My parents both saw chiropractors feom time to time, and when I started having back problems, I went to chiropractors. They didnt seem to help much.
The dirty little secret about chiropractic: when they go to school, there is some emphasis on building and maintaining a profitable practice, and encouraging/building patient dependency is part of this. When I found this out, i was much less inclined to spend money for chiropractors, especially in view of the fact that research does not support its effectiveness.
When i was in my 30’s, I ruptured a disc at L5-S1. Severe pain, sciatica, right leg would go numb after bearing my weight for a 1/2 hour. Unable to walk more than 1/4 mile without pain and numbness and weakness. I was not going to let a chiropractor near me. Surgery was recommended. I managed to avoid surgery by modifying my activities and doing physical therapy…but it took three or four years to completely resolve all the symptoms and eliminate the weakness. But that episode showed me the importance of stretching (hamstrings, etc) and strengthening (especially core, but also general strengthening).
In the years since the injury, i can still get mild to moderate pain on occasion. I mostly rely on stretching and increased exercise to address it. Acupuncture has been helpful too….much more than chiropractic for me. And massage is good too.
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