Chiropractor

[blueberry]

Just wondering if anyone has ever been to a chiropractor for their incontinence? What was your experience like and did it help at all? We just started bringing our newborn to one and she mentioned how she can help with constipation and other bowel related issues. This led me down a rabbit hole and the deep dark web where I found some articles suggesting that chiropractic adjustments could help those suffering with OAB.

 

[bixie]

I would take anything regarding chiropractic with a large grain of salt, especially if it has anything to do with stuff other than your back. See a doctor first.

 

[googlyeyes467]

From what I understand, even though manipulation by a chiropractor can release pressure on joints in the short-term, this does nothing to fix actual problems in the long-term and may in some cases be harmful. As bixie said, for your child's health, please see a doctor.

 

[cm90210]

Chiropractors are snake oil salespeople. It’s a sham.

 

[Diaperman95]

I think there are good chiropractors in the world that know what they are doing. But they cant really treat chronic pain or conditions. If you have blown out disk in your back and pinching a nerve they really cant pop your back and make you grow new disk and unpinch the nerve. But if you lay around all winter and then hit the driving range first thing spring with no stretches or warm up and through your back out trying to hit it 400 yards, I think that is where they really come into play. I have one I see every 4 or 5 years when my neck and shoulder blades get a bad knot. But going to them weekly to get adjusted is a waste time and money in my humble opinion. My family doctor can adjust my spine when my neck gets a knot to so I have not been in years and I only have him do it a couple times a year. I guess all DO's are trained how to do many of the adjustments. Most do not practice it in their clinic but mine does.

As for taking a newborn to be to be adjusted. OH HELL NO! you could really cripple that kid for life. No way their joints are tight. Babies are super flexible. Many of the bones in a new born are joined by a flexible cartilage and as they grow the bones fuse together. If you mess around and he tears a joint or over stretches the bones may never fuse right. I could not image any chiropractor even being willing to adjust newborn or even anyone under 8 years of age. If they do they should lose their license to practice medicine. I really hope I miss understood what you are saying!

 

[slimjiminy]

I've had generally good experiences with chiropractors, except for one that did an adjustment on my then 8 yr old daughter without asking us first. We abruptly quit going to him and sent him a letter explaining why we were angry.

Once when I was 12, I slipped and fell down an icy hill. I twisted my back when I got back up on my feet. For two weeks, I barely could walk after that. My parents tried creams etc. but nothing helped. Finally after they took me to the chiropractor for an adjustment, I was able to walk normally out of there. I had twisted my back and pinched a nerve, which was promptly corrected by the adjustment.

 

[KenworthW900b]

I've heard of chiropractic helping with children wetting their bed in some cases but it sure hasn't helped my incontinence, not that I really expected it to. It definitely helps me with my back pain though, I don't think I'd still be able to repair semi trucks if it were not for seeing a chiropractor once a week.

 

[rothpirate]

Back issues can cause incon. When we didn’t understand why mine was happening, my wife talked to our chiropractor. He said he might be able to help, he is really nice and I went for a couple appointments. It didn’t help and he didn’t even charge me for the last appointment. It wasn’t his fault, the nerves at the base of my bladder are shot, nothing will help that.

 

[AquaticDiapers]

Just wondering if anyone has ever been to a chiropractor for their incontinence? What was your experience like and did it help at all? We just started bringing our newborn to one and she mentioned how she can help with constipation and other bowel related issues. This led me down a rabbit hole and the deep dark web where I found some articles suggesting that chiropractic adjustments could help those suffering with OAB.

chiropractics is a pseudoscience, based off of some scientific knowledge, but taken in a direction that is completely unrelated to the base science that is actually real. There's a reason why in a lot of countries "doctors of chiropractics" are not allowed to call themselves doctors, and why in america you cannot get an MD in chiropractics. In most cases for adults, it can't hurt, in rare cases, it can help accidentally, and in all cases, you should not be bringing a baby to a chiropractor. an ACTUAL slipped disc or other "out of place bone" causing pressure in your spine (leading to something like OAB) is not fixable by popping it back into place like a shoulder, it's fixable with invasive surgery, implants, and putting metal rods in your spine.

That's not to say chiropractors are ignorant- many of them who practice do have some level of education in medicine, but only enough for them to play the role of a chiropractor, which is not a serious medical role, and many of them even genuinely believe what they're doing is real medicine, but it isn't, scientifically speaking, real medicine with a proven effect.

