Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Chiropractors

Im not diagnosed but l went twice over a number of years and both times were big mistakes!!!!! L couldnt move my neck hardly for nearly 6 weeks the 2nd time hence why l went back to my doc for them to look at me again!!

thank you for the replies

This Chiropractor im seeing Seems** to know AS and stated that he has had a few life long patients with AS , lol he says he knows about it.. only time will tell.

I saw him on Tuesday and he used the large vibrating thingie on my back and calfs, (2-3 min) then did a simple crack of my upper back , right before he did that he said "I''l stay away from the lower back, because we dont want to disturb your AS" anyhoo quick 1 crack motion produced like 5 or so snaps , and so far im fine. Last month I had a bad flare about 6 days after the adjustment, possibly unrelated as I was on a starch bender

no more starch benders for me lol, one thing this board gave me was the idea of just watching how much starch i take in, i will never give it up or really cut it way low ever, but you All are right about starch Loading, most north american diets are heavy heavy heavy on the starch, and with AS we all should at least Watch and think before eating 1/2 a loaf of bread, then a bag of chips, then french fries, ect.ect.ect.

I may not even be able to continue the chiropractor appointments, im so broke i couldent pay them for the appt on tuesday, and i told them i may cancell the dec 4th appt because i need every penny (not for gifts, lol no gifts from me to anyone AGAIN this year. for literally surviving lol) the chiropractor is being accomidating, he told his secritary last month after our 1st appt. to just charge me the student rate which is 1/2 price, but still when i have 411 and 350 goes to rent per month.. 20 dollars is too much

glad you had such good results. hope you can go again, and have as much success as i've had with mine

my chiro has helped me more than anything or anybody else since the excellent PT and physiatrist i had back in virginia prior to 2003. i'm pretty sure i'd be out on disability if not for him. and the year prior to him a number of doctors and a PT were useless for it.

and the funny thing is, now that i know from the chiro that its "discogenic" from C5-C6 and C6-C7, when i read about that on the web, i'm like "BINGO!" that fits better than anything else i've ever been dx'ed with by doctors in the past. and it only took 14 years to get to this point! 13 years with other doctors and a year with him.

anyway, good luck! hope you can find the resources to keep going! and that is accommodating! my copay is $25 and i go twice a week. but if i was out of work, which i would be if not for him, its very cost effective for me.

Chalk me up as one who has had positive chiropractic experience. That being said, other people provide sage guidance on the dangers of chiropractic adjustments and I would proceed with seeing a new chiropractor with extreme caution.

Like all forms of alternative medicine, buyer beware. Since it is an unregulated field, I think there is a much greater chance of encountering a quack who can do more damage than good. My chiropractor teaches at the regional chiropractic university, so that demonstrates a certain level of competence to me (one should hope, at least!).

I also second the preference of the activator method over the herky-jerky back-cracking method. I just seem to respond better to it, and it's a lot less stressful. I also have a rib that constantly pops out, and the only thing that I've found that treats it is a well guided activator adjustment.

Lastly, I suspect whether or not chiropractic adjustments are for you may be a function of how much fusion you have. The further advanced your AS is, I suspect the greater the danger from chiropractic adjustments. For example, I'm uSpA. My x-rays are still clean, so perhaps that's another reason why I still respond well to chiropractic adjustments. There's not as much damage yet...

I didint liek the activator at all esp on my neck it dont feel right at all!!! x

The thing with the integrator/activator (they are almost the same gizmo) is that the chiro can buffer it with his/her thumb. That's what mine does if I'm having a tense neck day. She puts her thumb over the area to be adjusted and places the integrator over her thumb. The other thing is that if I'm having a really really bad day, she just applies a bit of pressure with her thumb and that is the adjustment. If it's a horrid horrid day, she doesn't adjust at all.

I'll take an integrator over the neck twist any day. Back in the early nineties, the chiro would try to adjust my neck and I would tense up so badly that they couldn't do it. They started tricking me into relaxing - distraction me with questions and such while they massaged my neck and then suddenly - CRACK!!! I was getting my occiput adjusted on a regular basis at that point, as well as the Atlas and C3 or 4. Wasn't pretty. It's not generally recommended that more than three adjustments are made in any appointment and they could do three on my neck alone - not to mention the thoracic area where ribs kept going out and the SIs and the lumbar.

Anyway, there are many options. You're chiro and you just have to figure out what works best for you.

Hugs,

Is the reason for your neck pain AS??? I hope your chiro doesn't know *so much* about AS that he thinks it is only a disease of the low back and SIJs!!!

Has he seen a very recent MRI of your whole spine???

I don't think you should be having "short-sharp-thrust"-type manipulations AT ALL! As you can see from your "5 or so snaps" , spinal joint manipulation is not always that specific that it moves only one joint...

My personal experience with a Chiropractor was negative.

Before I was diagnosed, my friend suggested I see one, who did the typical cracking adjustments. I hurt so much MORE after each visit but was told that this wasn't uncommon and that it was important that I continue. I would be worse for days afterwards and going a minimum of twice/week, I wasn't getting a chance to recover between appts and the pain was brutal. When I told him he was only making the pain worse, that I was finished, he said,.. "Oh that's a shame, we almost have you fixed."

Rheumatologists do not recommend chiropractic for the treatment of AS because it is potentially dangerous, particularly so if you are showing any signs of fusing. At the least, cracking may escalate the level of inflamation. Any chiro who thinks it is a wise idea to *crack* the spine of an AS patient, is one that fundamentally does not understand AS, in my opinion.

Please be careful!
mig

Sorry but I have to agree...it is a well known fact that us ASers should not have any type of spinal manipulation...fusion, inflammation and spinal adjustments simply do not go well together and they can cause an unbelievable amount of damage...not good for AS!! The medical community advises against it, every rheumatologist I've ever seen has been against it and there is more than ample reading material out there that says not to do it, if you have AS and for good reason, it's a bad idea...the last time I had a spinal adjustment, I wound up with 9 different breaks in 7 ribs, countless torn ligaments and tendons, more than 6 months healing time and 2 surgeries later and I was left with residual problems with those ribs... I just don't want to see anyone else have to go through that...

From the Spondylitis Association of America:

"Anyone with limited spinal mobility due to [spondylitis] should avoid manipulation of their back or neck by chiropractors and masseurs because it can be dangerous," claims Dr. Muhammad Asim Khan, rheumatologist, researcher, and AS patient. Dr. Khan explains that chiropractic treatments have sometimes inadvertently led to spinal fractures and neurological complications, especially in people with fusion (extra bone growth) due to spondylitis.

good replys fellas

I'm definatly going to cancell the dec 1st appt , I think Mig makes a good point, if you tell some one your done and wont be comming back, if their reply is "we almost had you fixed" you should run faster lol. I have a feeling the chiro i had seen would say somthing similar.