Will a chiropractor help me better or a massage therapist? ?

Question

I have started seeing a chiropractor who is very popular. I had back ache and neck ache. I do a lot of cooking, taking care of kids, and am physically active. He did an x-ray and realized I had a little bit of curve on my spine and also two of my neck disks were getting closer together, not fused though. He said I should be seeing him for 3 months at least. I have seen him 2-3 times now and it seems that he only uses machines to stretch and do things that I think people should be doing such as massage therapists or himself. He does do 5 minutes of re-aligning though. Do you think I am wasting my money(I am paying cash)on this? or this will eventually help even though equipments are involved?

Answer 1

Although a massage would feel good, it would probably be worse in the long run.  If you already have some problems in your back, going to a massage therapist will do more harm than good.  I think you should just give the chiropractor time, and you'll see it is worth it.

Answer 2

Any good chiropractor won't tell you that you need to see him for 'x' amount of time, they should see how you respond to treatment and go from there. Machines can only do so much in the form of treatment. It sounds like your doc may just be too busy to do much hands-on with patients. A massage therapist can do wonders for your condition, especially if you use massage in conjunction with chiropractic. I work with people like you everyday and achieve great results. You'll want to find someone who does neuromuscular therapy, sports massage, or some type of medical massage. Someone else in their post suggested Rolfing, and yes, this would help you greatly also.

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist who has been in practice for 9 years and working with chiropractors for 8 years. I work with everything from relaxation to severe medical conditions. I hardly think your condition is severe, however it does need to be treated before it gets worse.

Answer 3

Everyone is different, but my own experience with chiropractors has not been very positive. My issues were fairly minor lower back pain, a little bit of sciatica, plus kyphosis (again, fairly minor). Most of the chiropractors I saw once a week, although one I saw 3 times a week. (He was young and trying to build up his business, so he gave me a good price.) My overall issue with chiropractors is that they may make a spinal adjustment that feels great, but a day or two later, you are back to where you started. Surrounding the vertebrae are muscles that keep the vertebrae aligned. If those muscles are weak or not in balance (eg, the muscles on one side of your spine are stronger or tighter than on the other side) then the spinal adjustment is unlikely to hold for more than a day or two.

You can give your chiropractor more time if you want, but I think you would be better off with massage or physical therapy. Massage will work more on the muscles surrounding the vertebrae as well as back muscles in general. Again, this is more of a quick fix that is unlikely to last over time (unless you are rich and get massage therapy 2-3 times per week).

What you really need, in my opinion, is light bodywork that works on your back muscles as well as physical exercises that you can do almost daily to support your muscles and spinal alignment. You can get these 2 forms of healing by seeing a good physical therapist. With a good PT, you will get a series of highly specific exercises tailored to your individual needs.

Beyond that, yoga and/or pilates can be very helpful. Acupuncture and other forms of bodywork are wonderful, but they will generally fall into the category of treatments that will have fairly short-term results.

Oh, I just thought of 2 more things. The Alexander Technique focuses a lot on the neck, so you might try that if possible. Also Feldenkrais movement classes might help.

In short, complete recovery is very simple and fast.

Monday,   physical therapy + pilates

Tuesday,  massage therapy + alexander technique

Wednesday,   chiropractor +  yoga class

Thursday,   acupuncture + Feldenkrais

Friday,       physical therapy + massage therapy

Saturday,   pilates + yoga classes

Sunday,     chiropractor (2x in the AM) & takes the afternoon and      evening off. RELAX!!!!! Make sure to go to sleep early to prepare for physical therapy on Monday AM.

Most important of all---GET RID OF THE KIDS FOR 6 MONTHS. They can learn to do their own cooking.

Answer 4

Massage in the hands of an expert will loosen the peripheral muscles and also the skeletal muscles and bring a great deal of relief from the pain associated with this condition, and therefore cannot do any harm.

There is no logical reason why both cannot be used together.

I reiterate though it must be at the hands of an expert.

Answer 5

do both massage and chiropractic and even add acupuncture and physical therapy and you will probably get better in a month.

Machines work too to stretch but massage could be more specific in treating different areas.

It should be giving you some relief already at least for a while after the session.  If it isn't try something else.  It does take time to get back to normal if you haven't been getting regular massage and chiro. all along to maintain health

Answer 6

i have been a massage therapist for a few years now and am in school for physical therapy.  so i can tell you this.  anything that chiropractics or massage will do for you will be for management purposes only.  they will not offer you a fix.  what you should do is talk to your doctor and get a referal to physical therapy.  insurance will pay for most of it and you will only have to cover the co-pay.  instead of just working on the pain that you currently have, the phyical therapist will help you develop a plan for you to do at home that will take away your pain and prevent it from coming back.  prevention and longterm pain relief should be your goal.  not just coping with your current pain.

Answer 7

If you have doubts that what he's doing will work, see another chiropractor and get a second opinion. Given what you've described, massage will really do more damage than the therapy that this doctor is giving you - and it is therapy.

Answer 8

I will tell you this... a chiro that puts you on machines may be popular but he is also lazy. To tell you the truth I wouldnt go to either until you have take a good magnesium , calcium chelate/citrate and potassium for a while. The reason I mention those is because your body may be lacking since you are active and constantly doing repetative motion with your cooking and taking care of kids.

I would do the minerals for a couple of weeks and double up the first week just to make sure youre not in pain because of mineral issues. Yes you have a curve... 97% of our society does.  Get your body out of pain first to find out what the real problem is... and save your money for minerals and exersicing.

Read this site to help you learn more about how the body works and why you could be lacking minerals.

http://www.phpure.com/nutrition_products...

Answer 9

yeah, my vote is for the chiropractor.  Maybe even looking into Rolfing.

Answer 10

I would definitely get a second opinion.  Lots of chiropractors have massage therapists on staff and work side by side with them.  I would maybe check for a chiropractor who has one working for them.  My sister in Seattle uses Dr Walia  at  http://www.drjaswalia.com  You can email with questions.  Good luck!