AIBU partner 'wasting' money on chiropractor?

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I work, partner is a SAHP. Today I find out that they have just spent £150 on a chiropractor.

My partner has a bad back, but I'm annoyed because I think it is a lot of money, I don't believe in chiropractic medicine, £80 was for an x ray which seems pointless to me when you can see the shape of someone's spine. Also there is no money in the joint account until a few days time so has gone on a credit card.

If it was for physio and we had agreed the spend I think I'd have been supportive.

AIBU to be pissed off?

Chiropractors helped my back so much, as well as acupuncture. I’ve had injections, physio, acupuncture on the NHS, but as everything is only a few sessions and spaced so far out there is little relief.

I was paying to see the chiropractor weekly, and she had me pain free for a few days each week. Unfortunately I can no longer afford it.

Don’t write it off. And as a longer time sufferer of chronic back pain, only 30+ tablets a day- when the pain is bad, you will try anything!

I don't understand this, if chiropractors are so good (and my mum has also had back problems fixed by one) why are they seen as alternative medicine? Is any work being done to look at their effectiveness?

Have you wondered why your DP felt they had to hide spending family money from you?

YANBU that your partner spent money without consulting you, if that’s your usual agreement. However perhaps your partner was in so much pain he felt it necessary.

Also contrary to some previous statements/beliefs upthread Chiropractors in the UK are a registered profession (GCC). They are primary healthcare practitioners.

The x-ray would have to have been clinically justified, there are firm laws around exposing patients to radiation. These are not always necessary and having them or not is not a good measure of a chiropractor’s ability.

Chiropractors will provide physical (orthopaedic etc) and neurological examination, amounts other tests. They are trained to diagnose and treat.

The NICE guidelines for some back pain does infact recommend manipulation.

Just thought this insite into the profession might help you or others when considering the value of chiropractic care.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/

Oh and the previous poster who is in pain after seeing your osteopath, you should call them to explain how you’re feeling/you reaction to treatment and see what they say.

@stealthpolarbear - I think there are various attempts to get them mainstream, which work more or less well in different situations.

My private medical insurance covers chiropractic, so clearly considers it legitimate. Similarly, when I was pregnant and struggling, my doctor was very comfortable with the idea that I was seeing a chiro and at one point suggested I pop to him for an extra appointment as she thought I was probably suffering with something he could fix.

I think the chances of the NHS introducing chiropractic any time soon is pretty slim though. Which is a pity.

I work in a Chiropractors' - not everyone has an Xray. It's down to the doctor, and the Patient has a choice.

I don't think Osteopaths OR Physios do anything like as much good as a Chiropractor. Physios tend to give you exercises to do at home, yourself, and osteos tend to do muscle work/ massage!

A chiro will actually manipulate your spine to work on/release the nerves that travel up the Central Nerves to the brain. That is where the pain is.

A good Chiropractor is worth seeing regularly.

However, the cost is significant, and your DP should have talked it over with you. And maybe should have taken you along for the information (there is a lot of info to take in)

I agree with you OP. My DH has been going to a chiropractor every two weeks for the past TEN YEARS! I think it's a complete waste of time and money, but he swears it's 'helping' him. Apparently the chiropractor does 'a bit of massage' and 'talks about yoga moves' DH can do at home. It would be cheaper for DH to get an actual massage and go to an actual yoga class each week.

You seem to be more annoyed at their choice of treatment because it doesn't fit in with your belief of what works.

As a person who has had a bad back/pelvis sometimes a chiropractor can work wonders depending on their experience. Osteopaths and Chiropractors are registered professionals who abide by rules and regulations.

I agree with the PP, why did your DP feel the need to hide it? It's not like he just spent it on a big night out. Back pain can drive you insane. Surely you both have an allowance of money to spend on healthcare stuff such as dentists, etc.?

@stealthpolarbear

Chiro is offered in on the NHS, but in very very few areas. The link I posted before to the NHS website also states this.

My partner has a bad back, but I'm annoyed because I think it is a lot of money, I don't believe in chiropractic medicine, £80 was for an x ray which seems pointless to me when you can see the shape of someone's spine.

So because you don't believe in it, your DP should suffer?

So if you become ill and go the the GP and GP says you need X medicines and it is going to be 2 prescriptions a month for the rest of your life (which will cost a sight more the £150). What will you say, if your DP says no I don't believe in Medicine, go to the homeopathy shop and buy yourself some vitamins, will you be happy with that?

cats - that is odd. Most patients come two-three times a week for the first few weeks, then it drops to once a week for however long (up to a year) then most patients are down to once a month, once a quarter even.

