A chiropractor is way cheaper than PT. Money is such a limiting factor for so many people that, while your advice is true, it has a similar vibe to telling a broke person with car trouble to just pay a mechanic to fix it. It’s the best option but I don’t blame them for trying something less expensive.
yenahmik@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Anything a chiropractor can do that will actually help, a PT can do better. They’ll also teach you what exercises to do to prevent needing to see them again.
A chiropractor will just tell you to come to them more often, and take more of your money over time.
krashmo@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I also wouldn’t blame someone for trying a cheaper option, but I WOULD blame the “cheaper option” mechanic if he sold you a $100 pair of aura cleansing fuzzy dice to keep your engine from overheating?
krashmo@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Then blame the healthcare system that charges people thousands of dollars for a routine doctor’s appointment.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I already do.
But I don’t see how that disaster justifies selling snake oil.
neanderthal@lemmy.world 6 months ago
When is the last time you went to a hospital and saw a chiropractic department? When was the last time you went to a hospital and saw an orthopedics department? I have never had an MD recommend I see a chiropractor, but I have been sent to an orthopedist who sent me to PT. It worked.
krashmo@lemmy.world 6 months ago
That’s entirely beside the point. The question is, when was the last time you left a doctor’s office with a $40 bill? If you don’t have money to pay a doctor then you’ll never even hear their advice much less be in a position to take it.
neanderthal@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Which is completely irrelevant to the legitimacy of chiropractic.
JaymesRS@literature.cafe 6 months ago
You can also search out a GP that is a DO Instead of an MD in the US.
They still learn osteopathic manipulation, which is a broader form of manipulation not limited to the spine that helps with stretching-type exercises. But they are certified (often with the same board exams even) and licensed on par with MDs. Many clinics have DOs among their providers.
evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Important caveat of “in the US”. In most countries, osteopaths are basically the same as chiropractors. In the US, DO licensing is the same as MD licensing, so they do have to learn real science and medicine in addition to the fake science and medicine of osteopathy. Personally, I wouldn’t aim for a DO as my Dr., but if I already had one that I liked, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Osteopathic schools are easier to get into than medical schools, cause we have more people that want to get their MD than we have schools to teach them, so plenty of those people become DO’s.
Alue42@kbin.social 6 months ago
This is incorrect. You are likely confused due to the fact that the names of the fields are similar.
Osteopathy /=/ osteopathic
I'll discuss the fields as the are in the US, as I am not aware of how they are in other countries.
- Chiropractors go through their own degree programs through their own colleges.
- Osteopaths are homeopathic practitioners (not doctors, and they legally are not allowed to refer to their customers as clients, not patients) and are alternative medicine practicioners.
- MDs receive a medical degree and are doctors.
- DOs receive a medical degree (an MD) as well as an additional 300+ hours of osteopathic study through their medical school to receive a second medical degree certification - this is NOT the same as the homeopathic study, this is the study of the bones, joints, nerves, and how they all work together as a whole.
roguetrick@kbin.social 6 months ago
It doesn't have to do with homeopathy. Osteopathy is it's own pseudoscience alternative medicine and it is what they're trained as a side to their medical training. They do act like this training somehow makes them more holistic than MDs, but that's been proven to be largely false and they generally do not use that osteopathic manipulation in their practice.
evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The AOA only recently (2010) decided to recommend that DO’s no longer be called osteopaths. As they still practice and teach osteopathic manipulation, it’s not inaccurate to still refer to them as osteopaths. When they abandon that pseudoscience and turn completely to evidence based medicine, I’ll refer to them as DO’s. Right now, all DO’s are osteopaths, but not all osteopaths are DO’s.
JaymesRS@literature.cafe 6 months ago
That’s why I specifically said in the US. You have to be careful, though, some DO schools are easier to get into than some MD schools but there are also DO schools that are harder to get into than some MD schools (MD schools in the Caribbean for example) so unless you are being hyper vigilant about which school your GP went to, you’re still just relying on the fact that they all passed the same or equivalent boards anyway.
mvilain@infosec.pub 6 months ago
Actually, outside the US, the DO training is 7 years, same as a medical doctor. I chose a DO for my primary care doctor because they have papatory skills (i.e. they actually touch someone) that regular doctors refer out.
evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Really depends on the country, though. Many countries don’t have “DO” as a profession cause they only need one type of evidence based medical degree, so anyone who does osteopathy is basically equivalent to a chiropractor or other type of witch doctor.
