Does chiropractic work?

My first chiropractic experience was over 25 years ago. I managed to twist the sheets around my legs one night and tripped out of bed in the morning and gave my neck a good twist. I went to work in pain holding my neck at about a 15 degree angle from the vertical taking some kind of OTC pain medication in the hopes it would fix itself.

I came to the conclusion it was not going away on its own and decided to go to my doctor. I told my boss what I was planning and he strongly suggested I go visit his chiropractor instead. I didn't know much about chiropractic at the time and pretty much figured it was witch doctor stuff, but he convinced me so I called and made an appointment. He was able to see me quite quickly so off I went.

I can't remember off hand all the things that happened that day. I know there was some kind of examination, x-rays, and the guy ran some kind of doo-hickey along my spine. I remember he had me take my shirt off for that and that he wrote on my back with a grease pencil.

After lots of explanation that sounded like so much voodoo to me, he started working on me. He adjusted my hips, and then my back on a table. Then he had me sit in this stout chair. This was a serious chair. Think electric chair kind of stout. He let loose with a twist and a jerk of my neck and I heard this amazingly loud pop coming from my neck. Of course my first thought was "he broke it". He didn't, and when he asked me to move my neck around I realized I could move it almost into a vertical position and the pain was greatly lessened.

I went back a couple times for more of the same, and the neck problem was resolved. He told me that my hips were misaligned because my wallet was so thick. I had a lot of crap in there, not all that much money though. So I got a new thinner wallet and removed most of the unnecessary stuff. Not sure if that made any real difference or not, but I still try to keep the wallet thinner.

I still had this ache in my lower back that had been there for several years, but I figured it was just something that I would live with and if it acted up, I took some aspirin. Over time it got somewhat worse. Not screaming type pain, just mild, dull, continuous discomfort. I finally convinced myself to go to a chiropractor again and went off to see Dr. Mike Hulsebus down by Cherryvale mall in Rockford, IL. I don't recall just why I went there instead of the guy I had gone to before.

He also did x-rays and some kind of examination, and there was the voodoo like explanations, and some adjustments. He said it would take several weeks or months of treatment. I am thinking scam to get me to keep coming back, but I was into it now and I figured it probably would not harm me and might actually help.

One day Dr. Mike came into the room and said a colleague of his, Dr. Marty was going to adjust me today. I don't recall exactly what he said, but it was something about a "Dr. Marty special adjustment". Dr. Marty is a good sized guy with big hands. He gave me a special adjustment right in the middle of my back. I don't know quite what he did, but a loud crack later and the ache in my lower back a few inches below where he was working eased quite a bit. I went back a few more times, and then started a once a month plan. The ache has never returned.

I got kind of tired of driving across town to go there, and dropped out of the monthly routine. But I think because of some neck stiffness, decided it would be a good idea to start going again. It turns out his brother, Dr. Jim, runs a clinic just down the street from where I live so I started going there and have continued pretty much monthly for a number of years now, with a few gaps along the way, mostly when I was out of town on business for months at a time.

Once again the x-rays, examination, and voodoo explanations. And some adjustments that made a difference in how my neck felt. I am not sure how, but I ended up getting assigned mostly to the care of Dr. Scott.

One time I went in with a very stiff neck that might well have been related to a major sinus infection I had. No amount of OTC decongestants, antihistimines and aspirins was doing much good so I had gone to one of those immeadiate care places for some better drugs that were not doing much either.

I don't recall if it was Dr. Jim or Dr. Scott who saw me that day but whoever it was convinced me to let him have a go at treating the sinus infection along with the stiff neck. I guess I figured I had nothing to lose so I agreed. I have no clue what he did, or why it worked, but by the time I walked out to the car my ears and sinuses had started to drain. Within an hour I felt better than I had in a week of OTC and prescription drugs. I went back two more days in a row for additional adjustments (gratis by the way), but by the next day it was pretty much gone.

I have since gone in several more times for sinus problems, and while it does not always work as dramatically as the first time, it has several times, and other times it is more gradual.

I have noticed over the years a decided decrease in hay fever symptoms and frequency of sinus problems when I go regularly. I can't put a number on it, but when I go regularly, I have had entire years with very limited hay fever and sinus symptoms. Could be coincidence I suppose, but I am not a big believer in coincidence happening over and over again.

My neck and back feel pretty good, although I do get some stiffness in my neck now and then. It's not even an ache, just stiff mostly. Sometimes it gets uncomfortable enough that I will go in early for some tweaking. They always adjust my hips even though my hips never hurt, but maybe that's because they keep after it.

My wife started going and has had considerable relief from dizziness she has suffered from for many years.

So I guess the question is "Does chiropractic work"? My answer is that it has worked pretty good for me. Good enough that mostly I spend my own money on chiropractic treatments because my health insurance covers very little if any of the costs.

So why does chiropractic sometimes get a bad rap? I think it is several things. One is the voodoo sounding explanations they give for why it works. It almost has a new age, hippie kind of sound to it. I am long since caring why it works because it has been helpful for me, and I believe in the results.

Another issue is the business practices of chiropractic in general. There is a focus on long term "maintainence" treatments that seems to work for me, but many people see as a scam to get money for treatments they don't need. They are also pretty good at self promotion. It is a business after all, but some people probably see it as just self serving. I personally am not convinced that some self serving, self promotion is completely bad. But I can understand that some people see it as inappropriate. While I have not run across it with these guys, I have read and heard that some chiropractors do engage in some business practices that I would consider questionable.

There are also a few very public kooks and out and out charlatans in the chiropratic business offering dubious and expensive (and likely non-helpful) treatments that don't do the image of the profession any good. But, every profession has its bad eggs.

So do I have any advice for those who might be considering chiropractic care? I have had favorable results for the things they have worked on over the years. I still don't get the explanations for why it works that they talk about now and then, but I just politely listen, and realize that while maybe I don't quite get the explanations for why it works, I do believe in the favorable results I have gotten. BTW, I don't know how penicillin works either, but I believe in those results, too.

Dr. Jim now has two additional associates, Dr. Craig and Dr. Jim's son, Dr. Ryan. I think all four of them have worked on me at one time or another (not completely sure Dr. Ryan has), but I still prefer having the same guy working on me most of the time. I guess I have just gotten used to Dr. Scott over time. Dr. Jim and Dr. Mike's father was an early practicioner of chiropractic in Illinois, and they seem to have about 30 relatives and associates in the business at various clinics scattered around Northern Illinois (maybe 30 is a slight exaggeration).

They even have their own web site. Here are the guys that work on me.


http://www.hulsebuschiropractic.com/templates20/custom-content/1doctor1


Quite the rogues gallery. :)

One thing that I appreciate is that none of these guys has ever made me feel rushed, or that they had something better to do if I have questions about my treatments. They always have made sure when I ask questions that they take whatever time it takes to answer my questions. And the office staff is pretty good about dealing with insurance, even though my insurance does not foot much of the bill.