I for one have found chiropractic care to be of great value to me. Twice, I wrenched my back into knots and could hardly walk. Needless to say, I was put back together and things improved. I have a case of whiplash and a genetic case where the lowest lumbar and bones around it in my lower back are weak. If I don't get lifetime care, the nerves will become pinched and I won't be able to walk when I'm 60 according to one doctor. I'm currently undergoing chiropractic treatment and I feel wonderful.

I've talked with others who swear that chiropractors did nothing to alleviate their problems, or worse yet, made their existing condition worse. Some people have phobias about dentists, but I'v found a lot of harsh feelings about chiropractors.

Questions for debate:

1.)If you've had it, does chiropractic care work for you?

2.)Has chiropractic care made your overall health better or worse after treatment?

3.)How do you feel about chiropractic care overall?

1.)If you've had it, does chiropractic care work for you?

Working in an enviroment were someone tries to kill me every week or so, usually at the least causing me to wrestle some serial killer or something, tends to throw my back out. In fact, I am sitting at home at this moment on workmans comp with a sore knee from hitting the concrete with and out of control bi-polar con man LOL- there has been 3 guys with more than 15 years in my job that have had to have bone spurs removed from thier upper spine/neck area due to repititive injury. Instead of taking alot of time off, I make workmans comp pay for my chiropractic care the next day after I end up physically interacting with someone- because being assaulted never allows you to have good ergonmomics - and I have avoided some of the repititive stress injuries of my co-workers. I go at least once a month, sometimes up to once a week, depending on how, um, "busy" it is at work. I also go to a massage therapist right afterword to get rid of the "memoroy" that muscles have when injured.

2.)Has chiropractic care made your overall health better or worse after treatment?

Definately better

3.)How do you feel about chiropractic care overall?

It is completely mainstream for the most part- though you still find a great many quacks in the industry- one guy was waving vitamins over a patients back to make them feel better- I am not kidding LOL - it has become so mainstream, ER Drs are becoming qualified in adjusting those kinds of injuries- I was adjusted in the ER a few months ago!

It has also become a major part of sports medicine, lot's of links on the internet to chiropractic care and elite athletic endevoours:

http://www.sjchiropractic.com/athlete_testimonial.php

http://www.sjchiropractic.com/athletic_care.php

Last year, the Denver Broncos joined the growing trend in the National Football League to integrate chiropractic as part of their full-time fitness regime.

According to the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, when NFL trainers were asked whether they have ever referred injured players to chiropractic doctors, 77 percent replied, "Yes." In fact, 45 percent of the NFL trainers said they had visited chiropractors themselves.

My first experience with chiropractic was about 17 years ago. I was working for the U.S. Forest Service on a trail construction crew. I had been operating a rock drill (an 80 pound type of rotary jackhammer) for about 7 days straight and the next morning I woke up and was nearly unable to move. Long story short, I went to a chiropracter who informed me that I had severly sprained my back. He also took a full skeletal x-ray which showed that my spine was out of alignment, partialy due to the fact that my right leg is just a tad shorter than the left, enough to throw my hips off-kilter (which is now corrected with a 1/4 inch heal lift).

After a couple of weeks of massage and adjustments I felt like a new man. In fact, I felt better than ever before! For years I had suffered lower back and hip pain whenever I had to stand or walk for hours without a break. I now knew why.

Since then, whenever my back became especially sore, I go to a friend who is a certified massage therapist. He is not certified to perform adjustments but he learned how to from the chiropracter he worked for for 5 years. He has saved me quite a few dollars over the years (I don't have insurance) and he has never hurt me.

Unfortunately, he moved to Hawaii recently to work at a big resort and just last week I tweaked my back by lifting a heavy object, twisting, and stepping wrong on one foot. I have an appointment on Monday with a new chiropracter. I am hoping that this guy is as good as my friend and the one I saw years ago.

I am convinced that chiropractic itself is a valid and useful tool. I suppose that individual results depend on the quality/skill of the individual chiropracter.