I have read many of the comments here, and I am willing to bet that the most vociferous critics of Chiropractors fall into one of three categories:
a) Never been treated by a Chiropractor
b) Been treated by a disreputable/untrained Chiropractor
c) Are a bigoted medical professional
d) Have no idea what a Chriopractor should treat/is capable of treating
I have worked in Radiology for nearly 20 years, seen all aspects of it in various hospitals. I had nearly intractable back pain (due to a football injury in high school) that dogged me for my entire adult life.
I had constant pain, and occasional flare-ups that left me bedridden for two or three days, and at limited mobility for several weeks after. I had CT scans. I had Xrays. I had MRI exams. I had phyical therapy. I had massage treatment. NOTHING helped. The best the medical community could offer (short of surgery) had proven to be no help at all. And they would not operate unless some kind of dysfunction could be identified by a diagnostic test, which was fine by me. I didn't want someone just cutting me up.
When I got married, my new wife, after watching the second or third disabling attack, suggested I try a chiropracter (She is an RN who spent her entire career in critical care nursing)
My first reaction was that of most posters on this thread. But I went to a chiropractor out of desperation, and my life has changed dramatically since then.
I was treated by a chiropractor for several years where I went on a nearly weekly basis, and when my back was problematic, I had two go in sometimes three times a week.
I learned a lot about what a properly trained and certified chiropractor can do, and as a radiologic professional, I viewed it all with a critical eye. To be honest, the basic presumption of alignment makes sense to me. I do not know why some other aspects of the practice work as well as it does, but the bottom line is:
If a qualified, trained chiropractor is treating an APPROPRIATE condition in tandem with conventional medical treatment to rule out more serious conditions that may exclude chriopractic as an appropriate treatment, the Chriopractic can help patients (like me) for whom conventional medicine has failed miserably.
Additionally, I may have been fortunate to use these services in Massachusetts, which is much stricter in its oversight than many other states. I bitch about living here occassionally, but they do some things right every once in a while.
If you think it is great fun to poke at and ridicule a profession that has helped many people (in my case, dramatically) that have been abandoned by the conventional medical community (and that is basically what we have done to these people) then you should put yourself in their place.
Sure, it sounds nice and blithe, and provokes a laugh from equally ignorant or unafflicted people, but good chiropractic care is no laughing matter if you have been left behind by conventional medicine.
And one more thing: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts pays for Chiropractic care, in most cases. Do you think for one second they would part with even the smallest bit of brass if they were not shown that Chiropractic produces results in many patients? We may not know EXACTLY why those results are produced, but empirically, it works.
If by "you" you mean me, aculeus, I suggest you read my #12.
When we lived in another city, the daughter of a friend was a physical therapist; she would have me lie on my back and drop my leg to the side of the bed; she would "do something" to it, which I never figured out, but within minutes I had NO PAIN. None.
I was so sorry when we moved.
But I am delighted to hear about BC/BS MA. My husband's company just switched to them today!
So what do you think about critics of mathematicians?
Best post of the whole bunch! And you basically told a tale similar to mine...thank goodness for my chiropracter. Otherwise, it would have been back surgery to the tune of probably $15K...then probably ANOTHER surgery a few years later (back surgeries seem to NEVER end).
Also, doubters ought to check out the number of people who get sicker or die while in a hospital; not to mention the dependence on prescription drugs.
There ARE good chiropracters and not so good ones...luckily, I found a great one.