Most physical therapists I know talk mad shit about chiros. PTs believe their job is to help patients improve over the long haul while chiros give short-term benefits and make patients come back repeatedly. I am not sure what I think (never having been to a chiro) but the PTs point of view amused me.

I think EM's periodic chiro appointments over many years are what wrecked her neck. She was never in a bad accident but her neck would periodically get stiff and she'd go and get an adjustment. I suspect those wrenching adjustments broke down her neck and caused her chronic pain.

And then there are stories like this:

I'm a grad student in neuroscience at a major hospital. My adviser is a MD PhD neurologist. Every week, there's a morning case conference where all the neurology attendings and residents get together and present all the new cases that have come in in the past week.

Every single week with little or no exception, one of those cases is someone who died or became a paraplegic due to the actions of a chiropractor.

Every single week with little or no exception, one of those cases is someone who died or became a paraplegic due to the actions of a chiropractor.

Which is why neck adjustments freak me out. I suppose that since my lower back is already Frankenspine, I should be less cavalier about letting a chiro crack it, but it's always helped me. Except for that time I had surgery. (Uh, just to be clear, the chiropractic didn't *cause* the herniations. I already had severe pain and went to a chiropractor to see if it would help fix things; at that point I hadn't had an MRI and didn't know I had crazy herniations. Shit just hurt.)

Which, YOU GUYS, my surgery was 10 years ago on the 15th of this month. TEN YEARS. I still have all my Farscape action figures that various people sent me. Zhaan is guarding a teapot.

Ten. Fucking. Years.

Ten years?? That's unpossible.

Ten years?? That's unpossible.

INORITE???

10 years?? WHOA.

Oh geeeze, that means the Nilly tour was also 10 years ago this summer. And K-Bug having her wrist surgery was 10 years ago (I think Teppy and K-Bug went under the knife on the same day). Unpossible.

Um, Chiropractic isn't at all woo for skeletal problems. Like the time I threw out my back twisting while lifting a 30 lb scoot (backstage, in the dark, feet on different leveled platforms). Agonizing, debilitating pain. Worker's comp gave me some aspercreme and a back brace. Went to a chiro who adjusted my sacrum, and I walked out with zero pain after a single adjustment. Ribs pop out of alignment? Good luck getting that back in by myself(and i try!). Chiro fixes it in single visit. Yeah, it happens again because I'm not super vigilant about doing all my strengthening exercises...but that's my fault for being lazy. After breaking my foot the cuboid bone twisted slightly which caused serious ligament pain. That one took 3 adjustments to fix, but now it's not a problem.

Sure, there's some charlatans out there but spinal manipulation itself can be very useful in certain therapeutic situations. I had two different physical therapists refer me to a chiropractor for specific back problems, and it's extremely common for PT places to have Chiropractors on staff.