I am having an appointment with a chiropractor soon

[FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010]

Can anyone tell me what to expect please?

Rough cost?

What they do?

What I should wear?

How long is an appointment?

Do I need to take anything?

How many appointments is it usually necessary to have?

Imo, a chiropractor really is the best person to treat any back, shoulder or neck problem and I was treated successfully a few years back.

The initial consultation should last at least 30 minutes and include either a scan or x-ray to make sure there aren't any underlying problems. Normal appointments can take only a few minutes, depending on how much you want to discuss.

Wear something comfortable, you won't have to undress.

Initial consultation is usually about £50, follow ups £20-25.

You will lie face down for some spinal manipulation - shouldn't hurt. Also some neck adjustments and others in varying positions. Even when I've been in pain, the adjustments haven't hurt.

How many? The chiropractor I saw wanted me to attend for ever! She told me it would ensure 'wellness' . I was free of pain (shoulder) in about 4 weeks after twice weekly sessions, but I kept going for several months at weekly intervals. I'd tried conventional NHS treatment (painkillers & antidpressants which stopped working after a while) and my GP was muttering about surgery when I took matters into my own hands so to speak.

Hope the treatment helps you if you decide to go ahead.

Thank you for all your info.

I am definitely going ahead as it is really getting me down being in so much pain and i don't consider myself old yet. Just feel it.

Chiropractors are fantastic. I suffered with back pain for years following an accident. My GP was suggesting I was going to end up wheelchair bound but seeing a chiropractor sorted it out and is the best money I have ever spent.

I have seen three different chiropractors and I have always had to put on a hospital type gown - kept my knickers on!

The manipulations can be quite violent and startling at first. Be prepared to hear your spine cracking and to feel like the wind is knocked out of you. You may find that your pain is slightly increased for a day or two after each session as your body is unused to being correctly aligned.

The number of sessions will vary depending on how long your condition takes to treat. Once your immediate problem has been sorted you may find it beneficial to go for a "top up" a couple of times a year.

Another fan here. I go to a lovely man here in Budapest - Robert and his magic hands!

I had to take my top off once only on first visit so he could look at my back.

I have 2 areas that cause issues - top of spine and recently lower as well. My chiro got rid of my migraines too.

He recommends that I go every month or six weeks for a top up.

The manipulation can feel odd esp when you hear the noise but it is so worth it.

No idea how much it costs in UK though - sorry.

if you are keeping your clothes on you are seeing a quack imo. how can they see what is going on through clothes, or massage muscles?

i've seen a chiropractor since i was 15 and i never needed an x-ray, or kept my clothes on.

cost of initial consultation can be anything from £30-£60.

treatment at my chiropractor is £25.

you keep your underwear on and wear a hospital gown which opens at the back.

Well I have to say I would beg to disagree that I am seeing a quack! I have seen my chiro and his partner who is female and as I said bar one time have always kept my clothes on.

I lie face down and he looks at my feet. He can tell some things from whether one leg is out of alignment and longer than the other. Then he feels my spine and does what he needs to do.

Buda-that's just my opinion based on my own experiences with chiropractors.

i've been to 3 different practices. the first one i went to was a big swanky place in norwich which was more interested in trying to make me have expensive x-rays. seeing as i had been to the gp and had x-rays done and was told there was nothing wrong with my back i wasn't going to have more done. he then totally failed to sort the problem, as i was fully dressed when he examined me, and cost my parents £60(i was 15 then) and said i had to have 6 treatments and then go back every month for the foreseeable definite quackery there. we didn't go back.

the next one was in north walsham, he spent an hour going over my undressed back in painstaking detail, bending me all over the place and seeing how the bones moved as well as feeling it. he sorted the problem, said it would need 4 treatments and then i only had to go back when i felt it was needed.
i saw him regularly for 10yrs as he was ace.

3rd one was in surrey and was pretty much the same as north walsham guy.

Bamboobutton, I suppose it is risky as chiropractors (I think) are all in private practice and just might be quacks. As far as I know you can't be referred by a gp and have to rely on recommendations from people who have been treated by the chiropractor you want to see.

I wouldn't be happy going to one who didn't do either x-rays or scans to make sure there are no hidden conditions.

Having been (very successfully) treated by a chiropractor, I'd be suspicious of one who wanted me to take my clothes off!

Oh God how am I supposed to know if they are any good?

Fab, you'll know if they're any good because your pain/discomfort will be eased or not!

I saw a chiropractor for SPD.

The first session I had to strip down to underwear and wear a hospital gown type thing for an initial assessment. From that they drew up a treatment plan. I had to go twice a week for a couple of weeks, then once a week for a few weeks, then 'maintenance' of once a month or so.

I don't need it since having the baby but my mum goes for neck pain and finds that the effects wear off and she has to go every six weeks or so.

It was very successful for my SPD pain, but it doesn't work for all people. The pain can feel worse immediately after the treatment, but then the day after feels loads better.

Hope it works for you!

Don't whatever you do, turn up wearing a thong because you have forgotten to put your big knickers on . Particularly when your chiropractor is a gorgeous, rugby playing man.

If I told you what is wrong would you know if it is the right thing to do? I told her and she said she thought she could help me but is also saying that some problems could be from when I had concussion but some problems are from way before that.

I think a lot of back problems can stem from very old 'injuries'. Sometimes injuries we didn't even know we had. So if you tell us the problem we may know if in our experience a chiropractor may help but to be honest you are better just going along to see one.

How did you find this one? Was she recommended?

Some info here.

I second what the others have said about underwear! My london chiro would ask me to dress into a hospital gown. A saw one in spain, he did not ask me to undress, but in the end he said "I am sorry, I have to ask you to undress" - I think it was a modesty thing.

My London chiro saw me twice a week, then once a week, then once a month for a few months. He said his aim was to get me out of his clinic! I did start pilates with him once a week when I was well enough, as he had a pretty fab pilates studio, machine based, not mats based.

I think any chiro who wants to see you forever, has his pockets as a focus rather than your health and wellbeing.

Saw a chiropractor after first child and osteopath after second. Osteopath is a bit less 'brutal' and spends more time massaging, with a bit of manipulation. I found the Osteopath a bit kinder, and worked equally well. The first time I went, it was covered under my work health insurance, the chiropractor knew this and I felt she was recommending far more appointments than I actually needed - I think I had fifteen in total. I had three appointments in total with the Osteopath, who said that I should come back if I ever felt I needed to. Depends on your condition of course ...

She has been recommended by a mum at school and when she heard me saying about not being able to move the other day, she said I needed a chiropractor. A few days later I was just settling down to go to sleep and my right leg just started shaking and I wasn't in control and just had to wait until it stopped. DH thought I was kicking him.

For a long while now I have had pains in my arms, hand and wrists and at times it is very painful to grip. I had a suspected hernia after DS2 was born and my stomach muscles have separated a lot.

I get pain along the bottom of my back a lot and when I sit down in the evening for a couple of hours and get up, I have pain where my leg joins my torso and will be limping for a while.

I am getting pins and needles a lot too.

She has said it could be from when I concussed myself in November but the hand and arm pain is from well before that.

She is ringing today so I will be asking her all about how long, what to wear, how to pay, etc.

Thanks. Off to take the kids to school now.