I keep seeing adverts of chiropractors cracking necks and spines.

[DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou]

It's not good for you, surely?

It looks brutal, they aren't gentle, the reaction of the person doesn't appear to be positive and Ive never heard of benefits to cracking your knuckles so what would be the benefit of having your next or spine forcefully cracked?

i've heard and read things that lead me to never want to go to a chiropractor.
if i needed it, i'd try a physiotherapist and/or osteopath.
chiropractors have done some real damage; obviously not all of them, but why would anyone risk it, esp with one's neck or back.
that risk / poss benefit ratio tips over into no sireee!

Seeing as probably the most damage that has ever been caused in respect of vaccines was achieved by a conventionally qualified doctor, I don't think that somebody who is able to put any of my constantly subluxing joints back into place and cure a lifetime of paralysing migraines in a gentle movement of my head (high velocity moves are not allowed anymore) and enabling me to stop taking maximum prescribable doses of opiods and get back to the gym is as much of a risk.

Osteopaths have enabled me to bin the Diclofenac and cocodamol, and have greater mobility. Living with constant, low level pain really eats away at you…

DH & I have used physios as well, with some success.

I never bother the GP with any of these problems anymore. They can only give you Painkillers which don’t treat the actual issue! They mask it - then if you don’t actually change the movement trigger - you end up in a worse position!

Although I accept that anti inflammatories can be useful in the short term.

I think osteopaths services should be available on the NHS (in an ideal world, obviously). The fact that GPs give out ££ painkillers with nasty side effects including potential addiction - in place of fixing the issue completely baffles me! WHY?!????
Don’t get me started on the pointless X-rays… My GP told me I likely had an X issue but she couldn’t get me physio referral without said pointless x ray… Fgs! I paid for a physio myself in the end to avoid the wait.

Sorry this has turned into a bit of a rant!

But chiropractors - lots of pricey, long term ‘plans’ & the (tiny, but even so) risks of clicks… nah.

When I asked my GP for an osteopath recommendation he was happy to give me one, but warned me off chiropractors, as he felt their way of working could do more harm than good. The osteopath was brilliant.

@NeverDropYourMooncup

Seeing as probably the most damage that has ever been caused in respect of vaccines was achieved by a conventionally qualified doctor, I don't think that somebody who is able to put any of my constantly subluxing joints back into place and cure a lifetime of paralysing migraines in a gentle movement of my head (high velocity moves are not allowed anymore) and enabling me to stop taking maximum prescribable doses of opiods and get back to the gym is as much of a risk.

Which doctor are you talking about?

@sashh
If your spine is misaligned then wouldn't you be better having it fixed permanently?

Honest question: how would I go about doing that? Wouldn't that mean surgery? No doctor (and I saw many of them for this problem before a new GP suggested osteopathy) was able to prescribe or recommend anything that actually worked. I'd love to know if there are better, more permanent solutions.

It is woo science and potentially dangerous! I have seen more than one person who has had a stroke after having their neck “manipulated” by a chiropractor! Go and see a physiotherapist who is trained and regulated. Far far safer and has evidence of effectiveness

I officially have no opinion of chiropractors or osteopaths, having tried neither. But I, DH and all the DC crack various joints daily, mostly involuntarily, to relieve tension in them. Our hypermobility specialist has recommended this as otherwise the joints get stiff and painful. The idea that cracking knuckles leads to arthritis is arse about face - joints that need to crack frequently in youth are often rheumatic / arthritic anyway and degrade sooner than stable joints.

@knittingaddict I think the PP is on about the doctor who discredited the MMR vaccine

Op .. you are lucky you have never needed one ! I've had serious pain for years and these professions give me some relief !

@knittingaddict

It's a woo pseudoscience and a dangerous one at that.

This with bells on. A physio is a much better bet.

A chiropractor made my thoracic spinal problems significantly worse. A physio was able (in time) to stabilise my condition, but was horrified that a chiropractor quite clearly had no idea how to diagnose my particular problem which she said should have been glaringly obvious to a medical professional.

[quote MilduraS]@knittingaddict I think the PP is on about the doctor who discredited the MMR vaccine[/quote]
Yup. And for his personal gain.

My chiropractor saved my life!!!!

I was literally at the end of bearing the constant pain when I went to see him. 5 sessions later I walked out of there and not a problem since.

I have been seeing chiropractors my entire life practically and am always amazed by how crazy the anti-chiropractor crowd is. Of course there are bad chiropractors out there. But there are bad doctors, physios etc too. A friend's daughter suffered for YEARS because the GP was incompetent. We've all heard stories of major illnesses missed etc.

In my case, chiropractic has been life changing and i highly recommend it. But I'm also cautious about where i go and have always done extensive research before using a new one.

Homeopathy is not a registered profession
Chiropractic is

Registered with who?

Don't worry, I've just googled. Still wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[quote Gastropod]@sashh
If your spine is misaligned then wouldn't you be better having it fixed permanently?

Honest question: how would I go about doing that? Wouldn't that mean surgery? No doctor (and I saw many of them for this problem before a new GP suggested osteopathy) was able to prescribe or recommend anything that actually worked. I'd love to know if there are better, more permanent solutions.[/quote]
Yes I meant surgery or physio.

Lots of people have some misalignment but it is only a problem for a few people and for them surgery is an option.

My spine looks misaligned when I'm standing, it isn't, I have one leg longer than the other (I know everyone does, but mines a bit more extreme).

I've seen physios over the years for different things (I have arthritis in most, possibly all of my joints) and they have 'cured' things.

One was after a car rear ended me and my two of vertebrates were, I want to say fused, but they weren't they were more squashed together and I can't remember the details, I know they did some serious physio, I can remember lying on the bed and seeing the physio's feet, she was on her toes and putting pressure on my back.

I had that and some manipulation and they put my spine back to how it was intended.

Despite the arthritis, my back still functions normally 25+ years earlier.

Maybe I was lucky with the physios I saw at that time.

I have seen a couple of chiropractors. One seemed quite professional but after multiple treatments did nothing of use.

Second one I went to on recommendation seemed like a cult. You had to go and watch a video before being allowed an appt. at appointments the treatment room was open plan infront of the waiting room….3 people on couches next to each other having treatment at the same time. He’d crack one person, move to the next bed and crack the next person, etc. Lots of not doing anything inbetween people….I think this span your appointment out so you didn’t realise he’d actually done less than 5 mins of work on you in your half hour appt.

The final nail in the coffin for me was when they tried to convince me I needed to buy a plan at a cost of over 1k. How could he know I’d need that number of appointments?

Total scam and I didn’t go back. Found a physio who sorted me in one appointment.

I go to an osteopath once ever few months and it really helps my back but recently I had a bad back and was going on holiday and the oesteo couldn't fit me in so I went to a chiropractor out of desperation. I couldn't believe how brutal the treatment was! Felt like I was being beaten up, it was awful. Bloody sadist, osteopath all the way from now on.