I wasn't going to remark on the issue of chiropractic, but some totally mal-informed remarks have forced me to bring the truth to light.
RAC said:
Chiropractic does not seem to long-term cure, like surgery (not that there can't be complications there either).
Just because you get ongoing treatment that emphasizes the natural structure of your body versus getting a procedure that cuts you up and then forces you to be bedridden for days or weeks at a time has nothing to do with approach being long term. The focus is just DIFFERENT.
What would you rather have? Ongoing psychotherapy to help you work out your issues, or a lobotomy where they cut out a portion of your brain? I'd choose the former.
RAC said:
And everyone I know who uses a chiropractor is told they NEED to keep going regularly
That's because the chiropractic approach should be gentle, non-jarring, and "persuasive" in getting your body to realign itself naturally. One adjustment does not make a permanent change--if it did, it could be traumatic to your body and spinal cord.
And just like your car that benefits from a regular wheel realignment--since everyday wear and tear can throw it out of proper alignment and cause other problems--your spine benefits from such regular realignments.
And all this regular readjustment is not for the sake of just "putting things in their place". Proper spinal alignment frees your body to focus on its natural rhythms and immune system. If your spinal cord--the body's main transport system for the way the brain communicates with the rest of the body--has unnecessary pressure on it, your brain and your body won't be communicating and functioning at an optimal level.
Before going to chiropractic, I was constantly sick with upper and lower respiratory infections (200 days a year I felt AWFUL). After I finished 4 months of frequent adjustments (3 x per week) following a severe back sprain, and started going "regularly" (once every 6 weeks), I experienced a significant drop in illness. I am sick maybe 4 days a year now as my body is better equipped to fight off bugs when they initially enter my body: My spine is in much better alignment and my body has a much better ability to heal itself.
BONUS: The overall costs of all the chiropractic treatment were STILL cheaper than seeing the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists and the drugs they were putting me on).
RAC said:
one would be far better served putting the money into a set of those hanging boots, or a slant board
That still won't give you proper alignment side-to-side and front to back. You spine was designed to have very specific curves in it in very specific places. Forcing yourself to stretch won't cut it.
RAC said:
or a set of Yoga or Pilates lessons if surgery is not an option
Yoga is very good for spinal alignment, but not as good as chiropractic. Pilates has nothing to do with it.
RAC said:
The uncertainty of going week after week to chiropractors is I think an important reason why the legal system doesn't support its use.
No, it's because of a strong lobby by the medical and pharmaceutical industries to promote themselves and to denegrate the benefits of chiropractic. Chiropractic is a relatively new field and it struggled against the entrenched medical industries to gain respect and recognition as a non-invasive approach to healing. If people can heal themselves from within, then med docs and drug companies won't be able to profit from you so much.
Chiropractic doesn't seek to "cure" you of anything--it is designed to allow your body to heal itself. It's like the adage: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--except the medical profession rarely cures, it usually just throws drugs at the symptoms.
Hoop said:
For my $.02 worth, chiropractors are little more than quacks
Your statement is worth less than 2 cents because it has no basis in modern fact.
At the time of graduation, today's chiropractors spend on average over 100 more hours in studying the human body than do medical doctors (2,887 vs. 2,756). This includes classes that focus on anatomy, physiology, pathology, bacteriology, diagnosis, neurology, x-ray, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics and chemistry.
Here is a breakdown of what chiropractors and med doctors must study before graduating:
http://www.blychiropractic.com/education.html
The Doctor of Chiropractic readily acknowledges that the early, formative years of chiropractic education--like those of medicine--left much to be desired. But this is true of every science and profession. Maybe early chiropractors were quacks, but not today. And as in every professional field, there will always be a range of very good to very bad practitioners.
StinkerBell said:
He needs to see a neurosurgeon.
Neurologists and neurosurgeons are not trained to read x-rays the same way chiropractors are. After my back sprain, the neurologist said I was "fine" after reviewing my front x-rays. He said I just had a bad sprain and gave me pain killers and muscle relaxants. Several weeks later, a friend recommended I see a chiropractor because I was still in pain. The chiropractor took x-rays from the front and side and showed me how I was misaligned (crooked!) in many places--even though I tried my best to "stand perfectly" during the x-rays. I was shocked at how wacky my spine looked and that the neurologist said I looked fine.
So, see a neurologist if you desire to make sure you don't have severe impairment. But seeing a neurologist should NOT rule out also seeing a chiropractor. They focus on two different things.
Wendy