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#455482 11/02/11 01:30 PM
Joined: Apr 2011
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Ahoy!

Anyone have experiences with chiropractors? I had my 2nd adjustment yesterday and they put the vibrating thingie on my back for like 3 min then do a simple upper back/shoulder crack (he says cuz he dosnt want to hurt my SI or lower back)

so far I cant tell if they are flim flam artists or not tongue4
i think my MEGA~Flare last month was a result of the Chiro back cracking ><

so anyone have Pos or Neg experiences with Chiropractors? thanks smile


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In the very early days of my back pain, my father-in-law talked me into seeing his chiro, who did his typical "adjustments." I hurt so much for the next week that I swore I would never see one again. Actually, I think it depends on the chiro's knowledge of AS and knowing what can and shouldn't be done. If the chiro can't demonstrate a thorough knowledge of AS, I wouldn't allow him or her to touch me.


AS symptoms started 1991. Official dx in 2006 with HLA-B27+, fused SIJ, bone spurs in back, extreme rib/hip pain, and other family with SpA. Started Enbrel in 2006 with good results, but stopped in 2010 due to nerve damage (MS) from it. Getting good results with no-starch diet since 2011.
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Hi,
My cousin is a chiropractor. I know much of my family love going, but I was always afraid to go. Then I had a shooting pain going down my arm nearly every night for several years, off and on. It would feel better if I moved my neck a certain way or held my arm up a certain why, but sometimes it was unbearable. I decided to give seeing my cousin a try. He did a series of adjustments and the pain went away. He would also put those vibrating pads on my back along with some heat and I think he called it electro-stim therapy (?). He had explained the reason for it but it seems to be escaping me right now ... Sorry! Anyways, my rheumatologist told me that if I ever go back to a chiropractor I'll need to make sure they don't do the quick cracking method due to the impact that would have on AS. I saw my cousin over the weekend and asked him about that. I guess there are some chiropractors who can use massage and pressure to re-align rather than the cracking. He said if I call around to ask if they do "distraction technique" and if they do, then they would be able to take a gentle approach that I'd need. Not sure if this info helps, but I hope so! I agree one hundred with Gbash ... if they don't know AS keep looking!!

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They are definetly not mumbo-jumbo. I've used chiros before with excellent results. I could go in with back cramps or an irritated shoulder that made it hard for me to sleep, and their cracking certainly resolved it within minutes.

However after a Naprapat cracked my neck before christmas last year (they get the same education for cracking) it left me in terrible constant neck and jaw pain for 8 months.

I agree with the others, either get one that knows AS, or one that is at least interested in studying up on it before he does something that can harm you. For the general population though, theyre great. And I reccon they get rehumatoid patiens a lot, but AS being rarer and so different they may not know about it.


Diagnosis:
Multiple Sclerosis
Psoriasis
Herniated disc L5/S1
Herniated disc C6/C7
bone marrow edema jaw joint
Vitamin D defficiency
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Years ago I went to one, 10 visits, with absolutely no results. I went to a physiotherapist and I was fixed in 15 minutes. Certainly others have said the exact opposite but I wouldn't go near one.
Check out the following. Knowledge is a good thing:

1. http://www.chirowatch.com/cw-cervical.html

2. Chiropractic Strokes again!


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I've worked with a chiro every two weeks for the last 10.5 years. She is integral to my continued mobility and welfare. I was her first patient with AS, so she consulted with a colleague who also has AS to learn about it. She starts with a lot of soft tissue work on me and when it comes to adjustments, uses an integrator. It's a spring-loaded gizmo that does the adjustment in an extremely non-invasive and gentle fashion. When I'm in a really bad way, she uses her thumb and applies gentle pressure to the area in question. Afterward, she massages my neck with a herbal anti-inflammatory lotion (not my favourite, but it's cooling), mobilizes my shoulders and then does the same with my hips.

My rheumy was concerned about me going to a chiro until he heard how much care she takes. I never, ever, leave her clinic feeling less than better. I'm always more energized, moving more freely and have never experienced pain after a treatment. Never.

If a chiro claims he or she can cure you, RUN! If a chiro insists on using the old-style torque-based adjustments, RUN RUN RUN!!! Interview your chiro the way you would a nanny for your children. Soft tissue work, non-invasive adjustment techniques and knowledge of AS are key to anyone living with AS attending at a chiro safely. If you ever experience pain after a visit, talk to the chiro. He or she needs to know what your body can handle. If they insist on continuing whatever caused the pain, I would consider ... RUN!!

Hop that helps.