If you want to go to a chiropractor yourself because you feel better, go for it, but taking an infant is very risky- even regular doctors and pediatricians are two different things because medicine can be more difficult with children. chiropractics is that dialed up to 11. if your newborn has some sort of issue that has you bringing them to a chiropractor, they need to be seeing a real doctor to fix whatever issue they might have in their developmental stage they're in, rather than waiting and allowing them to grow up with it permanently.

 

[Zeke]

From what I understand, even though manipulation by a chiropractor can release pressure on joints in the short-term, this does nothing to fix actual problems in the long-term and may in some cases be harmful. As bixie said, for your child's health, please see a doctor.

I’ve been to several chiropractors, especially when I was a young man having low back problems and sciatic nerve issues. The only good chiropractor that I’ve ever been to didn’t crack your bones into place but rather irritated one group of muscles holding these bones and massaged another group to loosen them up. Then he would run an electric current from my ankle on one side up through to my hand on the other side to “set it” to maintain it for a while. He also had me start walking a couple miles a day and said that walking would do my back more good than he could. Since I started my walking routine I haven’t any back problems at all except for the damage that my cervical spine experienced in Alaska. Since Ive gotten my 2 level anterior cervical fusion in ‘91 chiropractors won’t touch me so I don’t have to decide whether they’re doing me any good or not anymore. Chiropractors in general are on the fringe of the medical profession and I wouldn’t let them do much of anything to me without having a medical professional check it out first.

 

[Zeke]

Chiropractors are snake oil salespeople. It’s a sham.

We’ve got a chiropractor advertising on one of my local tv channels for his new machine to adjust your spine. He said it came from NASA and the space industry. I researched it and the spring loaded sensor device was originally manufactured to test space shuttle ceramic heat shield tiles in order to determine if they should be replaced. When the shuttle no longer was flying this company who had supplied the device was looking for someone else to patronize them and so the chiropractors found another gimmick for their “clinics”.

 

[Edgewater]

I am not one bit surprised to find such a clear divide regarding opinions of chiropractors.

I my opinion, they can manipulate joints and relieve pain for many.

But, there needs to be an understanding of their limitations as muscles move joints and when knots occur they move the joint commonly resulting in pain and by a manipulation of that joint can normally relieve that pain

However, I my opinion, a chiropractor that has a well trained individual that is trained in 'pressure-point' manipulation (old term) of the muscles brings a level of trust to that practice. Simply going in to have one's joints manipulation is doing little more than setting the client up for a return visit.

Regarding the 'spring loaded sensor device' (snap device) it simply targets a specific joint and shifts the joint. It is fast, but like normal manipulation, the client will return.

Because of the vast sources of Incontinence, seeing a chiropractor that has not seen your medical file is just dangerous. Now, 'if' your specific Incontinence is cause by compression of the spiral cord, you may get lucky!

 

[dogboy]

Yeah, I think the success rate depends on the severity of the injury. I had serious back pain in 1986 and I went to a chiropractor for months with no results. Eventually I got a myelogram and it turned out I had a benign tumor growing around the nerves in my spine. A brain surgeon removed the tumor without breaking the spinal nerves so I consider myself as being very fortunate. Other doctors observed the surgery.

So I think it's very important to know what the cause is as in my case, it was extremely dangerous to fool around with as I had a 50% chance of ever walking.

 

[Bigbabybret]

Well, there are a lot of bad doctors, nero, spine, sleep doctors, and of course chiropractor.

I have and do see many doctors for many things, from nero, sleep, and chiro being the top ones.

The problem occurs with any dr/rn/lpn.pcn/etc trying to promise anything, there is no guarantee in anything getting fixed and in all reality just mitigation is about all you can really help.

As for chiro for IC, that one is a long shot, very long shot IMHO.

I also DO goto a chiro for work on a regular basis, but the chiro i goto is not the one to pop and crack things and snap your neck, he gently will manupulate joints, but morso used trigger point, chiro, muscle stim, traction, massage and even accupuncture to get the muscles to relax, maintain proper "position" and to help the muscles for lack of a better term be more relaxed and balanced. He's not about to look at a patient without seeing the medical history and scans/mri/x-rays and alike well in advance of doing anything. He is actually an M.D. and has worked in a couple different special areas, and is not young and is also as he told me right away, not going to be fixing (Inser a bunch of things) but he does help with the detached muscles and tendons I have and helps with my carpel tunnel and my bad shoulder.

No chiropractor is going to help fix a blow disc, or repair missing/destroyed bones or things along that line. But they can and do help with the muscles that do cause pain and discomfort.

