Is this chiropractor deceiving me?

lovelife92

So I am a student, the chiropractor is fully aware of this. I have had a pain for over three years and was at my wits end so went to this chiropractor. At first he said it would take about 5 sessions, which is 60 a pop, for 15 minutes. Which is crazy to me. Anyway he then said it would take upto 10 sessions the next time. I didn't say anything there and then, but alarm bells were ringing in my head, and I was thinking is he trying to do me over.

I know someone who had back issues in the past and one or two sessions fixed them, and the sessions was not 15 minutes, and just a few cracks, done!

They also stated they wouldn't be able to give me exercises til towards the end of the sessions? so until they get 400 quid out of me they won't give me exercises?

Then when I went out to the reception I noticed, they had a deal of 10 sessions for 400 euro, I was never made aware of this. Not to mention the fact I am a student and cannot afford this, so I am planning on just stopping at this point unless someone has any chriropractor that is not a money making scheme?

Do you think the chiropractor I went to is trying to prolong it as much as possible to get as much money out of me? I don't know the word for that? ( which is sick considering I am a student)

lovelife92

So I am a student, the chiropractor is fully aware of this. I have had a pain for over three years and was at my wits end so went to this chiropractor. At first he said it would take about 5 sessions, which is 60 a pop, for 15 minutes. Which is crazy to me. Anyway he then said it would take upto 10 sessions the next time. I didn't say anything there and then, but alarm bells were ringing in my head, and I was thinking is he trying to do me over.

I know someone who had back issues in the past and one or two sessions fixed them, and the sessions was not 15 minutes, and just a few cracks, done!

They also stated they wouldn't be able to give me exercises til towards the end of the sessions? so until they get 400 quid out of me they won't give me exercises?

Then when I went out to the reception I noticed, they had a deal of 10 sessions for 400 euro, I was never made aware of this. Not to mention the fact I am a student and cannot afford this, so I am planning on just stopping at this point unless someone has any chriropractor that is not a money making scheme?

Do you think the chiropractor I went to is trying to prolong it as much as possible to get as much money out of me? I don't know the word for that? ( which is sick considering I am a student)

seamus

He's a chiropractor, so yes, he is trying to scam you.

Go to a qualified medical professional. If you're on a low income you should be able to get it covered on the medical card.

lovelife92

So I am a student, the chiropractor is fully aware of this. I have had a pain for over three years and was at my wits end so went to this chiropractor. At first he said it would take about 5 sessions, which is 60 a pop, for 15 minutes. Which is crazy to me. Anyway he then said it would take upto 10 sessions the next time. I didn't say anything there and then, but alarm bells were ringing in my head, and I was thinking is he trying to do me over.

I know someone who had back issues in the past and one or two sessions fixed them, and the sessions were not 15 minutes, and just a few cracks, done! It was more in depth.

They also stated they wouldn't be able to give me exercises til towards the end of the sessions? so until they get around 400 quid out of me they won't give me exercises? what on earth.

Then when I went out to the reception I noticed, they had a deal of 10 sessions for 400 euro, I was never made aware of this. Not to mention the fact I am a student and cannot afford this, so I am planning on just stopping at this point unless someone has any chiropractor that is not a money making scheme?

Do you think the chiropractor I went to is trying to prolong it as much as possible to get as much money out of me? I don't know the word for that? ( which is sick considering I am a student)

tcif

lovelife92 wrote: »

Do you think the chiropractor I went to is trying to prolong it as much as possible to get as much money out of me?

I don't think anyone can answer that here about someone we've never met (the chiropractor) but I've been been to a fair few myself in the last 20 years and this is my tuppence worth:

They vary hugely in how effective they are for any given patient. I've only known two that really worked for me over the years. The last one I went to treats my my OH, who swears by him, but I got nothing lasting from any of his sessions. Waste of money and took me a while to figure it out.

15 minute sessions are not unusual, although that length is often when you're getting closer to the maintenance stage than initial treatment stage but the sessions aren't an hour or anything like it.

When I've been really bad i.e. can hardly walk I could have 2-3 sessions a week for maybe two weeks then the sessions would begin to space out.

You don't say how many sessions you've already had or if you feel you got any benefit from them but if you're only starting out and being told 5 then 10 sessions up front, I'd be a bit sceptical.

If you were being recommended multiple sessions and there was a clinic offer you weren't told about ask for the practice manager and complain.

Find a new practitioner. Trusting the person who's treating you medically is very important and I think you're past that with this person. I would also never go to a chiropractor who didn't come personally recommended by someone I know - they're very hands on and I'd want to know they're good at their job.

After my last disappointment with the chiro I tried a different path and I'm now going to a physiotherapist who specialises in sports injures. I'm no athlete but I wanted someone more hands on than the physio's I'd been to before and this guy is brilliant. Not gentle and his sessions are tough but he works for me and has helped no end.

