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 Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:24 pm
I'm kinda tired so I'm gonna probably add more to the discussion later, haha.
But I get a lot of mixed views on the fact I see a chiropractor.
Honestly, I've been to 4 chiropractors, and 2 of them were terrible. I kept going because they told me I would get better but I never did. I almost gave up then I met a pretty good one. But he didn't have a lot of tools and a few things he did kinda ticked me off. He always said he'd print me exercises and he never did. Sometimes he didn't call me back even when I left a message. He said a few times he'd try and lower my bill but never did. I would feel great when I left but by the next day or so it back to almost as bad. But it was better than nothing for me.
So I started going to a new place, and they are actually kinda corporate. It's called Abundant Life. They have higher standards and don't like doing neck adjustments. They don't really do manual adjustments at all. At least not for me. They use the activator. I don't pop and crack and they never jerk my neck. Just use this tiny gun looking thing to push on my skin. Pushing my bones where they go, haha. These types of adjustments work better for me because they last longer on me. I'm already to the point I only have to go every 2 weeks in just a short 2 months. I saw my last guy for years and never was on that level. They introduced me to the K tape which we were talking about in another thread. They have payment plans and they even let me not pay. The guy said, "So would you like to pay for that today?" I'm just like, "I have an option?" xD He said they could bill me and I could pay later. Say what. None of the 4 other chiropractors I saw did that. One actually made me pay upfront for like 4 sessions! He was so terrible I didn't even go back for my last one.
So it's like, I feel like you have to scope them out and probably most of them are too rough. And a good word of caution is to be very firm that you don't want them to touch your neck at first. The two guys I saw first really hurt my neck and it was worse than before I went in. This new place I almost had to yell at the guy for him to try to manually adjust my neck. xD I'm like dude I haven't seen anyone in months and my neck is bad, you have to do it. xD I think he doesn't like to do them because there can be a risk. Neck adjustments just scare me, but errors really aren't as common as you'd think. I just get a lot of pain in my neck to the point I want someone to almost jerk it. But the activator is safer.
I just wonder what you guys think about chiropractors, your experience on it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:05 am
I think there's mixed evidence on chiropractors' practice. The things they do that work seem to be basically physio. Maybe if you're ever having trouble finding a chiro that helps, give up and find yourself a physio! lol
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:59 pm
Wow, I've never even heard of that! I had to Google it. Very interesting. I think that makes a lot of sense. Doctors, for me anyway, tend to look at each individual problem rather than see it as a whole. Our bodies are connected in crazy ways. Like how this guy told me just a few days ago the chiropractor pulled his finger to relieve his sinuses, and it worked, haha. Like Chinese Reflexology.
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:53 pm
Spenelli Wow, I've never even heard of that! I had to Google it. Very interesting. I think that makes a lot of sense. Doctors, for me anyway, tend to look at each individual problem rather than see it as a whole. Our bodies are connected in crazy ways. Like how this guy told me just a few days ago the chiropractor pulled his finger to relieve his sinuses, and it worked, haha. Like Chinese Reflexology. Ah I def agree that bodies are connected in some crazy ways, but it can be so hard to find the connections. Esp with syndromey stuff, like you mentioned fibro. Syndromes so often have a mix of physical and psychological symptoms and aspects, it can be hard to tell where some end and others begin, and what influences/causes what, and to what degree. Still a fair bit of mystery to the human body and mind, I can see why doctors often focus on symptom relief, when underlying causes/influences are so hard to pin down. I've had years and years of absurd chronic fatigue, so definitely know the struggle of syndrome type treatment. A psychiatrist kept acting like it was just my depression, and I was a little insulted cos it felt like more. Turned out I had an autoimmune thyroid problem, and undiagnosed sleep apnea (typical patient is overweight, middle aged, and male, so being none of these, it was overlooked for a long time). Have been on thyroid meds, had all sorts of intervention for sleep apnea (which turned out to be due to the structure of my jaw, so i eventually wound up having doubel jaw surgery). I'm also prone to low iron and low vitamin D. However, even with all those issues addressed, I can still have problems sleeping, and my depression is definitely a huge factor (though not the only one, as that previous psych thought). There's just SO much to untangle when it comes to many issues. Not everything is as straight-forward as we would like, unfortunately. One thing that makes me a little sceptical of chiros is that, like I said, what does work tends to be stuff borrowed from physio. But keep your scepticism handy when looking for chiros and other similar practitioners. I'm all for holistic approaches, but there are far too many quacks out there, and it can be a real waste of time and money (and patience, and optimism lol )
