There's a huge difference between the quality of care from chiropractors vs. physical therapists [View All]

[EvolveOrConvolve]

Several years ago, I was talked into seeing a chiropractor for headaches related to a neck issue. I sit at a computer for 10-12 hours a day, and it's messed up my posture so that I get pretty nasty headaches on a daily basis. The chiropractor did all sorts of tests, took x-rays, and proclaimed me to be seriously damaged. No worries, though, he assured me; a course of chiropractic would resolve all my issues.

I spent about 3 weeks with this guy, 4 times a week. He would perform his subluxation (2-3 minute operation) and send me on my way. I would feel better for a little while - sometimes up to an hour, but the headaches came back even worse after the short period of relief. During an appointment in my third week of treatment, he suggested daily or twice daily treatment 6 times a week for an entire year so that I could be "fully cured". At $40 a visit, this would have added up to about $24,000 for an entire year (he thought I was loaded because I owned a Porsche). He really tried to sell me on it - gave me the hard sell, you know the "you won't ever get relief if you don't do this, and it will continue to get worse until you're fully disabled, and you won't be able to live a full and happy life, blah, blah, blah".

At this point, he'd become like a drug dealer. He started me out with a free session where he did some deep muscle massage, some adjustments, and some work on my legs (I guess they were out of alignment or some shit). Then, he suckered me into trying 3 weeks with him (paid for up front, since I'd be getting a "discounted rate" of $40 per visit if I did). And like a crack dealer, he provided me with something that I needed to have again if I were to get any benefit, and I would require more and more of it to get the same fix.

I told him I would consider it and left the office. The final straw was when I went to my last treatment and he said that my problems were genetic and that my son (age 6) would need to see him regularly. He also noticed during this visit that I have pretty bad seasonal allergies, and claimed he could cure them forever with regular adjustments. At that point, I decided I'd had enough. At the end of the appointment, I politely told him that I wasn't going to continue with the chiropractic therapy at his office. I told him I couldn't afford it (made up a lie about losing my job), and that seemed to slow down the hard sell - if I couldn't afford to pay, there wasn't any reason for him to push me.

The icing on the cake came about 2 months later when I received a bill in the mail for almost $1,000 for "missed appointments" at this chiropractic clinic. Thinking it was a misunderstanding, I called to ask about it. The billing lady I talked to said that I had signed up a years worth of treatment, and that I'd been missing appointments (appointments I hadn't made for a yearly plan I hadn't signed up for). And she wouldn't back down. So I got an attorney involved and filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office. That finally got them off my back, but I'm still fighting the bad mark on my credit. Yep, after all that, they reported me as a deadbeat to the major credit bureaus. I've gotten it removed several times, but it mysteriously re-appears about once a year. I now have an attorney working on fixing it permanently, but who knows how it's effected my credit worthiness.

After leaving the chiropractor, I lived with the pain for several years where I didn't have any insurance. I took Advil when needed, and just sucked it up. 2 years ago, I got a job with an excellent insurance plan. Since it was a pre-existing condition, I had to wait 12 months to get any work done, and it took another 12 months to finally get approval for an MRI and physical therapy.

So last month I was finally able to get my MRI and start physical therapy. It's the best thing I've done for myself in a LONG time.

The difference between physical therapy and chiropractic care is enormous. At PT, I get tissue massage, ice massage, do a lot of stretching, and work my ass off doing the exercises they have for me. In addition, they tried both electrical stimulation and ultra-sound therapies to see if that helped. (It's funny, my PT told me that he thinks it's a bunch of quackery, but that it helps some people so they always try it first - especially to get the ones who are vulnerable to the placebo effect). The ultrasound actually seems to be working, even though I didn't think either would really do anything for me.

The physical therapy office has a huge list of exercises and stretches that I have to perform during the day, whether sitting at my desk or at home puttering around the house. There was also a thorough exam of my physical condition, mental state, daily activities, nutrition, and more. They setup a tailored plan for me to target the muscles (and mental problems) that are actually causing the problem. The plan has been tweaked twice since I started to make sure that I'm getting maximum effect.

After 4 weeks of physical therapy, the headaches are noticeable less painful and far less frequent. I haven't taken an Advil in at least a week and I feel better than I have in years. The best part? It's only going to cost me $300 (my deductible for PT care) for about 6 months of physical therapy, and they'll take the money in 6 monthly payments of $50 each.

The difference between the 2 types of care (if you can call chiropractic "care") is huge and quite startling. I understand that there may some good chiropractics out there, but there are many, many more who are just charlatans selling a commodity to a gullible public. And I went to what is considered a more "mainstream" chiropractic office - they don't do Reiki, herbal therapy, or any of the other alt-med treatments that are just garbage.

If I had it all to do over again, I'd have gone to a physical therapist and gotten this taken care of years ago. As they say, "Buyer beware." I'm now a lot more wary than I once was.