals and could easily be some anti-vax loon.

If you're going to use the NHS website as a reference then it is worth highlighting that sticking with the legit medical professionals available via the NHS is a no brainer.
 
Or you might want to be considerate enough to read the references to the use of chiropractic in the decades-long multi-disciplinary team case management in several first-world countries in the many references that exist in the published medical research literature available freely online for anyone seriously bothered to check the facts.
 
kindai said:
Im pretty sure theyve withdrawn funding for it.
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They are trying to, though they're still paying for them. There is still one homeopathic hospital in Scotland IIRC and GPs are still dishing out prescriptions for homeopathic remedies even though, like you pointed out, they were supposed to have stopped. It is only a tiny fraction of the NHS's budget (I mean how much can water and sugar pills set you back realistically) but still.
 
I had one catch a nerve in my back years ago :/

They don't do things properly like physiotherapists. Don't let them anywhere near you're neck.

Osteopaths are similar I guess, but is based more on actual science and is safer. They won't just go in cold and start forcing things in to place.
 
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Nasher said:
Osteopaths are similar I guess, but is based more on actual science and is safer. They won't just go in cold and start forcing things in to place.
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Osteopaths are recognised healthcare professionals and patients can be referred to them by Doctors. Chiropractors aren't..........as someone who teaches medicine at a large university hospital in South London, I wouldn't let a chiropractor anywhere near me.
 
AFAIK there is still some quackery in osteopathy - like cranial osteopathy. Interestingly in the US it they're basically just like regular physicians/surgeons - they undergo pretty much the same syllabus as regular med school students but with a bit of added back cracking, though plenty of the newer generation disregard the back cracking stuff and just carry on as per a new med school grad would and end up specialising or going into general practice or training as surgeons.

RxR said:
Or you might want to be considerate enough to read the references to the use of chiropractic in the decades-long multi-disciplinary team case management in several first-world countries in the many references that exist in the published medical research literature available freely online for anyone seriously bothered to check the facts.
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Anyone bothering to check the facts won't go near a Chiro. See the conclusion from the UK's first complimentary medicine professor cited in the Simon Singh guardian article, see the comment from the above poster. It is quackery... as much as you might want to cherry pick what you can re: where it can work (albeit might as well go see a Physio) the foundations are pure quackery and the "profession" is full of quacks.

This is mostly a UK based forum - I don't think many people on here have the option of getting treated by a Chiro who works as part of a multidisciplinary team in a hospital. You'll much more likely end up seeing them as lone individuals in their own private practice, with their own x-ray machine and it won't be a radiologists looking at the pointless full spine x-ray they've given you regardless of what you've come in for but it will the the Chiro him/herself seeing imaginary subluxations in your vertebrae etc...
 
NMBlack said:
Osteopaths are recognised healthcare professionals and patients can be referred to them by Doctors. Chiropractors aren't..........as someone who teaches medicine at a large university hospital in South London, I wouldn't let a chiropractor anywhere near me.
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They most certainly are reccognised healthcare professionals and have been for many years. In 2000 i had a prolapsed disc and was in agony for about 6 months, i couldn't sit without being in extreme pain. All my GP was offering was Diclophenic sodium and Co-Dydramol, yes it meant i could work but was no long term solution.
I bit the bullet and went to see a well recommended Osteopath, it only took 4 visits at 2 week intervals at £25 each and i was as good as new. The best £100 i have ever spent and i would happily have parted with £1000 for the same result, in fact i havn't needed to take Diclophenic sodium or Co-Dydramol since.
 
kitfit1 said:
They most certainly are reccognised healthcare professionals and have been for many years.
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Not universally.
kitfit1 said:
In 2000 i had a prolapsed disc and was in agony for about 6 months, i couldn't sit without being in extreme pain. All my GP was offering was Diclophenic sodium and Co-Dydramol, yes it meant i could work but was no long term solution.
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Standard protocol for prolapsed disc. Most prolapsed discs self-resolve but at six months an MRI would be reasonable with a view to a laminectomy if you had urinary/bowel symptoms or loss of sensation in your upper thighs.
kitfit1 said:
I bit the bullet and went to see a well recommended Osteopath, it only took 4 visits at 2 week intervals at £25 each and i was as good as new. The best £100 i have ever spent and i would happily have parted with £1000 for the same result, in fact i havn't needed to take Diclophenic sodium or Co-Dydramol since.
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I'm glad it worked for you. So your GP didn't refer you to the osteopath?
 
The whole gas thing is the whats going on when you "crack" your fingers/knuckles, its just air/gas between the joints. It does no harm releasing it, but it does no harm to you it being there. It just feels good :p
 
I've seen loads of Chiro vids on Youtube, it looks like fun and I would like to try it someday. The Youtube ones I've seen are Americans and it seems over there you have to go to med school and then specialize into Chiro.

My bro in law went to one with a painful shoulder, the chiro said it was a rib and adjusted it and all pain went away.

I'm leaning towards it's not quackery on the whole. A lot of stuff might self correct in time but a Chiro can skip the "in time" part.
 
esoteric said:
I've seen loads of Chiro vids on Youtube, it looks like fun and I would like to try it someday. The Youtube ones I've seen are Americans and it seems over there you have to go to med school and then specialize into Chiro.
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It's called gaslighting, "seems" is perhaps the important word here. Just because they call themselves "Dr" doesn't mean there is much comparison with physicians.

I'm leaning towards it's not quackery on the whole. A lot of stuff might self correct in time but a Chiro can skip the "in time" part.
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Doubtful.
 
Objective To identify adverse effects of spinal manipulation.

Design Systematic review of papers published since 2001.

Setting Six electronic databases.

Main outcome measures Reports of adverse effects published between January 2001 and June 2006. There were no restrictions according to language of publication or research design of the reports.

Results The searches identified 32 case reports, four case series, two prospective series, three case-control studies and three surveys. In case reports or case series, more than 200 patients were suspected to have been seriously harmed. The most common serious adverse effects were due to vertebral artery dissections. The two prospective reports suggested that relatively mild adverse effects occur in 30% to 61% of all patients. The case-control studies suggested a causal relationship between spinal manipulation and the adverse effect. The survey data indicated that even serious adverse effects are rarely reported in the medical literature.

Conclusions Spinal manipulation, particularly when performed on the upper spine, is frequently associated with mild to moderate adverse effects. It can also result in serious complications such as vertebral artery dissection followed by stroke. Currently, the incidence of such events is not known. In the interest of patient safety we should reconsider our policy towards the routine use of spinal manipulation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1905885/

hah no thanks :P
 
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