Okay, okay. This may not be the best titled post to begin a discussion on chiropractors and chiropractic care, but it’s kinda funny, and kinda true, so it fits. When you hear someone talk about chiropractors, they will either swear by them or call them quacks. Hmmm…I’m not sure “quacks” is still a known term today. By “quacks” I mean “fake doctors.” I don’t know your thoughts or experiences around chiropractors, but I thought it may be worth dumping my experience to you guys, so here it is…
Chiropractic Care? What is that???
In short, this is where a DC, Doctor of Chiropractic, manipulates your spine and some other areas with hands-on pressure to shift things “back in place.” The thought/theory behind this is that when the spine is in good alignment, the body can better heal itself as opposed to requiring medication or surgery.
One of my buddies, who swares by his chiropractor, said that when the spine is in perfect alignment, the body can not only heal itself better, but also detect infections and problems quicker than when the spine is out of line. This would supposedly help your body fight problems without you even knowing it or quickly help you get over an infection or problem. Of course, there is no absolute way to prove this, but it’s the theory.
Chiropractic care seems to work well for acute lower back pain, neck pain, and sometimes helps with osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
My Experience
Personally, I go to a chiropractor every couple of months. I use to go every six weeks, but have now pushed that out to every 8 weeks due to COVID. I tend to have lower back pain and occasional neck pain. I can hear and feel bones shifting sometimes in my neck and back when I’m stretching or rolling my neck. It’s funny, my lower back can hurt, but a quick stretch sometimes shifts a bone back into proper place and I feel better.
I have found that about every 6-8 weeks, I feel like I’m a little twisted. I guess that’s the best way to explain it. I feel like my stretching and exercise is not getting me back into proper alignment, so I go to the chiropractor. He has me feeling straight and in alignment in under 60 seconds. It’s pretty much the same treatment every time, with a variation here and there, but it helps me feel better aligned in no time.
The Takeaway
I’m no doctor, nor medical scientist, so I can’t recommend for or against a chiropractor. I can tell you that, for my body and the pain I experience, chiropractic care seems to help. Despite all my stretching and exercising, I still tend to feel a bit twisted and out of line every 6-8 weeks. For this reason, I go to a chiropractor for a quick alignment and I feel much better. I can also tell you that I am generally healthy and do NOT get sick very often. Is that because of my chiropractic appointments, good genes, or good habits? I’m not sure. But for me, my chiropractic appointments are good for my lower back pain and neck pain that I experience every couple months.
Please note that my back and neck pain is NOT significant. It’s more of a soreness or a feeling that something’s off. It’s NOT sharp pain or anything like that which needs to be diagnosed. If you are experiencing any pain, it is recommended that you see your medical doctor first. When in consultation with your medical doctor, you can ask their opinion and recommendations for chiropractic care.