Anyone go or has in the past? What are your thoughts?
I decided to visit one week before last. I was having pain in my hip/leg joint. My entire right leg would ache from this and sometimes when it was really bad, I would have shooting pains that felt like they went down my entire leg bone. (I've posted about this before).
These pains started when I was expecting DS (which from all I read was very normal as my body was preparing to give birth). They have continued now almost four years later. It just comes & goes but when it is bad, it is REALLY bad.
I also have a curve in my upper spine and wake up with what I call "cricks" in my neck a good bit. Hey, I thought if I was going to go, might as well tell them about the full deal!! LOL!!
I ended up going to an office that DH had gone to a few years ago. It is a group with a father & son and one other chiro. They took Xrays on my first visit and I had to fill out the common paperwork about health history & so on. They are REALLY very nice people (but I realize that nice doesn't always mean the best.) I am giving this all a shot though.
One thing that has ticked me off a bit with some doctors who are not Gyno docs is the fact that they have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about when discussing the pains in your body when it is getting ready for delivering a baby.
My first visit was with the son who is in his 30's I suppose. When I told him about my hip joint & leg pains, he SMIRKED and said "Well, did you gain A LOT of weight during your pregnancy?" ..Excuse me but what a LAME thing for a doc who has just seen you to say. OK, bit of back history here for you all who don't know much about me...
I am 5'3" and currently weigh 135 lbs. I would like to get down to 117 and was doing well with my journey until some health & medication problems a little while ago (but that is another story!! LOL!!!) I weighed between 128 & 130 when I first got pregnant and only gained up to 152 lbs at my delivery. A delivery of a very healthy & precious little baby boy, I might add.
My reason for posting the above is because I DIDN'T GAIN A LOT OF WEIGHT during my pregnancy so that is not where my pain is coming from!!! Further more, IF and I say > IF < I had, I'm not THAT much over weight right now at 135 lbs for that to be the problem. Do y'all see what I am trying to say here?
Well, on top of the hip/leg pains and curve in my upper spine they said they found "spurs" at the bottom of my neck bones and also on my lower back. They said something about these being caused by improper alignment and could lead to arthritis. They also said my neck was "too straight", that it should have more of a "banana like" curve to it.
They are a preferred provider of my insurance company. I am going for 30 adjustments (3 or 4 days per week) and after that, I suppose an adjustment every now & then.
When the son gave me my first adjustment, he laughed & said my back sounded like popcorn!! I'll tell you all this now, these adjustments are freaking me out!!! I've never been one to pop my own bones or joints and never wanted anyone else to either.
Last week I thought they had really messed me up. My hip/leg pain was WORSE and this time went down into the bottom of my foot!! I was limping & hobbling like a 150 yr old person. I wasn't even sure if I COULD walk when I first got out of bed. I finally got it "worked" out but was still limping a bit. I hurt so bad to put any pressure or weight on that leg.
I talked to the father chiro about it and he just said for me to give them time & let them do their work. He went back into the nerve that is in your lower back that goes down into your hip joint.
I don't have the pain so far this week AND I will say that I have much better movement in my neck. (I should because I'm almost sure they were trying to break my neck!!! LOL!!!!)
One other thing......They are really working on that curve in my spine. I didn't mention this to them at my first visit because I didn't necessarily put it with back problems BUT...My breathing seems to be A LOT better now. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or it is getting better for other reasons or maybe it is the work on my spine. I don't know but I do know that I haven't had a "breathing spell" after I started these adjustments. Maybe the curve in my upper spine was putting pressure on my lungs or something.
Well nevertheless, I've started this and I will see it through. I suppose I will know at the end of the 30 adjustments if it has helped my hip & leg pain. It does make sense to me that it may be a nerve problem though. The nerve might have been affected when I was expecting and maybe just never went back to the way it was supposed to be after I delivered. Who knows?!??!?!....(I sure hope the chiro docs do!!! LOL!!!)
Well, they did take XRay's before they started. I'm not really sure if it is helping or not. I hear "pops" now when I make certain movements and I'm not used to that at all. Not really sure if they are helping my hip/leg joint at all but I do have better movement in my neck.
I'm going to stick it out for the "30" treatments because I'm already in this now. I'll see how I feel at the end of that time.
