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Chiropractic Therapy
What is Chiropractic Therapy?Chiropractic is the art and science of aligning the spine to facilitate proper nerve function in the body. Nerve signals are electrical in nature and need to have open conduits in order to move freely throughout the body. Life’s stresses and activities often create nerve blockages in the form of vertebral subluxations, which need to be corrected to maintain optimal nerve function. This is an extremely over simplified definition to be sure, but it is one of the few common ideals shared by most chiropractors. In addition, many individual chiropractors practice other healing arts such as dietary counseling, acupressure, massage, acupuncture, reiki and many others. For additional information on any of these complementary healing arts, please see myBACK PAIN TREATMENT section. Chiropractic Therapy PractitionersDuring my chronic lumbar back pain ordeal, my preferred health provider was always a chiropractor. I seemed to get along much better with their holistic approach than the pharmaceutical obsession displayed by most medical doctors with whom I consulted. I feel I am well qualified to discuss chiropractors, since I have been treated by dozens of them over the years, in countries all over the world. I also have the benefit of holding several as my dear friends and consultants on this very website.I believe chiropractors to be a useful tool in the fight against back pain, but I do have a few severe criticisms. First, chiropractic is an ongoing treatment which must be maintained for life in order to provide maximum benefit. This is surely a great economic boon to include within the chiropractic creed (and sales pitch). Second, many chiropractors over generalize their treatments in a cookie cutter approach. RACK ‘EM and CRACK ‘EM is the old joke and unfortunately describes the very approach used by far too many of these professionals. Don’t feel bad though, chiropractors, this is a BIG problem throughout the back pain industry and medical doctors are just as guilty of the practice. Lastly, chiropractic is more than slightly competitive with traditional medicine and many chiropractors step beyond their normal roles as care givers to attempt treatments for conditions for which they have limited training. I have personally witnessed the resulting injuries on several patients who were treated with some new chiropractic approach for a condition which was never meant to be treated through manual adjustments. I have also suffered direct injury at the hands of more than one chiropractor. No offense, chiropractors, I love you guys and gals, but I have to tell it like it is… My Experience with Chiropractic TherapyThe first doctor I ever consulted for my bad back was a chiropractor. As previously mentioned, I went on to see dozens more during the 18 years of unbelievable torture I endured with chronic and acute back pain. Some were poor, some were fantastic, most were somewhere in between... and one in particular was hilariously wacky and most likely certifiably insane!!! I would be shocked if this guy ever went to chiropractic school at all. He was so far out there, I would be surprised if he graduated from elementary school…Nevertheless, he is a practicing care provider which still scares me just thinking about it…I have learned much from my chiropractor friends and students. Chiropractors make great martial artists who can use their anatomical knowledge to great advantage and proficiency in the fighting arts. I have been blessed to have so many of these people in my life. Regardless of my personal feelings towards these kind souls, I can honestly say that I endured chiropractic therapy for 18 years FOR NOTHING. Now, when I use the term “for nothing”, do not be fooled into thinking I am referring to “for free”. I paid for all my treatments out of my own pocket, which must have cost me TEN$ of THOUSAND$ of DOLLAR$ and maybe more. I mean simply that I never received any real relief for my pain from a chiropractor. I did enjoy a psychological placebo effect of treatment which kept me coming back again and again and again and… $$$CHA CHING$$$ Well, I finally stopped cold turkey when I was fairly confident that my pain was indeed psychosomatic. It was one of the most difficult and scary things I ever had to do, after depending on the treatments for my entire adult life. Once the fear let up, I knew I was on my way to finally ending my back pain. I was able to completely cure myself, which was a task all my chiropractors failed to do. I do not hold it against them, for they were not trained to deal with psychosomatic back pain. This is precisely the point of this long winded article. Chiropractic therapy is a valuable part of a complementary care program for PHYSICAL back pain. Remember that many long term chronic pain conditions are psychosomatic, just like mine. If you have unresolved back pain, there is a good chance that yours is psychogenic as well. Keep this thought in mind as you consider your treatment options carefully. Chiropractic is good for some conditions, but for chronic pain, I almost always recommend knowledge therapy. Hey, heads up out there chiropractors…I still love ya.
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