Angie has seen a chiro for years for her back injury...since she has started doing yoga daily she rarely sees him...

but at times there is a need!

my point is she believes in chiro's...but....she's says NO for this issue...

Prayers!

I am on my third chiropractor and I find it very helpful. It's helped with headaches and back pain. It's also helped with my knee, shoulder and both wrists. Those three were things that showed immediate results. My uncle had disc problems and opted for chiropractic care instead of surgery. He did great. My dad opted for surgery and is still in constant pain. Of course every person is different but I do have faith in competent chiropractors.

I have scoliosis with three curves in my spine that are each over 30 degrees. (36 cervical, 45 thoracic, 42 lumbar) Because of this, I have bulging, dessicating discs, moderate bone spurring, and moderate to severe spinal stenosis. Chiropractic care has helped alleviate some of the discomfort and pain that I have experienced. My chiropractor has offered a lot of beneficial suggestions, and, in general, seems more knowledgeable about my condition than some "traditional" medicine. (the experts at Stanford told me that my curve wouldn't worsen after I had stopped growing. In the 5 years after that, each curve grew over 10 degrees. Go figure.) He is also more interested in finding non surgical solutions, whereas my regular physician has told me that surgery is my only option.

With that said, I'm still skeptical of chiropractic care. I take everything with a grain of salt and know that everyone's experience is different. My advice would be to talk to people that you know, and only go to someone who is recommended by someone you know. Meet with them, talk with them, see what their experience is, how much training they have, etc. I have heard that treatment is less effective in cervical injuries, but it could be worth a try. Good luck!

I've got degenerative disc disease too (which is really only aging and gravity. everyone gets it to some extent) with 2 herniated & 4 bulging discs and some stenosis. PT exercises have been helpful and I love kinesio tape. However with the neck the absolute best thing has been massage every 4-5 weeks. It's not cheap and it's not covered by insurance but it is the only thing that's kept my neck under control along with all that shooting pain, numbness and brutal headaches. I would cut expenses almost any place to continue to go. My massage therapist actually runs a monthly clinic with a sliding scale so that might be worth looking for depending on where you are (lots of massage therapists around here and a serious commitment to alternative therapies) The only time I've had problems since I started massage was when I tried to run and since i knew I shouldn't there's really no one else to blame for that.

ETA - I did try chiro for quite awhile. It's worth asking around - some are rougher than others. I would not go to anyone who would go near my neck without asking first but some people don't mind that

If you do acupuncture make sure you go to someone with a good reputation and experience. They can puncture an organ if they don't know what they are doing. Many acupuncture programs are short and they don't take an adequate anatomy course.

I have been going to a chiropractor since I was eight. My mom had a bad accident when I was six and started going bc it jacked up her back. You have to go to a good chiropractor. If they are pushing supplements or whatever, I would not go to them. Get a recommendation from someone you know and trust. When I moved away from my hometown, I went to a few new chiros. One actually hurt me, which I had never experienced from a chiro before. One just didn't do much for me.

A good chiropractor will help you, and if they can't they will tell you they can't. I have scoliosis, you can see the curve in my spine, when I get regular adjustments, you can see the difference (and I can definitely feel it). A mistake some people make is they think they can just go once or twice and be fixed. You have to keep going. I have found too, that the old school chiros tend to be more aggressive. I would go to someone who has some experience, but who went to school in the last 10-15 yrs or, like my chiro back home, receives a lot of continuing education.

I personally think it is worth it to find a good chiropractor. I have been in agony to the point that I could barely walk and they have helped me. I dislocated my knee once and they got it back in place and gave me the proper brace and good exercises to strengthen it. I rarely have problems with my knee today, and it hasn't been worked on for ten years. Make sure you ask for stretches/exercises you can do at home.

I think a few bad chiros have given the whole profession a bad name. I also think that people hear bad things about them and think that all chiros are the same. They are not. Try chiropractic, with a good recommendation from someone you know. It's definitely better than back surgery. I know several people whose backs are now permanently worse since back surgery. I don't know anyone whose backs are permanently worse bc of chiropractic (I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just have never heard of it).

Btw, a good chiro won't treat you without seeing x-rays first and talking to you about the treatment. They will explain what they are doing the first time they adjust you, and they will answer any questions or doubts you have.
In my experience, chiropractors are cheaper than doctors. I have never been to one who charged more than $35 per visit without insurance. And most insurance plans cover chiropractic.

Oh and if you don't relax, it may hurt at first, so make sure you breath when they tell you to and relax your muscles.

The Webster technique took my debilitating pain in pregnancy from about a 9 on the pain scale, almost unbearable, to about a 3, just barely nagging in some situations. I slept better, was in far less pain, and had an easier birth than a previous pregnancy with the same issues but NO chiropractic care. The chiro was incredibly gentle and not jarring at all. I refuse to use a chiropractor that pushes and yanks rather than trying to position for a more effective manipulation. It should not, in general, take a great deal of force to do a manipulation if well positioned and relaxed.

Word of mouth recommendations are what I go by, and both my normal and prenancy chiropractors give me measurably improved pain relief and improvement on inflammation in my back. The don't fix asmtha, heart issuesm acne, or whatever else, but in terms of aligning my spine and the conditions that result from pinched disks or misalignment? Massive, massive improvement. I cannot recumbent chiro enough for chronic back, neck, and pelvic issues!