Chiropratic treatment?

[chainsaw]

I been dealing with back pain for about the last year and a half. I finally broke down and went to see a chiropractor, my xrays show that I am very out of place. This pain keeps me from doing the staple lifts with good weight (deadlifts, squats) anyways he says it will take two years to fix my back at a price of $2100 dollars year, it is pretty expensive. Does anyone here have any advice towards chiropratic. Certainly other people who weight lift exprerience this kind of problem, what do you do?

[Jared]

I been dealing with back pain for about the last year and a half. I finally broke down and went to see a chiropractor, my xrays show that I am very out of place. This pain keeps me from doing the staple lifts with good weight (deadlifts, squats) anyways he says it will take two years to fix my back at a price of $2100 dollars year, it is pretty expensive. Does anyone here have any advice towards chiropratic. Certainly other people who weight lift exprerience this kind of problem, what do you do?

I guess you could say that I am fairly well versed in chiropractic. It seems odd that your chiropractor actually put a timeline on your recovery and a price to boot. If I were you, I would find another D.C and get a second opinion. It depends on whether there are degenerative changes or just subluxations. Everyone holds an adjustment differently and it will be up to you to determine what works best. Go in for a few treatments and reacess. That would be the best advice I can give.

[yeahright]

I been dealing with back pain for about the last year and a half. I finally broke down and went to see a chiropractor, my xrays show that I am very out of place. This pain keeps me from doing the staple lifts with good weight (deadlifts, squats) anyways he says it will take two years to fix my back at a price of $2100 dollars year, it is pretty expensive. Does anyone here have any advice towards chiropratic. Certainly other people who weight lift exprerience this kind of problem, what do you do?

Have you had an evaluation by a real doctor?

[Jared]

Have you had an evaluation by a real doctor?

Surgery and painkillers?

[chainsaw]

Surgery and painkillers?

The only time I went to see a doctor he said something similar to this.

[akp2004]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if I was going to go to a chiropractor, I'd make sure I saw someone who was trained in ART, or had someone within the practice that did it.

Active Release Techniques®

I've had back surgery twice, and have done my share of most every allopathic and alternative treatment for back pain.

I have some scoliosis, and so getting treated started at 13 within conventional medicine, and eventually found some great DO's and Chiro's and some great neurosurgeon's when that was what was needed.

I HIGHLY recommend you do ART (activerelease.com) before/in conjunction with doing chiropractic treatment. It will save you money in the long run, b/c without ART, I think you end up having to go to chiro's much more often to hold your adjustments. With ART, you hit it hard for 6-10 sessions, and can taper down to infrequent chiro appointments or none at all unless you have a flare up.

This is my experience - your mileage may vary.

The ART website has a find provider search tool.

Use it. Trust me on this.

Good thing about ART, if you lift weights you can also get all the other crap dealt with like rotator cuff, elbow, knees, etc.... It's awesome.

Last thing: I agree with Jared and Yeahright regarding getting second opinions. Quick story - i rushed out to go to a chiro when my back was flared up, and I swear he was the one who actually took my flared/herniated disc, and actually ruptured it. Regardless, I know that a specific adjustment he did, absolutely did something that eventuated in me going to the hospital, getting an MRI and showing I had a massive rupture that was spilling/extruding disc goo everywhere. After that adjustment I had foot drop, and no amount of pain killer could put a dent in it. What I needed before getting adjusted by a chiro was an up to date MRI or scan, not just an x-ray. You really need to elevate, and be pushy and get the diagnostics. Main thing I learned was once you can visualize the problem (not just x-ray, but MRI's in disc situations, you get taken ALOT more seriously, and you get treatment options you dont get when all they have is x-rays and office visits and your verbal stated complaints). And your chiro would benefit from seeing any scans or mri's too. Helps anyone treating you.

Take care

[yeahright]

The only time I went to see a doctor he said something similar to this.

Well, that may be the appropriate treatment.

If you have a medical problem, you seek a medical diagnosis.

You might end up at a chiropractor (because after proper medical diagnosis, the chiropractic treatment is most appropriate) but I'd never start there. That's like asking a massage therapist for advice on your skin cancer. Sure they work with skin all the time but they're not qualified to do anything but their limited skill set.

Figure out what your problem is and then figure out which treatment you are most comfortable with.

[Jared]

Well, that may be the appropriate treatment.

If you have a medical problem, you seek a medical diagnosis.

You might end up at a chiropractor (because after proper medical diagnosis, the chiropractic treatment is most appropriate) but I'd never start there. That's like asking a massage therapist for advice on your skin cancer. Sure they work with skin all the time but they're not qualified to do anything but their limited skill set.

Figure out what your problem is and then figure out which treatment you are most comfortable with.

Chiropractors can and do diagnose. They have the same training as medical doctors. The history of present illness taken by a chiropractor will likely be more thorough than any by a medical doctor.

[akp2004]

Yes, classic case of what was just said --- the doctor I saw, who did the MRI said, "it's so bad, you really need to get a fusion of L5-S1."

At the time I was fully against surgery, but also knew chiro wasnt going to do the job .... though i didnt give up on alternative.. Instead I found a neurosurgeon who was much more conservative, who said do the epidurals, the discectomy/laminectomy, etc... one step at a time.

Long story short, 4 years later, I got the fusion, because all the intermediate and more conversative care failed to fix the problem and I was dependent on pain meds to get thru the day. Have been basically pain free for 5 years since doing the full ant/post fusion. Best thing I ever did.

So, the first advice I got from the doctor who did my first MRI was actually correct -yet, you only see that in hindsight.