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:55 pm
sylviexox Spenelli Wow, I've never even heard of that! I had to Google it. Very interesting. I think that makes a lot of sense. Doctors, for me anyway, tend to look at each individual problem rather than see it as a whole. Our bodies are connected in crazy ways. Like how this guy told me just a few days ago the chiropractor pulled his finger to relieve his sinuses, and it worked, haha. Like Chinese Reflexology. Ah I def agree that bodies are connected in some crazy ways, but it can be so hard to find the connections. Esp with syndromey stuff, like you mentioned fibro. Syndromes so often have a mix of physical and psychological symptoms and aspects, it can be hard to tell where some end and others begin, and what influences/causes what, and to what degree. Still a fair bit of mystery to the human body and mind, I can see why doctors often focus on symptom relief, when underlying causes/influences are so hard to pin down. I've had years and years of absurd chronic fatigue, so definitely know the struggle of syndrome type treatment. A psychiatrist kept acting like it was just my depression, and I was a little insulted cos it felt like more. Turned out I had an autoimmune thyroid problem, and undiagnosed sleep apnea (typical patient is overweight, middle aged, and male, so being none of these, it was overlooked for a long time). Have been on thyroid meds, had all sorts of intervention for sleep apnea (which turned out to be due to the structure of my jaw, so i eventually wound up having doubel jaw surgery). I'm also prone to low iron and low vitamin D. However, even with all those issues addressed, I can still have problems sleeping, and my depression is definitely a huge factor (though not the only one, as that previous psych thought). There's just SO much to untangle when it comes to many issues. Not everything is as straight-forward as we would like, unfortunately. On top of that, add the placebo effect, and you have some people who feel legitimately better after completely ineffective treatments! (Not that that's a bad thing, for them, I guess, but it can spread the idea that certain things are remedies/cures etc, if too many people rely on the anecdotal evidence of people who may have just experienced an expensive placebo! Leaving other people wondering why the hell the same treatment did nothing for them.) One thing that makes me a little sceptical of chiros is that, like I said, what does work tends to be stuff borrowed from physio. But keep your scepticism handy when looking for chiros and other similar practitioners. I'm all for holistic approaches, but there are far too many quacks out there, and it can be a real waste of time and money (and patience, and optimism lol )
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 7:15 pm
I had problems with chronic pain since I was about 15.. took until I was 29 to get diagnosed with carpel tunnel syndrome, fibro and tendinitis. Up to then doctors told me I was imagining it, or like they told you it was a symptom of depression. It wasn't until age 29 I ever had an xray of anything. You'd think they would have done it sooner, even just to humor me. The xray of course proved nothing, but helped to diagnose the fibro. Yeah it seems like doctors just want to mask the symptoms rather than cure the problem. Unfortunately there is no cure for me, at least not yet. Just a lot of things that help. And all the alternative stuff I'm doing is working sooo much better than the pills. Oh I know about the quacks. I read about this chiro who convinced his female patients they needed something up their butt to align them. He was literally sticking things up these womens' butts. xD Only reason I think it's funny is that the women let him do it. The second he said, "Well, we're gonna put this up your butt." I'd be out the freaking door. xD I know for sure never to pay up front. Don't sign up for a wellness plan unless you know you trust the doctor. Mine has plans for $100 and up. It's worth it, but they don't push it on you. They mention it, once, on your first visit. One of the really bad chiros I saw went on and on about his plans and convinced me I needed to buy one before I'd even seen him yet. Don't trust any chiro who makes a big deal out of the popping sound. The sound is just air, it doesn't mean they are doing it right, haha. They say ones who mention the sound are trying to make up for not being good. The placebo effect freaks me out. xD
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:01 pm
Ahh even having nothing show up on the x-ray is kinda helpful, cos part of diagnosis is ruling things out. Xrays can be pricey though, so I think drs tend to avoid them unless it seems likely that something would show up. I'm glad alternative stuff is working for you. I think there's definitely validity to some of it, but when it gets discovered that it's empirically valid, it tends to be taken up by conventional medicine too lol. That's so scary about that quack, that's so exploitative and disgusting, preying on desperate people like that omg. I'm not even surprised some women let him do it, they were obvs desperate for something that helped, and being a healthcare practitioner carries an element of trust etc, jeeeeeesus, I hope he's never allowed to practise again! The placebo effect isn't all bad at least. People can even experience the positive effects of placebo when they know that they could experience a placebo effect! The mind is a powerful thing lol, if something helps, that's good. What worries me most is when placebos get spruced all over like the internet, via anecdotal evidence, by either people with biases or a profit to make. Like the abusive chiro above, preying on people's desperation for clicks/to sell things, etc etc. Like I get so annoyed seeing stalls in shopping malls for those redundant "magnetic bracelet" things that are meant to cure all manner of ailments but do bugger all. It's unethical af and people shouldn't be able to market them the way they do /endrant lol