I can definitely respect the perception that they interact with you more, and I’m glad you have a doctor that works well for you.
KneeTitts@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I would also point out that any pro quackocracker post you see here is the one time they might have helped someone just out of random chance, those people are loud and tell everyone how great their quackocracker is. Its simple confirmation bias, they have a sample size of one, themselves, this is not how data works.
Dvixen@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I go to a sports physiotherapy group. Much better results when the goal is to help me recover so I don’t need to come to them.
CarlCook@feddit.de 6 months ago
In my corner of the world, most CPs are also PTs. Or rather the other way around: they use chiropractic as one of many therapeutic means in their portfolio. I have to say, I very much appreciate this approach, as it relives the initial pain/discomfort but also addresses the underlying problem.
rdyoung@lemmy.world 6 months ago
A lot of it can be done at home without a pt. Foam rollers and yoga mats are your friend. Even better if you can get a second pair of hands that know how to pop a back properly.
Chetzemoka@startrek.website 6 months ago
Physical therapists have definitely taught me reparative exercises that I would never in a million years thought of on my own. PT is a god damned miracle drug.
rdyoung@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I’m not saying that they aren’t and can’t be helpful. What I’m saying is that thanks to the internet and tons of books on the subject you can do a lot of stuff yourself without spending the money or the time going to a therapist.
If you need it, you need it, but some of us can learn most of this stuff elsewhere and/or go to a pt for a few lessons and then handle the rest at home.
rayyy@lemmy.world 6 months ago
A chiropractor will just tell you to come to them more often,
If you are going to one that does, you are going to the wrong one. There are a lot of quacks in professions and some of them are AMA licensed doctors too.
I was very skeptical of them until a friend recommended one he personally knew for my painful shoulder - he even offered to pay for the visit if it didn’t help. I was amazed when I walked out of the office completely pain free.
Many professional sports athletes seek out massage and chiro with good results because they cannot afford miss events and can’t test positive for the drugs that many conventional doctors would push.
There is a place for all avenues of remedies depending on the problem. Incompetents can be found in all professions. That said, is far too easy for a poser to set themselves up as a chiropractor.KneeTitts@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Incompetents can be found in all professions
seems like thats the crackocracker industry problem, they simply dont have any standards. I’ll grant you there may be some crackocrackers who actually have some skills… maybe, but if a patient has to go to 20 of them to find “that one good one”, then that industry is garbage
Umbraveil@lemmy.world 6 months ago
That’s not exactly the truth.
Yes, there are plenty of medical practitioners that poorly represent their profession. I’m sure you could easily apply the same logic here to PT, NP, DO, MD, etc.
What should be emphasized is that Chiropractic has heavily evolved, like any other healthcare field and there is a high degree of overlap between PT and DC methodologies. So much so, PT has lobbied for adoption of joint manipulation.
A good DC won’t limit themselves to 5 minutes visits for a quick adjustment. A good DC is evidence-based, incorporates rehab and education, and provides care to the body and systems.
Telorand@reddthat.com 6 months ago
This is a great point. My MiL is a chiropractor (a non-quacky one), and she incorporated a lot of PT into her practice. Additionally, I read a couple years ago that PTs are beginning to incorporate the good things from chiro (whatever they are. I’m not a doctor) into their own practice.
A roundabout way of saying that we learned some things from chiro, but PT was always the future.
ElBarto@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
I see my chiropractor once ever couple of years, I do most my own chiropractic stuff myself so I only visit her when I can’t deal with it. She knows I’m not gonna come back for a mother year or 3 so she doesn’t even tell me to book.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 6 months ago
PTs are also broadly not very helpful with very limited knowledge. I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody who was genuinely helped by PT, though I’m sure some of them out there take their jobs seriously.
TheHolyChecksum@infosec.pub 6 months ago
Have you met somebody that ACTUALLY does their PT suggested exercises? I do know some people who said that PT isn’t working but then again, they don’t even follow basic recommendations.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Yes, several. Including myself for a couple different issues growing up. Eventually I learned enough about the human body to realize how useless the exercises were for the problems I was having exercised properly which finally sorted me out.
SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Like any profession that is service based it “your results may vary”. My pt has helped me with exercises that have helped me get past tennis elbow and shoulder tendonitis.
