Talk:Chiropractic/Archive 4

message: This section is a LONG quote from NACM []. Although I think NACM is important to mention as they do enjoy some mainstream acceptance, I think the insertion of long quotes is a lazy way to develop a Wiki article. I wanted to give a "heads up" that I may make some larger changes to this section. Edwardian 06:26, 10 August 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Section entitled "Rejection of the classical chiropractic theory"

message: When I was 15 years old my back and neck was in such a bad condition that the total amount of movement I could do was to "turn" my nose about 2 cm / 1 inch in each direction relative to my hips. That is, my back and neck was more or less locked. I could not look down on my own stomach etc. And I was in constant pain. 
The medical doctors at our local hospital considered my back so bad that they offered me a full "surgical stiffening" of my back and neck. That is, to surgically attach/implant a metal rod to my spine and neck to stop it from moving and thus at least stop it from getting worse. However since that would not make me well, just prevent me from getting worse I declined the offer and decided to try the alternatives.
After about 15 treatments by a naprapath (similar to a chiropractor) my back was more or less fully healthy. Since then I have lived a normal life and one of my hobbies is actually to dance the jitterbug! (I am now 36 years old.) Occasionally I do get some "lockups" in my back so about once every 1-2 years I visit my naprapth for some "maintenance". (Usually takes 1-2 treatments to get my back in order again.)
Almost every time I get a new medical doctor (well, I have some other problems too) they read my medical history and then wonder how my back and neck is nowadays? When I tell them I nowadays am ok and dance the jitterbug they usually are stunned. 
Anyway, here's what I know about chiropractors, naprapaths and osteopaths:
Occasionally when it has been time for my "back maintenance" my naprapath has been on vacation. So then I have tried other naprapaths, chiropractors and osteopaths. It seems to me they all use the same or similar techniques when doing spinal adjustments. (Basically they pull, twist, turn, bend and press to make your vertebras pop into place again.) What differ are the techniques they use to treat the muscles and other tissues on the back and neck. The chiropractors seem to mainly use massage (using their hands) to treat the muscles. The osteopaths use massage and something that at least to me resembles acupressure, that is they press special points on the body. The naprapaths use massage, ultrasound massage devices and electrical massage/training. (They strap electrodes on you and stimulate your muscles. Rather nice actually, a tingling feeling.) Personally I find the naprapaths best at treating muscles. Ultrasound and electrical stimulation does wonders at least on me. Note that I live in Sweden, Europe, and I have read that osteopath training differs a lot in different countries. But naprapaths and chiropractors are supposed to be more "standardised".
If/when you go to a chiropractor the first time you might be shocked that your back might actually hurt more after the treatment then before. But if you "listen" to the pain you will notice it is another kind of pain. Instead of pain from the spine you just have muscle pain like when you have done over stretching of a muscle. And that is exactly what it is. There are several reasons for this. First reason is that since you were in bad shape before, your muscles might have been a bit stiff and during the spinal adjustment (the pull, twist and turn etc) your muscles might get a little damage. The other reason is that suddenly your back is straight again, and your muscles are not used to that. (The muscles on one side might be to short and on the other too long since the spine has been crooked for so long.) That kind of muscle pain usually disappears in a day or two as the muscles heal and adjust to your "new" spine. Usually on the second or third treatment your chiropractor will instead mainly treat your muscles (since now your spine should be pretty ok). And that is nice! After that treatment you feel soooo good!
Note that chiropractic, naprapathy and osteopathy are more or less art forms. It is done by hand. Which means some practitioners are good but some are pretty bad. Personally I prefer naprapaths since the ultrasound massage and the electrical treatment works so well on my muscles. But a good chiropractor is much better then a bad naprapath, so mostly it is down to the individual skill of the practitioner.
--David Göthberg 09:15, 18 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  My experiences with chiropractors, naprapaths and osteopaths 

message: This page is quite notorious for it.  Just keep a look-out.  The ext links at present are neutral.  But the ones that I had to delete twice recently are not. Drdr1989 03:22, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree, particularly the blogs. Edwardian 03:34, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Great! Just one thing: Don't be too shy to rv edits yourself next time - remember Wikipedia doesn't mind us being bold :). Drdr1989 05:03, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: POV stuff

message: I reverted the entry regarding the National Association for Chiropractic Medicine that states "they are essentially advocating the more liberal mixer style of treatment where manipulation is purported to be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis when there is actually no scientific evidence which supports this belief." I found a couple articles on the Arthritis Foundation website that states that manipulation may help osteoarthritis pain  , so I don't think there is enough here to show that the NACM is actually advocating a mixer style of treatment. Edwardian 04:44, 6 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Osteoarthritis