“Systematic reviews of controlled clinical studies of treatments used by chiropractors have found no evidence that chiropractic manipulation is effective, with the possible exception of treatment for back pain.[8] A 2011 critical evaluation of 45 systematic reviews concluded that the data included in the study “fail[ed] to demonstrate convincingly that spinal manipulation is an effective intervention for any condition.”[10] Spinal manipulation may be cost-effective for sub-acute or chronic low back pain, but the results for acute low back pain were insufficient.[11] No compelling evidence exists to indicate that maintenance chiropractic care adequately prevents symptoms or diseases.[12]”
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.
Paying money to get nothing and still have the original problem is not the inexpensive option though. These con artists are just stealing from people who can’t afford to be stolen from.
But maybe you get a bonus, worse, problem from the chiro? Got to look on the bright side : D
Medicine has a history of being wrong while we learn which things work and which things don’t. Supplementary, Complementary and Alternative Medicine has a history of being wrong while its practitioners try to carve out a niche in the dark spots that we haven’t figured out yet and then dig in to fight to the death (of their patients) once their foundations are shown to be wrong. Look at homeopathy, for example: proven to be wrong time and time again but still you’ll find homeopathic products on shelves in stores across the world, even in areas with regulated markets.
Just because there are things we haven’t fully explained or discovered yet doesn’t mean that the first snake oil salesman to stake a claim on the unknown owns it. Being right takes time and new age woo-woo garbage isn’t a shortcut worth taking.
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?
Then blame the healthcare system that charges people thousands of dollars for a routine doctor’s appointment.
I already do.
But I don’t see how that disaster justifies selling snake oil.
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.
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.