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:03 am
Ohh yeah, you're definitely right on the price of an xray. I don't have insurance either, and that's another reason I think I didn't get much help with doctors. They knew anything costing over a few hundred I wasn't going to pay. xD I forget the amount they say I owe, but it's over $1,000 and I'm definitely not paying it. xD I wish we had free healthcare like Scotland. :'( OH! Actually I know the bill was over $3,000. For one xray, some braces, and a rx. Cause I remember complaining I could've bought a round trip to Scotland and got free care there, even as a visitor. That kinda pissed me off. Could've had the same result and an awesome vacation for the same price. xD Yeah, I should be more bothered by the butt fetish chiro. It actually is disgustingly wrong. I'm usually like such a pure person but then certain things you'd think would rile me up just make me laugh. xD I honestly don't know why I find it funny and kinda feel bad. xD At least I admit my craziness though, I guess. Haha. I really hope he lost his licence too. I heard about it secondhand on a forum and now I can't find it. There are a lot of pervy chiros tho.. I keep finding horror stories. But there are also people who think they were violated when they weren't. xD Actually when my chiro did the Graston on my inner thighs I was uncomfortable as hell. I had to take off my pants and it just freaked me out. xD (I had a robe though) I kept telling myself he's a doctor and doctors have done much worse. xD After it was done, I realized how much I needed it. It's been over 2 weeks since I had it done and I haven't had pain in my hips at all. My legs just now starting hurting again yesterday. I read about this woman who had the same exact thing done. She explained how he got "near" her privates when he worked on her inner thigh. She was asking if she was violated and most of the people said she was. xD Ugh just contributing to misinformation, haha. The Graston is used by chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists and athletic trainers. I just don't think it's bs when that many people are using it and I've seen the results. Now if a chiro wanted to Graston your inner thigh all the time, there's a problem. xD But it was definitely necessary for me. So far I've had it once, and had 2 appointments since then and he hasn't done it again. He's testing out everything which I really like too. Not just one treatment. I'm getting manual adjustments, activator, Graston, and KT tape. The magnetic bracelets piss me off too. It's so weird you mentioned that though!! We just got them yesterday at my work. They say "Believed to heal". "Believed." By who? Shamans? Doctors? Children? High School Dropouts? Who exactly believes this and what credibility do they have? xD They cost $6.99 and they aren't even cute. They are so ugly. I have a magnetic bracelet actually. Someone gave it to me. But every other bead is sparkling white or pink. Does nothing for my pain but it's cute. xD
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:51 pm
In my clinical experience as a physical therapist assistant I find that the best help is exercises. Stretching and strengthening are going to help in the long run. It is important to have a home exercise program set up so that people have a way to become independent in their pain management. This is a reason I am quitting my current job. My boss wants to do a bunch of modalities with little-no manual/exercises. Modalities are a good starter to increase exercise tolerance but I personally do not like to rely on them too much because of the adaptation and the fact that the goal is for patients to eventually become independent in their treatment. How can they keep the pain away long-term if we are only putting a band-aid on the issue by focusing on machines??? I have utilized RockTape (a type of kinesiotaping) but I have a mixed view of it. Personally I have only had noticeable benefit from applying it for postural use. Half of the patients I put it on did say the decompression/edema applications did help them. It is a hit or miss but I do plan to keep practicing it because if it helps some people then why not. In a later post you mentioned Graston. I love Graston! One of my clinical instructors taught me it and I hope to eventually be certified in it but it is over $1,000 crying One of the reasons I love it so much is because it makes sense to me how it works. It is a nice tool to help with knots. Since it helped you with your knots a good home method we recommend for patients is a tennis ball. You place it between your back and the wall and find a tender area. Then you roll it around a little bit in that spot for 30 seconds or until the tenderness goes away. You mentioned it being done on your inner thighs and I doubt this method will help with that area; but it may benefit your in terms of your neck pain to target your upper back. Yay physical therapy!