Hugs,


Kat

A life lived in fear is a life half lived.
"Strictly Ballroom"

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i was amazed how varied the field was when i found my current chiro.

several years ago i went to a colleagues chiro, but when did one of those quick thrust adjustments on me with no warning and it hurt, i told him to never do that again. when the techs tried electro-stim, they cranked it up til it hurt, so i told them to never do that again. but they did do ultrasound like the PT did and it was more convenient to get it done there, so that's what i did, til i bought my own. i now have a home ultrasound handheld unit and it works just as well.

fast forward. in the fall of 2009, i had the worst pain i've ever had. it was in my upper back, rhomboid area. the PT i went to was useless. i begged her to try other things, but she had a limited toolbox. very different from past PTs from when i lived elsewhere. i was disappointed; PT in the past had been so helpful. like any other field, large variety in PT care as well. the physiatrists couldn't dx it or help me. neither could my GP, nor my rheumatologist. i stopped going to all of them after 3 months and just stayed out of the car and didn't sit for the next three months and it slowly got better on its own. not sitting, literally, was the key.

one of the physiatrists insisted that i see a chiro for my SI; a chiro that was supposed to be very helpful to women with SI disfunction due to hormones from childbirth. i've never had children. i knew he was a good doctor as he told me he'd do me more harm than good, as he was a "straight chiro" as he described it, the old fashioned quick thrust adjustment type.

he sent me to someone who used an activator, like kat described. but that's all he did and i felt i needed a more complete approach.

when i flared just about a year later, august 2010, i knew if i went to the same doctors and PTs, i'd end up with the same results, no one able to resolve the problem. i did some internet searching and in a round about way, found the chiro i've been going to for a little over a year now. twice a week, of my own volition. he actually has told me i could come once every week or so if i wanted to when i'm not flaring. but i've found that twice a week really helps me be much more functional and in much less pain.

what no one could figure out in three months the year before, he figured out and corrected in like 30 seconds: the muscle spasms pulling on the bones and the inflammation allowing them to be looser and easier to be pulled on, caused a rib to be stuck under my shoulder blade. probably with nerves trapped in between based on the horrific symptoms. it took a few months for my body to stop doing that so he had to keep fixing it, but it worked.

like kat's chiro, he's gentle with me. soft tissue work of various kinds. presses things into alignment. traction on my neck. and he seems really knowledgeable. he's very well connected in town with doctors as he's the chiro for several of the local sports teams.

i think the secret is to go to someone good and knowledgeable, whether they are a PT, chiro, doctor, etc. but of course the decision is for each of us to make. plus i'm not fused with AS, rather have the inflammation of undiff spondy. not sure how things would be different if i had AS, though my chiro does have / has had AS patients, and he says he's even more gentle with them.

this august, for the third year in a row, i went through a terrible flare. and my neck has been killing me. leading to excruciating headaches, muscle spasms in the entire left side of my face, neck, shoulder, upper back, bones being pulled so that ribs and shoulder blade were colliding, etc.

but this time i was only horrible for about 2 weeks and maybe bad for a month or so, and that's with me driving to and from work each day, albeit with an ice pack, but still, i can do it. that's much better than 6 months of almost no sitting that first year.

i really don't know what i would have done if i hadn't met my chiro when i did. i was 3 days away from calling my department and telling them "i'm sorry, i won't be able to teach this quarter; i need to take short term disability." my chiro made it so i could continue working and for that i'l always be in debt to him.

but that's just my story.

i still have problems. i still flare. the osteophytes in my neck aren't going to just disappear on their own. but he helps me get through my flares a bit more comfortable, helps me get past the flares quicker, and keep me functional in between.

yesterday, my neck was killing me; lots of work this past weekend. when i left there and today, its almost painfree. just a bit of light traction and some gentle holding my head in a neutral position and placing his thumb where my neck likes to misalign and its better for now.

this is the fourth chiro i've seen, and the only one i have let touch me.



sue

Spondyloarthropathy, HLAB27 negative
Humira (still methylprednisone for flares, just not as often. Aleve if needed, rarely.)
LDN/zanaflex/flector patches over SI/ice
vits C, D. probiotics. hyaluronic acid. CoQ, Mg, Ca, K.
chiro
walk, bike
no dairy (casein sensitivity), limited eggs, limited yeast (bread)
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Unless the chiropractor is trained to deal with AS, they are a real danger to your health. They are to never do adjustments on a person with AS due to the fact that our bones are different from that of a healthy person and they can cause damage.

Here is some reading of why you should stay away from chiropractors:
http://forums.spondylitis.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=219504#Post219504

This is what the SAA site states about chiropractors:

Chiropractic Treatment
Some people with spondylitis swear by regular chiropractic sessions, but doctors do not recommend this treatment for us. "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.

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I went to many different chiropractors when my pain started due to AS. I didn't have the HLA b27 gene, so my diagnosis was delayed for many years. I went to somewhere like 30-70 ish chiro visits. It always felt good while I was there, but it always came back like 20 minutes or so after leaving the appointment. My back would pop like 15 -20 times each visit most of the time. AS causes instability, and in retrospect, I feel like the chiropractors did nothing to help. In fact, all the popping lead my muscles to spaz out probably worse afterwards.

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I think all chiropractors are wack.


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