My mom had spinal stenosis. She had the surgery last year and is doing much, much better now.
She was in excruciating pain prior to the surgery. She is 73 and cares for my dad who is mostly disabled, and my cousins 2 toddlers (while she works). She could hardly walk at one point. Anyway, I rarely hear her complain anymore.
Posts: 1393 | Location: West Florida | Registered: March 12, 2004
My sister swore by her chiopr. I don't like the idea. We had one come into our work and he hurt more then he helped with several people. I just said no thanks. I see a PT when I need it. I have long lasting results with it. My BF does the chiopr. and he complains that it sometimes makes things worse or he is in more pain then when he went it. I am not sure maybe the cracking irritates whatever is going on to begin with. I pray you are well and that this helps you. Keep us up to date.
Originally posted by Alli Coffin: I hurt my neck today moving wrong (the ole crick, with shooting pains down the back and into the shoulder)...
Not to freak you out further, Alli and Kaye... These are exactly the symptoms my sister was having. She would get shooting pains when she would move "funny" or sleep wrong or pick something up wrong or take a fall skiing. She always had the "proverbial crick in the neck".
She had spinal stenosis, which is when bones in the spine compress the spinal cord.
Over the years it became worse and she developed balance issues and numbness.
Hip and back pain and sciatica can also be symptoms of stenosis.
It started when she was quite young, in her late 20's.
From the Mayo Clinic: When to seek medical advice Unfortunately, many people ignore the symptoms of spinal stenosis, believing that the pain and stiffness they experience are a normal part of aging. But discomfort, especially if it interferes with your mobility, is never normal. Seek medical advice if you have pain, stiffness, numbness or weakness in your back, legs, neck or shoulders that's not related to exercise or overexertion. Spinal stenosis is especially likely if you have leg pain that gets worse when you walk and improves when you sit or bend forward. Get immediate care if you suddenly have trouble controlling your bowels or bladder.
The physical therapists I went to had VERY bad things to say about chiropractors.
My sister went to a chiropractor for about 12 years and finally needed neck/spine surgery. Her neurosurgeon thought that the chiropractor had made her situation much worse. Plus, she delayed the treatment that she needed many years messing around with the chiropractic “adjustments”. She had bone growing into her spinal cord.
Chiropractors don’t do X-rays and there was no way for a chiropractor to diagnose the problem she had… yet he continued to work on her for years as she got worse and worse. She had surgery about 18 months ago and finally began improving.
Her chiropractor suggested that she bring her 5 year old son in for treatments. I know two other families who take their small children in for adjustments.
I nearly died and spent 8 days in the ICU because I thought I had sciatica and went to a chiropractor. I had a blood clot in my leg and threw the clot and had a pulmonary embolism. Do not diagnose yourself. And don't have a chiropractor diagnose you, either. Go to a doctor.
I don't anything good to say about chiropractors.
Denise
Posts: 9221 | Location: Silicon Valley, CA | Registered: March 17, 2004
I have never been to a chiropractor, so I can't say either way, but I can tell you that I experience most of the same relief that many people get from a chiropractor from massage therapy.
Dawn
"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire." anonymous
Posts: 4533 | Location: Indianapolis, IN | Registered: March 15, 2004
I am definitely pro chiropractor. There are "quacks" in every field of medicine and if you do enough research I think you could find many medical procedures involve risk. I worked for years as a dental hygienist and believe I tried everything to eliminate the chronic back/neck pain. I finally went to a chiropractor, I only went twice and the pain was gone. The side effects on a bottle of medicine scare me far more than a chiropractor. This of course is because I have had a very positive chiro experience. I have heard about the possibility of stroke from neck adjustments but with the pain I was in I was willing to take the risk. It is a matter of personal choice and belief-like I mentioned before, there are many, many procedures people have done regularly, medications that are taken every single day that run a far greater risk than a chiropractic adjustment. I would recommend talking with people who have gone and find out there experiences, do a little research and then make your decision. Jill
I have no specific goal(s) right now. I am trying to find the spiritual side of myself that I lost somewhere along the way.
Originally posted by skedwards: When the son gave me my first adjustment, he laughed & said my back sounded like popcorn!! I'll tell you all this now, these adjustments are freaking me out!!! I've never been one to pop my own bones or joints and never wanted anyone else to either.