On a final note, I'm not knocking chiropractors - the right one is worth their weight in gold and if the last one I went to that was good for me ever comes back from her career break I'll be first in the door.

Best of luck - I hope you get some relief from your pain.

doinotlikethat

lovelife92 wrote: »

the chiropractor .....])

There's your first problem.
Go to a registered and certified physiotherapist or Doctor. Not a quack

Caliden

doinotlikethat wrote: »

There's your first problem.
Go to a registered and certified physiotherapist or Doctor. Not a quack

Is registered the same as chartered?

Tabnabs

As someone who has suffered both sciatica and being fooled by chiropractors, I echo the advice to seek help from a registered and certified physiotherapist. The chiropractor will empty your bank account, use every excuse under the sun to keep you coming back for more and will never fix the problem other than a bit of short term benefit.

What fixed me was a short set of visits to the physiotherapist who did the usual stuff but also recommended acupuncture (at no extra cost). This sorted me out and I have been clear for 10 years plus.

Pat Mustard

Chiropractic practice is based on pseudoscience. Best avoided.

Get a recommendation for a good physiotherapist. Your GP can recommend one, if necessary.

Lo_La

Tabnabs wrote: »

As someone who has suffered both sciatica and being fooled by chiropractors, I echo the advice to seek help from a registered and certified physiotherapist. The chiropractor will empty your bank account, use every excuse under the sun to keep you coming back for more and will never fix the problem other than a bit of short term benefit.

What fixed me was a short set of visits to the physiotherapist who did the usual stuff but also recommended acupuncture (at no extra cost). This sorted me out and I have been clear for 10 years plus.

100% agree with this, how could he possibly know how many visits it will take? You should have been given exercises after your first visit to do before the second

Mellor

The guy you are going to sounds like a typical string along quack.

qb123

Avoid not just that, but all chiropractors. It's pure quackery. As advised above, go to a physio who'll give you recommended exercises from day 1, maybe also consider taking up pilates classes (if physio agrees).

daheff

Pat Mustard wrote: »

Chiropractic practice is based on pseudoscience. Best avoided.

Get a recommendation for a good physiotherapist. Your GP can recommend one, if necessary.

You know most real Chiropractors are also qualified doctors?


I've been to a few in the past and most are good. You do get some who arent...but no more so than doctors/dentists.

OP- you will need a course of treatments if you have put your back out. Not sure why the chiropractor will not tell you the exercises while you are doing the treatment. Have you asked them? Also ask them for a detailed treatment plan.

flutered

Pat Mustard wrote: »

Chiropractic practice is based on pseudoscience. Best avoided.

Get a recommendation for a good physiotherapist. Your GP can recommend one, if necessary.

back in the day i was discussing going to a ciropractor with a pharmach friend, his first answer was have you ever seen x rays of a back after a chiropractor was finished with, i answered no, he claimed if i could i would not attend one, just my two cents, thats all

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qb123

Doctors of Chiropractic, not medical doctors - a quite important distinction. Chiropractice is regarded as an alternative or complementary medicine, such as homeopathy.

Gravelly

daheff wrote: »

You know most real Chiropractors are also qualified doctors?

Ehhh.......

sbsquarepants

daheff wrote: »

You know most real Chiropractors are also qualified doctors?

.

I'm a chiropractor, you're a chiropractor, we are all chiropractors - that's how much training is required to be a chiropractor. Call yourself one, and hey presto - you are one!

"Most" are certainly not qualified doctors.

Some are better than others, but as a rule they are best avoided.

Go to a physio.

randomname2005

....... wrote: »

Not in Ireland they arent. There is no statutory regulation of chiropractic in Ireland.

I could do a 6 week course and set myself up as a Chiropractor.

This. In the States they are medical doctors, this might be where people get the idea they have passed med school comes from.

Gravelly

....... wrote: »

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Would you even need the 6 week course? Since Chiropractic is essentially make believe, couldn't you just call yourself one and be done with it?

Thepoet85

I'll add my two cents.

I'm a certified physical therapist. On your first session the therapist should assess you and lay out a plan regarding treatment and stretches/exercises, depending on the issue.

After two sessions with all my clients, I sit down and ask them how do they feel their rehabilitation is going. If they feel it is working we continue, if not we discuss the reasons why.

I don't understand why a therapist wouldn't offer exercises or stretches as part of your rehab.

I'm not saying they're taking you for a ride, but that's not the way I'd approach my clients' rehabilitation.

Pat Mustard

daheff wrote: »

You know most real Chiropractors are also qualified doctors?

That's just not true at all, at all.

Unless you mean that they are qualified Witch-Doctors?

Gravelly

There's a lad near me that's making a decent living out of Chiropractic. He used to be a carpenter, and when the recession hit he did some kind of online course. He tells everyone that comes in that they need a minimum of 10 sessions, which must be paid in advance. One of the greatest scams business models I've come across. It's amazing the amount of people that actually believe he does something for them. The good old placebo effect.