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:30 pm
So much yes. I completely agree with all that. xD That's the thing about the chiropractor, I'm relying on him to take the pain away. This guy I have now has told me more I can do for myself than any other had. But I can't use an activator on my own back or do my own Graston, ha. I always wish my boyfriend would become a chiropractor. xD Yeah, I'm glad you said that about exercising. Cause I am not doing exercises again. I was being pretty good for awhile. But then again I'm watching exercises from youtube and who even knows if they're any good. xD But I need to quit being lazy. And now I will have more time again. smile My mom was having foot pain and I did the tape on her and she said it didn't feel any different at all. She went ahead and kept it on the 3 days and felt nothing. xD She wasn't having ankle pain though, she said it was her feet, so I had warned her it might not do anything. Thought maybe some ankle support would take some fatigue off the foot but nope. She was just worn out from moving, not much helps with that besides rest. I really loved the Graston too. Have you only used it on others or have you had it done to you? It feels so weird and good. Haha. It kinda hurt but it was a weird pain. I want to say pain that felt good but that just sounds freaky and it wasn't like that. xD $1000 is a lot. I wonder if they do that just so they know you're serious and you'll really learn it, haha. I hope you can get your licence someday. Oooh, thank you for the tennis ball thing!! I don't have one so next time I'm at the store it's on. smile Do you know where I could find reliable exercises? Mostly for my ankles, wrists, neck, shoulders and back. Well that's most of a human right there. xD But you seem to know what's up. smile
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:25 pm
I have not done much taping on feet. I saw one for plantar fasciitis / bursitis to help support the foot. You wrap the tape around the foot at the arch. But I agree with you, rest is probably best in that case lol. I have had Graston done to me. It is uncomfortable but it feels like instant relief after lol. The cost of the certification also includes some of the tools. I looked into getting just the class but it mentioned having to buy the tools at the course. Here is an HEP to focus on the neck/shoulders (let me know if link works): https://www.hep2go.com/print_card_pdf_2.php?userRef=iekccdlihcmgThere are quite a few exercises so just do those for a couple weeks and see how you feel. For the rest of the troublesome areas try some basic cardio for now like walking/swimming/biking for 30 minutes 3 times a week. If those exercises work well then I will add some more exercises for the other areas you mentioned. I was taught that if you give too many exercises it will be overwhelming and people may lose motivation to continue them. Hope this helps emotion_bigheart
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 6:56 am
Yes, the Graston was instant relief. Yeah, I was looking up chiropractic tools and I saw the activator and Graston were freaking expensive. sad Ohh thank you! I will start doing that tomorrow! Next step is telling my boss I need to walk to work for the exercise so stop giving me a hard time. xD Every time they find out I walked they freak out and tell me it's too long of a walk and to have someone get me next time. It's a 20-25 minute walk. xD That's nothing. I mean yeah I get a little worn out by the end but I need it. That makes sense about being overwhelmed. I think starting with just one is great.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:53 am
Spenelli Yes, the Graston was instant relief. Yeah, I was looking up chiropractic tools and I saw the activator and Graston were freaking expensive. sad Ohh thank you! I will start doing that tomorrow! Next step is telling my boss I need to walk to work for the exercise so stop giving me a hard time. xD Every time they find out I walked they freak out and tell me it's too long of a walk and to have someone get me next time. It's a 20-25 minute walk. xD That's nothing. I mean yeah I get a little worn out by the end but I need it. That makes sense about being overwhelmed. I think starting with just one is great. Yeah tell them to shush and let you exercise lol.
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:06 am
I'm seeing a new chiropractor that uses the gun thing. I got worse before I got better. My back was so tense and sore. They chocked it up to me being more aware of it. I guess. My lower back pain is better, but my shoulder tension is still there... Hmmm...................... hm hm hm... I kinda miss the first style chiropractor that would crack me around and then let me lie on a water bed thingie with electrode thingies. Felt good, and my life drastically improved as though aligning my spine was aligning my universe lol When I'm done with these guys, I'm probably going to search for a masseuse instead of a chiropractor and see them 4 times a year or something.
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:42 pm
Yes, sometimes you do get worse before you get better. And that's the scary part, cause you don't know if it's cause you are soo out of alignment, or they just suck. xD But when you do it right if you don't feel better within about 2 weeks it's them. You have to go like 2-3 times the first 2 weeks even though it's hella expensive. But usually after that it's once a week for 2 weeks, then once every two weeks to once a month after that depending on what you do to your body/what's wrong with you. Like for me I'll never be well off unless I can go once every two weeks, at least. With fibromyalgia my body is basically attacking itself. I have some muscles that don't fire correctly, I am really bad with the technical talk but basically the muscle is just like nope I'm not gonna help with that, so other muscles around it have to work harder so they get screwed up. Maybe it's not muscles it's like tendons or nerves or something, I swear I need to have the chiro write down what he says so I'll remember. XD Plus I'm never gonna stop being on PC for hours a day so that's always gonna be a problem. And I'm a side sleeper. I'm screwed. Yeah, I know that physical manipulation is more risky but gawd it feels good. xD I want him to just crack the s**t out of my neck but he won't. Sissy. xD I am really wanting to try massage. My neighbor was telling me how she used to be a massage therapist and I didn't realize how much it could really help. She was talking about all kinds of crazy stuff I didn't know that massage can do. For lack of sounding like an idiot again I won't try to remember. xD But the fact she was selling it so hard but doesn't even do it anymore was great. She said she makes more as a landscaper. But that's awesome to hear it from someone who isn't trying to make money off it who really knows their s**t. Like Ashley from this guild. smile She can give me advice and I know it's legit cause I'm not paying her. xD I've been bs'ed by so many doctors and chiros.
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