Kase@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Physical therapy changed my life. Not just that, but my PTs actually had knowledge and experience with my rare condition – more so than any doctor I’ve ever seen to this day. I’m sorry that hasn’t been your experience, but I assure you that there are serious PTs out there.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 6 months ago
There are always unicorns in every profession, though I’m glad it worked out so well for you.
nevernevermore@kbin.social 6 months ago
in my country a PT is a personal trainer, so I understand where you’re coming from if that’s what you mean. But I think in this instance PT means physiotherapist
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Oh no I’m referring to physiotherapist
Shadywack@lemmy.world 6 months ago
You can save a lot of money by just going to a masseuse instead of a chiropractor. People attribute the positive feeling they get from attention to well being improvements, and pseudoscience practitioners certainly achieve that at a premium price. If it’s attention you want, get a massage, otherwise go to a PT and get some real help.
shootwhatsmyname@lemm.ee 6 months ago
Also I think a massage therapist will tend to be more educated on the muscles and how they work together than a masseuse
Gregorech@lemmy.world 6 months ago
A massage therapist tends not to provide the “extras” that you can get from a strip mall masseuse.
ski11erboi@lemm.ee 6 months ago
I come for the extras.
Socsa@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
My wife, bless her innocent heart, still doesn’t get this. She’s been to every strip mall, Groupon massage studio in the area and is constantly like “wow, I can’t figure out why these $75/hr massages are so hot or miss.”
I have tried explaining to her that it’s because she doesn’t have a penis, but she still doesn’t get it.
KneeTitts@lemmy.world 6 months ago
do you want happy ending?
yes, heck you know what, lets have a happy middle too… and a happy beginning… ok make the whole thing happy please!
Duranie@midwest.social 6 months ago
As a massage therapist that used to work in education (director of education at a massage school and taught anatomy/pathology) results will vary wildly across the States. The majority of states only started licensing in the last 10-15 years, and of course requirements for licensing and supervision varies. Some schools teach enough anatomy to get their students to pass the tests, then focus their time teaching spa type massage (aromatherapy, wraps, hot stones, etc.) or energy work. Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but it serves a different purpose.
There are definitely schools that exist that focus more on therapeutic/rehabilitative work, but even then the challenge is finding a therapist with an up to date approach who doesn’t buy the old school “no pain no gain” who kicks the shit out of you. Massage shouldn’t hurt. But if your find the right therapist for you, they’re worth their weight in gold.
EatYouWell@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Massages should hurt if your body is full of deep tissue knots like mine is. My rhomboids and forearms are basically just knots most of the time.
But that’s largely on me for not stretching.
EatYouWell@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Yup. At my first massage appointment, before I even got on the table, she told me where I hurt and why I was hurting that way. And she was 100% correct.
DrMango@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Just FYI, the generally preferred term these days is “massage therapist.” Last I heard “masseuse” and “masseur” (the masculine version) has an implicit sexual connotation that “massage therapist” does not. Unless that’s what you were recommending instead of chiropractic, in which case carry on!
Moneo@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Also it has a more professional connotation. RMTs go to school and work hard to be qualified and capable of their jobs.
SomeRandomWords@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 months ago
As my sister who is a MT always said: “A massage therapist gives you a massage, a masseuse gives you a happy ending.”
rdyoung@lemmy.world 6 months ago
This. I’m seriously considering finding the money for an at home sauna. Get my muscles nice and warm and relaxed and then stretch the shit out of them.
logi@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Just be careful. There is such a thing as over stretching. I fucked up my knees stretching after a hot yoga session and could barely walk for a couple of years.
Everything in moderation.
rdyoung@lemmy.world 6 months ago
You don’t have to tell me anything, seriously. I have fucked up my back no less than 3 times. The last time I fucked my back up was about a year ago and I busted my shoulder at the same time. My back is still tight and off in a few places and while my shoulder isn’t at 100% I have like 90% of rom back and more to come as I keep working on it. I have and continue to fix myself all without the help of a pt.
I had hoped that a line like that wouldn’t be taken at face but I guess the Amelia Bedelias are making there way from reddit.
SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 6 months ago
One of the worst overstretches I did was in a pool. With my body weight canceled out I could get into deeper stretches, like by putting my leg up on the edge of the pool. Afterwards I realized I’d overdone it. lol
Zevlen@lemm.ee 6 months ago
That must have hurt 🤕 … But it sounded like a funny story for some reason…