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Pat Mustard

Isn't it 7 years at Hogwarts?

MonkieSocks

Pat Mustard wrote: »

Isn't it 7 years at Hogwarts?

NO........It's 7 Quid in Wollworths

Mellor

daheff wrote: »

You know most real Chiropractors are also qualified doctors?

You know that is completely untrue right?

randomname2005 wrote: »

This. In the States they are medical doctors, this might be where people get the idea they have passed med school comes from.

They aren't medical doctors in the states either. Not anywhere.


Anyone who has completed a doctorate is a "Dr". A chiro is no different to an archaeologist in that regard. But that's just a nominal title, it doesn't make them anymore "qualified doctors" than Indiana Jones.

Arbie

Chiropractic is nonsense. You would be far better off seeing a physio. And €60 for a 15 minute session is mindbending.

MajorDon

If you're any good with fonts and images you can be a chiropractor in a couple of hours. After that it's down to the power of your imagination and how successfully you can draw your clients into the magical world you've created.

MajorDon

Mellor wrote: »

... it doesn't make them anymore "qualified doctors" than Indiana Jones.

I don't like the implication here. Indy is a qualified doctor - in archaeology and antiquities. Also, anyone who knows him knows he's a great all-rounder and you'd trust him to fix your back quicker than any chiropractor.

sbsquarepants

My missus's family all go this quack called an osteopath. Long story short - her mother wanted her to bring the baby a while back, her mother badgered her and eventually she gave in so I went along for the craic. Jaysus, talk about money for nothing.

The only thing they have going for them is that unlike a chiropractor, these shower won't cripple you, simply by virtue of the fact that they don't actually do anything!

thehamo

Right. Let's dispel a few myths.

Your back doesnt "go out "
Discs can not "slip"
Bones do not "go out of place" thats called a dislocation
Your vertebra cant be "popped back in place"
The crack you hear from a manipulation does not mean the "joint is back in place". It's no different than cracking your knuckles. A build up a pressure is released. Simples.

You CANNOT pre determine how many sessions it will need to fix you. In fact, the only person that can fix you is YOU. The therapist can guide you along the way.

The "you need 10 sessions to be fixed" is a standard chiropractic (and podiatrist to some extent)marketing tactic which is actually taught as part of a module on their courses.

I have a certificate in manipulation and spent weeks practicing under the guidance of an osteopath to perfect the technique. Guess what. I never use it. I learned its all bull and there's far better ways of getting longer lasting results.

Transform

thehamo wrote: »

Right. Let's dispel a few myths.

Your back doesnt "go out "
Discs can not "slip"
Bones do not "go out of place" thats called a dislocation
Your vertebra cant be "popped back in place"
The crack you hear from a manipulation does not mean the "joint is back in place". It's no different than cracking your knuckles. A build up a pressure is released. Simples.

You CANNOT pre determine how many sessions it will need to fix you. In fact, the only person that can fix you is YOU. The therapist can guide you along the way.

The "you need 10 sessions to be fixed" is a standard chiropractic (and podiatrist to some extent)marketing tactic which is actually taught as part of a module on their courses.

I have a certificate in manipulation and spent weeks practicing under the guidance of an osteopath to perfect the technique. Guess what. I never use it. I learned its all bull and there's far better ways of getting longer lasting results.

this 100% ^^^

ive yet to work with a single client that presented with back issues that didnt have -

- sh1tty mobility especially in the hips, t spine and ankles
- midline stability average to poor and if mobility was ok the stability coming from the midline was not there at all.

address these areas also

Zaph

OP, I've merged your three threads on this issue into this one. Please stick to one forum and do not start multiple threads on the same issue. Thanks.

IvoryTower

Back when I was living off the parents they paid a lot of money to a chiropractor to try and fix back pain i was having, gave up eventually and went to physio, she told me id one leg shorter than the other, gave me a few exercises/stretches and that was it, pain id had for months gone in days.

Pat Mustard

IvoryTower wrote: »

pain id had for months gone in days.

An experienced quack could have dragged that out for years of 'treatment'.

kal7

A doctor of chiropractic is not a medical doctor like we are used to here in Ireland, they can't prescribe drugs for example.

They often have a degree level qualification and would be state regulated in many countries.

Myself, physio and local chiropractor all agree that, we tell patients that if you have had 4 or more treatments without significant improvement then either get second opinion or you should have been referred for further testing. Probably through GP.

This gets people away from multiple treatment style practitioners of all kinds.

Pat Mustard

kal7 wrote: »

Myself, physio and local chiropractor all agree that,

I don't know what you do for a living but I find it hard to believe that somebody who went to the trouble of obtaining a legitimate and respected qualification as a physiotherapist would risk their own reputation by associating themselves with a chiropractor, on a professional basis.