My sister used to lay on her stomach on the floor and let her 4 year old walk up and down her spine. She said it was just as good as an adjustment and a whole lot cheaper!
I will admit to thinking that a lot of chiropractors are quacks--not ALL mind you, but a lot. That said, my Mom went to one for decades. She used to think he walked on water and then I think realized that he was just keeping her coming in for "regular adjustments" on and on and on and she was having trouble affording them after she retired, I think.
Because my insurance doesn't (or at least didn't before, not sure about now) cover chiropractors and because I've heard a lot of bad stories (and, to be fair, some good ones too), I just haven't gone that route for myself.
I used to have chronic back discomfort back before I joined the gym in 1997. I used to use a tennis ball on myself (a trick that a coworker who had been to physical therapy for her back taught me) all the time to work out kinks in my muscles that were causing me pain/discomfort. Since I started working out regularly (or even irregularly back in the early 2000s), I rarely have back discomfort anymore unless I do something really stupid. Being 53, I just have to accept that I can't do ALL the things I could when I was 23.
P.S. I agree that the hip/leg pain sounds like sciatica. I've had it twice and have never been pregnant, so it definitely doesn't JUST come from pregnancy. It is excrutiating and I really hope the chiropractor will bring you long-term relief. I went to physical therapy for my second bout and it helped a lot.
Posts: 7864 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
The important thing is that you feel comfortable with the doctor, and that he agrees if you ask him to leave your neck alone.
I sort of doubt that will happen. Last week, a couple came in while I was there. While the doc was giving the husband his adjustment, the wife was telling the chiro that she was having stomach problems ever since her adjustments and asked him to only work on her neck.
The chiro told her that there was nothing that he was doing that would upset her stomach and that he didn't make "spot" adjustments. He said that he would adjust where he saw fit, that he wasn't a masseuse!! She said that she couldn't get any more adjustments then & he just said fine.
I hurt my neck today moving wrong (the ole crick, with shooting pains down the back and into the shoulder) and did some online research to decide how to handle it. I found a whole lot of warnings about using a chiropractor for neck pain, especially warnings against high-neck adjustments causing stroke or death.
Freaked me out good.
That's not to say there aren't good, responsible chiropractors out there, but as one doctor I read put it, chiropractors are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get.
It seems to be a rather controversial topic, and you'll find lots saying there's no danger (sites sponsored by chiropractic associations) and lots saying there's danger (run the whole spectrum from science to tin foil hat).
My conclusion was to up my yoga to strengthen the muscles, once the immediate acute pain stops, rather than run the risk (especially since muslce weakness and imbalance is just going to keep pulling things out of whack). In the meantime, I'm doing passive back bend poses to stretch my spine gently by laying back over a folded blanket.
But you may feel differently, as your main concern is your lower spine rather than your neck. The important thing is that you feel comfortable with the doctor, and that he agrees if you ask him to leave your neck alone.
Fall goals: 1. Bike 40-50 miles a week 2. Prepare new garden bed for next season 3. Heal my back
Posts: 738 | Location: Jersey Shore, USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Originally posted by Alli Coffin: My only advice is to be very wary of them if they adjust your neck. There is a correlation between neck adjustments and stroke.
alli
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never heard that!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the warning!!!!!!!!! I need to do some homework right NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Alli, can you give me a bit more info on this? Does it have something to do with the arteries in your neck?
Your leg/hip pain sounds like sciatica. I had it during my pregnancy.....I did gain a lot of weight, but it happens to people of any size. I am 5' tall and was 197 when I gave birth, 3 times. I started each pregnancy at about 120.
Anyway, the sciatic nerve runs from your hip down your leg. There really is not too much they can do for it I think, except anti inflammitories. Mine went away on its own after I delivered. My uncle even suffers from it and not only has he never had a baby, but he is a very small man.
I am leary of chiropracters, sometimes I think they can do more damage than good. My husband was seeing one for shoulder pain for a couple of years and he wound up needing surgery. His shoulder still gives him grief. Be careful, if you feel worse when you leave, then maybe you shouldn't return.
Posts: 1393 | Location: West Florida | Registered: March 12, 2004
