[Closed] Chiropractitioners - do they work

Jamming big needles into spasmed muscles work amazingly well. I won't bother with massages in the future.

Yup had that too, yes same guy, my god that was wonderful.

So much back pain appears to just be down to muscles - my wife was getting blinding headaches - turned out to be a pretty inaccessible muscle in her neck - after several bashes the headaches

Hmmm! I'm not your wife am I?

No. But I would argue that they are doing this despite being a chiropractor. It is the theory behind the treatment that is the problem.

Yes I agree however the treatment and advice was sound (my sister in law is a physio (but lives 200 miles away)) and included a number of manipulation and massage techniques aimed at breaking down scar tissue that had formed (painfull) and back/hip mobilisation and strengthening exercises as well as Piriformis stuff!!
The fact of the matter is the physio's I had seem both pretty much misdiagnosed and were happy to charge a lot.
Just to emphasise I am not defending non science based medicine (egg in a cup :-)) but I am saying that people who have that background can still provide good quality treatment and qualified people can and do offer poor treatment.

IME.. chiro treats the symptom but not the cause.

Physio.. treats the symptoms but also looks at treating the cause

Copy n paste of conclusion on chiropractice from Arthritis Research UK which has done a report on all complementary medicine and therapies.

Report looks at Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteo Arthritis, Fibromyalgia and Lower Back pain.

Chiropractic is the assessment and treatment of ill-health, especially musculoskeletal disorders and in particular those relating to the spinal column, and is characterised by the use of spinal manipulation. Minor side-effects are common, including headaches, tiredness and dizziness. Although more serious side-effects have been linked to chiropractic treatment, existing evidence suggests that these events are very rare and not actually caused by the therapy itself.
There are serious doubts as to whether chiropractic
works for the conditions considered here: the trial evidence suggests that it’s not effective in the treatment of fibromyalgia and there’s only little evidence that it’s effective in osteoarthritis or chronic low back pain. There’s currently no evidence for rheumatoid arthritis.

Lists it as Amber for safety too.

Looks like you would be better off getting acupuncture for Lower Back Pain.

It's not all subjective like most things and anyone who says it is is demonstrating massive ignorance. It's subjective woo vs objective science.

As far as not qualified, it takes 5 years to qualify as a Chiropractor, including time at medical school and doing human dissection, so its not like its a weekend course or isn't in depth

I am 50, 27 yrs ago I did my lower back in. Saw a physio for about 8 sessions, very minor relief and no actual diagnosis of what I had done..."probably some muscle damage". Niggling pain continued so I ended up seeing a back specialist privately, about £130 in 1991. He couldn't really state what I had done and was pretty wishy washy to say he was a Mr-consultant. Continued niggles throughout the 90s and quite a shelf of ibuprofen later and I had a 2nd course of physio....no use for me.
As a last resort I attended a 3 week (1hr a week) NHS back class. Was told I did right taking ibuprofen and 'had I tried an osteopath ?'
I hadn't so booked locally for an hour session at I think £45 (2001/2) In that hour he told me he was pretty sure of what it was, a slipped disc between v4 and v5 (he used more techie terms) For the days after my hour there I felt like I'd done 6 rounds with a WWF wrestler. I went back the next week for half an hour and I really expected to be told I'd need 10-12-15 sessions. That wasn't the case. After 3 sessions in 3 weeks I left it a fortnight, then another fortnight and that was it. 5 sessions and for the first time in 15yrs my back felt great. I had a further set of sessions about 3 yrs later (my fault as I hadn't properly stuck to his exercise plan to keep my back balanced and strong) I think I did 3 sessions and he got me a reduced price private appointment for an MRI scan. (This was not essential but I wanted to know exactly what was happening with my lower back) This scan (I still have the hard copies) showed that his initial diagnosis was spot on. Not had issues since.
I bet I spent close to £500 on travel to and from physio, consultant fee etc etc but for ME, the £500 spent at the osteopath was a revelation.