It's like wearing braces on teeth - if you don't retrain the muscles to work in their new position, they will revert back to the old. The Doctor will manipulate the spine back into it's new position. Once it's there and stable, it only takes a bit of maintenance to keep it there.

It is most odd to be still going so often. Are you sure he is A) going, and B) getting treated? A 'bit of massage' and a chat is not Chiro!

Lots of good things not on nhs, and lots of things nhs not so good.
However, I saw my gp for back pain and had MRI scan ?sciatica, she said nerve and disc problems don't show on X-ray. Now got appointment for NHS orthopaedic back clinic, hope will get on long waiting list for physio, maybe pain clinic. Meanwhile seeing v helpful osteopath at£50. Understand cranial-sacral gentler than standard. Pain killers only do so much, nhs quick to use drugs with side effects or suggest surgery. Alternatives often teach self help which can improve or manage things long term. Pilates and Alexander technique also worth a look.

Why do people keep posting threads about their partner, and never say what gender either one is?

It's always 'they' this and 'they' that.

misses point of thread...

I have never regretted spending money on a chiropractor. If you've ever had to shuffle into a chiro practice bent over with pain and left half an hour later able to walk - albeit gingerly - you'd feel the same!

Unfortunately the NHS is ill-equiped to deal with "urgent" problems like this - and I couldn't have spent months immobile waiting to be seen and referred. As it was I couldn't even register with a GP (new area) - it was going to take 6 weeks just to register and a further 3 for an appointment and then Christ knows how long for a referral.

Fixed in 30 minutes and £45 lighter.

We need to rid ourselves of this notion that only FREE healthcare is valid.

If my partner was ill or in pain I’d expect him to sort it out. Money is shared.
Recently he’s had a bad back and said it was the mattress. I used my savings to buy a new mattress. He’s better now. I didn’t think twice.
Money is just money.

I am a chronic pain sufferer. Also have fibromyalgia. I was headed for a wheelchair as I could barely walk due to pain before I started treatment. I have seen osteopaths, chiropractors, physios and massage therapists.

You are wrong in assuming a physio is better than a chiropractor. It doesn’t necessarily work that way. Some chiropracters are excellent. Some physios are too.

In my experience physios often qualify and stop training. Or train in a specialty for hospital work. Some continue to follow what they learnt and don’t adapt their techniques to the individual client. Others learn by experience. A few gain experience in other techniques. I also know a couple of Chiropracters who have branched into other things.

I now see two body work people with a lot of experience. One is a massage therapist. The other is a physio. The thing they both have in common is they have completed a course on Myofascial release. This has been key for me personally. For others it will be something else.

YABU to not expect your dp to seek help. Your partner was U not to discuss it with you first.

Personally I wouldn’t bother to seek help from the nhs. They all now seem to have a no touch approach. Uselesss for me.

Fairylea
This isn’t spending money. It’s money for health. Would you say the same if it was a prescription charge?

Reverse?

YABU I have chronic back pain from a car crash when I was 20 I have had all conventional treatments and many different types of pain killers which were pretty useless except diazepam which they really limit. The most useless treatment was Physio, literally given a photocopier sheet of exercises to do at home. I see a chiropractor regularly and she is genuinely the only person who has helped relive the symptoms along with other aches and pains to getting older, I’ve sent other people to her who are now regular clients of hers. I was sceptical when I first went but can honestly say I’d be lost without her.

Do you think you get to veto the treatment because you earn the money?

Would you consult your partner, and if they said no what would be the likely outcome?

YANBU to be worried about your household finances

YABU to resent a grown adult doing something to address their health problems even if you personally are sceptical about the benefits. And Chiropractors are registered btw to the poster upthread.

Did it actually help your partner? You don't mention that crucial bit of info

@Missingstreetlife I feel so much for you! Good luck with the NHS, they were utterly useless apart from a very useful GP who pushed the referrals to the musculoskeletal unit whose physios were as useful as a chocolate teapot!

It was a mixture of private physio/chiro work that sorted me out. Sciatica wasn't even touched by painkillers or NHS' physios approach: 'it might be your pelvis or it might be a disc' while looking at the MRI

Surely this is a reverse

YANBU. It's proven quackery no matter how many anecdotes posters pull out of their arses, and these leeches need to be starved of blood (cash from the gullible).

Scientific evidence is overwhelmingly against chiropractic and you need to be VERY careful with them. Some do no harm, but the only reason it is ever recommended is because some conditions such as lower back pain have no other treatment. Systematic reviews have found no effect above placebo, but plenty of evidence that adverse side effects are common (and plenty of cases of serious side effects such as paralysis).