I've been asked why I am so critical of chiropractic...

[Archae]

Combination of experience, (the "spinal adjustments" didn't do anything,) and reading about how chiropractic groups concentrate on SALES, never actual science.

And then there are kooks like this one.

https://americanloons.blogspot.com/2024/06/2778-bobby-doscher.html

[brewens]

1. I worked with a woman that was conned into taking her little kid in. She'd fall for every other crackpot scam too.

There was no reason for that. Her pediatrician sure as shit didn't recommend it.

[Voltaire2]

2. I'm a big fan of evidence based healthcare. NT.

[Bobstandard]

3. Chiropractic can help

Chiropractic can help some people for some conditions in some circumstances. Of course that kind of qualification applies to almost every health intervention modality.

Chiropractors who say it can help everyone with everything—and there are far too many of those—should be avoided like the plague.

[Silent3]

23. The thing is if chiropractic helps (and it can for back pain, sometimes) it's almost by accident

Chiropractic, as a system, is a crazy pseudoscience based on "ideas such as vertebral subluxation and Innate Intelligence".

[hlthe2b]

4. The infamous "Life College of Chiropractic" in Marietta (Atlanta suburbs) taught students that polio was eliminated--

not by the Salk/Sabin vaccines, but by chiropractic. I remember being told this repeatedly by brain-washed students and hearing from a veterinarian friend at then Cobb County Veterinary Emergency Clinic (down the street from Life College) that they saw tons of student's puppies dying of parvo or distemper virus one terrible spring and summer--none vaccinated because (same anti-vaxx propaganda story as I was given)...

Yeah, I have concerns too, although I believe these are outliers among those practicing chiropractic and some do practice in an manner appropriate to their training and limitations. What does anger me is that chiropractic has enabled (willingly and intentionaly, IMO) the public to confuse osteopathy (DOs whose doctorates in osteopathy are recognized equally by AMA as MD's) with chiropractic. As I said, I think this is intentional among their PR campaigns.

[Archae]

8. What is your opinion about Sherri Tenpenny?

The osteopath who had her license suspended, but just got it back after making anti-vaxx remarks she never could back up?

[hlthe2b]

11. Same as my opinion about any MD, DO, PhD or political candidate (eyes) spewing anti-science bullshit

at the expense of human lives/well-being and for personal motivations. I encountered Andrew Wakefield once (and fortunately was pulled away before I could say what I truly WANTED to say).

Just curious...Why would you feel the need to ask?

[Archae]

13. Because she is the most notorious osteopath in the US nowadays...

The US equivalent of Andrew Wakefield in a way.

The two of them are in it for the money.

[hlthe2b]

15. There are several MD's who were equally culpable who I similarly call out (not just Wakefield)

and plenty of DOs who practice medicine as responsibly as any MD I know, so I don't get the distinction... I call it out in anyone--including other health care professionals-- who have received the training that makes this irresponsible and frankly, near-criminal.

[ShepKat]

5. I have utmost respect for most of them

I have ehlers danlos/tnxb. My collagen/soft tissue is defunct, especially in the spine with the ligamentum flavum, the ligaments that help keep the spine in line. My spine does not stay in place. Nerves get pinched and pulled with any movement not done with forethought. I can honestly say no doctor has come close to the relief brought by chiropractors. My list of 'medical professionals' who are just guessing, to use me as a guinea pig, is substantially longer than chiropractors I have been to.

[Siwsan]

6. My mom was very much helped by some chiropractic treatment

She had really intense sciatic pain issues because after foot surgery she work a moderate heel shoe on one foot and the surgical 'blue shoe' on the other. Just not smart. Her doctor referred her to a very specific practice and after just a few sessions with him, the problem disappeared.

That being stated, I used to credential health care providers, which included reviewing malpractice issues, and chiropractors were often in the 'refer to committee' pile.

[mitch96]

7. I use to work out with a "retired" chiropractor. He said almost every chiro seminar he went to was not about

the beneficial advancement but about how to get and keep patients. It was all about the business and money... He quit after a few years and moved on.
A patient cured is a customer lost.
m

[Deep State Witch]

9. I admit to being skeptical

But I found a chiropractor near me that actually took the time to take an X-ray of my neck and back, rather than just chalk my problems up to arthritis. Turns out that I have a congenital fusion of two vertebrae in my neck. IDK if it's helpful in every situation, but it seems to have helped me a bit. At least he diagnosed the problem. I'm now going to a real doctor about it.

[Ocelot II]

10. I recall my mom, who was a nurse, talking about how chiropractors were quacks

and she'd seen patients who had been harmed by them. This would have been many years ago, and maybe they are less quacky now. Some people say they've been helped by chiropractors; it seems to me that if they stay in their lane and don't try to cure actual diseases, what you get from them might be a good massage that makes your back feel better for awhile. But, of course, you have to keep returning for more "adjustments."

[stopdiggin]

12. spinal manipulation (together with other skeletal adjustment)

probably has some true benefit. The fadism and quackery that the 'practice' has (in some instances) embraced - is just plain hooha and hoodoo (cure for asthma, eating disorder, hypertension, colitis ... )

[MOMFUDSKI]

14. I have been helped by Chiros in the past.

Spine surgery failed to fix my sciatica and added new problems. Had several chiro visits to no avail. I am glad I can walk and don’t want a fix that will make things even worse. Will live with what I have.

[pandr32]

16. Holy crap!

She sounds like a complete loon.

[Silent Type]

17. Decades ago, I hurt my back weight lifting. Went to a Chiropractor after trying other treatments. He took xrays and

said, "You know that numbness you feel in your back and legs, that will spread to another part of your body." I freaked, but didn't buy into his costly and long treatment plan. Glad I didn't.

Yes, if massage helps, chiropractic will too. The problem is that they get into things -- like vitamins, etc. -- that I'd rather go to a Witch-doctor for.

[Bayard]

18. I've been to a number of chiropractors over the years

Just hoping for some relief. I do believe most of them are quacks and in it for the money.

The only one that ever helped me, and helped me a lot, was one that practiced kinesiology with the little disc thing. No manipulation. I was able to leave my back brace behind, (horse fell on top of me.)

[JoseBalow]

19. Glorified massage therapists

To call them "doctors" is laughable

[wyldwolf]

24. major difference is they sell woo products on the side

[sybylla]

20. Exactly. It's not based on science.

I have never seen so much pseudo-science and woo-woo bullshit as I did every time I drove one of my Amish neighbors to a chiro.

Jeebus, I needed a shower every time.

[progressoid]

21. I went to on once. Just once.

A couple decades ago I was sawing a tree down and screwed up my back. The insurance company we had at the time would pay for three visits to a chiro. It was a Saturday so I found a local one that had great reviews and gave him a try. He did x-rays and found all sorts of "problems" with my spine that needed to be fixed. Then he did some weird shit to by back and suggested 6 follow up appointments along with some other bullshit regimen that required even more visits.

On the way out the door, I saw the anti-vax poster on the wall. Needless to say I never returned.

Some ibuprofen and gentle stretching exercises and I was back to normal within a few days.

[progressoid]

22. Also, a few years ago I met a thirtyish year old woman who had a stroke from the treatments a chiroquacker did to her.

He was fucking around with her neck when there was a pop. Next thing she knows she wakes up in the hospital.

When I met her she was just learning to tie her shoes again. Needless to say, she filed a lawsuit against him.