Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Conclusion about chiropractors

I know, I know, I disappeared for months and forgot all about this blog. No I didn't forget, I just got busy. You know, life happens sometimes. Anyway, I stopped seeing the chiropractor. After a month of seeing her 2-3 times a week, I wasn't feeling all that different, to be honest. The best part of each visit was back massage by the on-site massage therapist. My always-tense shoulder muscles needed it.

The whole neck-cracking and spine straightening I'm still doubtful about. Occasionally I would feel some pain in one hip joint, which would go away when she adjusted my pelvis, but that's about the only helpful thing I noticed. I totally think the frequency of the visits was just a scam to get more insurance money out of me because I happened to have a carrier that would cover chiropractic care. After that first month, she said once a week would be enough. Again, too much, I think. Even the insurance refused to pay anymore because they were suspicious. I read somewhere that once or twice a month was sufficient for maintenance.

My conclusion? I can't generalize for all chiropractors since I do believe some actually are good and actually do care about your health instead of your insurance money. But as far as this particular one is concerned, lay off you greedy witch! I got really annoyed at how pushy she was about getting me to refer others or to make future appointments whether or not I wanted it.

I think chiropractors should be judged on a case by case basis. Give them a chance, but definitely beware of the greedy scammers. I let this one take me for a ride for too long, which is my fault really. I kept thinking, "Well maybe it takes time for these treatments to make me feel completely normal." But the fact that I woke up feeling stiff in the neck and shoulders all over again every day was a testament to the contrary. Something else was causing my problems, and it wasn't my spine, as this chiropractor led me to believe. I mean, she didn't even take any x-rays, so accurate could her diagnosis be?

It's been a couple months now since I stopped seeing that chiropractor, and I don't feel any worse. I feel a bit like a sucker for having tried it, but at least now I won't wonder about it.