Thursday, December 4, 2008

Is it all a bunch of hooey?



I'm the first to admit that I'm a sceptic but I'll give anything a go
I've been to a chiropractor this week and am still in considerable pain but my wallet is much lighter.

I want to know what others think about it
Am I being screwed out of my hard earned money or maybe it will be the cure for all that ails me, who knows?

I put my neck out on tuesday morning and was desperate for relief
I got xrays and a full body test and yesterday was given the results. I've been told I need constant care (three times a week at $25 a pop)till Christmas

Taking Dr Nicks advice I went for an evening walk last night AND will be buying a new pillow. It still didn't stop me waking in pain throughout the night whenever I moved my neck.

Perhaps instead of throwing all this money at a chiropractor I should spend it on a holiday or a bike???

I'm taking a break today Partly because I think I'd cry if I got my neck "adjusted" today and secondly I didn't make an appointment. I'll go back again tomorrow and then think about it more...

3 comments:

Penny said...

As someone who was the librarian for the NZ school I believe I can say the following with some.. uh .. authority.

1) Some studies have shown chiropractic to be beneficial for helping people with back pain including assisting in faster recovery. ACC will reimburse for chiro treatments.

2) AFAIK, no studies yet have proven how this happens but chiros have a particular philosophy about it and will be happy to expound upon it. I know of one study which has shown that adjustment as done by a chiropractor changes the h-reflex.

3) Chiropractors have excellent training to do what they do; they are monitored by registration boards and must pass exams set by the latter before they can practice.

4) Many people have found chiropractic to be helpful for a variety of different conditions but the randomised controlled trials to test these have not yet been done, have been inconclusive or have shown no benefit compared to the control group. For eg. some case studies have shown chiropractic to be beneficial for increasing sperm count, reducing enuresis, reducing the occurrence of glue ear.

While I was with the school I was given free treatment regularly and I have to say the frequency of my headaches decreased. After adjustments I felt a lot "freer" in my movements. I think it's worth giving it a go and seeing if it helps you personally.

Incidentally, some practitioners are gentler than others - it's just technique and some folks do seem to be better at it than other.

Email me if you want to know more...

yodaobi said...

Neurofen plus has made me a LOT happier today
Like I said I'll be going back tomorrow and then make up my mind after the weekend.

aussiehen said...

Personally my experience has been osteopathy has been more helpful.

I have had back/neck problems for over 10 years,a combination of a sedentary job and an injury when I was 18.

Chiro on the whole was too rough, I was almost crying with one particular adjustment my chiro did every time.

I see a cranial osteopath as do both L & J. You may be even more sceptical as cranial osteopathy is so gentle it feels like they do nothing. But I have seen the vast improvement in J including completely healing his blocked tear duct and everything else caused by his forceps delivery.

It is a lot more expensive but check out the clinic at Unitec. They may not do cranial so it will more cracking etc but still good.
I can recommend a good cranial osteopath but she's expensive.

Sorry for the lack of links but I'm typing with one hand with a sleeping child on my lap