Now, if you goto a any dr that says he is going to cure you, IMHO RUN dont walk to a different doctor. Things can be "repaired" but that will never be 100% that just cannot be, as once its to the point of being/needing work, it will never be as good as factory.

But, if you goto a chiropractor that says they will fix your (Insert major issue here) then also run to another one.

Doctors are for the most part very arrogant, and that to a point is sorta required, to be willing to cut into someone with a knife and/or drill and/or saw and do some serious work in the body takes some confidence and that also becomes somewhat arrogant, but many are IMHO way too far down the line.

Remeber the differance between God and a Doctor....
God doesn't think he is a Doctor.

But, back on topic, I think fixing IC is a long shot, yes possibly if there is a very specific issue with a nerve root and getting the muscles to keep that from being compressed might possibly maybe help...but that is very far from a likely outcome.

Now, TBH remember even snake oil salesmen did sell useful things, taking some laudnum will help with the pain, the same as the dr give you Oxy today, or Vikes, it's just not a cure all as most the snake oil salesmen would say.

Same goes for chiro, its not a cureall, it can help certain things, as also neither is surgery a cureall either.

If you have a overworked shoulder that is bothering you, a chiropractor may help you out easily, and going in for surgery is way too far.

Each call is type of physical work on the body to help you with issues has a place. PT helps with things, as does surgery, and massage helps too.

But you dont go to your thorasic surgeon to help you with a twisted foot/ankle, nor should you goto a chiro for a shattered L2, nor your sleep doctor for a heart attack.

Pick the right tool for the problem, no need for a 20# mall to hang up a picture in the living room.

 

[blueberry]

Thanks everyone. It’s very interesting to see the mix of responses. Just to clarify we aren’t taking our baby to get their bones crushed and realigned rather we are working through a lot of stiffness and tight muscles in the neck/shoudler. Our baby came out with one arm up above the head and we believe he was lodged at an angle in my wife’s pelvic for the final two months of pregnancy.

The chiropractor we see is a woman who owns a practice that services only children and pre and post natal mammas. She is very reputable in our large city and I know a few people that have taken their kids to her. You all could be right in that it’s a bunch of baloney however I just wanted to dismantle some of the scenarios that have been presented. I think of this as more or less of a baby massage to help loosen muscles. Last thing I will say is that the chiropractor did not say she could fix anything however with kids who are constipated she is able to apply pressure and massage a part of the lower spine that usually fixes the constipation almost guaranteed. I guess that makes sense if you stimulate the sacral areas of the spine which control bladder and bowel.

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful dialogue!

 

[RedStripeLvr]

I'm gonna go against the general current here and say that in my experience, I believe chiropractic care was instrumental in improving my IC issues, but as the saying goes "individual results may vary." I think it depends on the cause of your IC. After reading countless posts on here and other sites it is clear that IC issues, how they manifest themselves, and how people manage their symptoms runs the gamut and there is no "one size fits all" approach. I attribute my neurogenic bladder to various spinal issues, including stenosis, spondy, and a mis-formed vertebra in my lumbo-sacral area (I don't remember which one off the top of my head, but think it is L-5). As @Edgewater suggested, if nerve compression contributes to your symptoms, chiropractic adjustments from a "good" DC, along with physical therapy can do wonders in relieving the pressure and improving conduction of the pertinent nerves. I think, however, it needs to be a holistic approach that involves adjustments, manipulations, and physical therapy/exercise.

 

[Diaperman95]

I’ve been to several chiropractors, especially when I was a young man having low back problems and sciatic nerve issues. The only good chiropractor that I’ve ever been to didn’t crack your bones into place but rather irritated one group of muscles holding these bones and massaged another group to loosen them up. Then he would run an electric current from my ankle on one side up through to my hand on the other side to “set it” to maintain it for a while. He also had me start walking a couple miles a day and said that walking would do my back more good than he could. Since I started my walking routine I haven’t any back problems at all except for the damage that my cervical spine experienced in Alaska. Since Ive gotten my 2 level anterior cervical fusion in ‘91 chiropractors won’t touch me so I don’t have to decide whether they’re doing me any good or not anymore. Chiropractors in general are on the fringe of the medical profession and I wouldn’t let them do much of anything to me without having a medical professional check it out first.

I let my family doc adjust me because he is good. I have been to our local chiropractor in the past and I love him. He takes x rays of every new patient before touching them and he goes over your medical history too. He is a cool dude is is a chiropractor and a licensed physical therapist and his wife is a PT also. She has been seeing me for about 25 years for therapy. I think being he holds both credentials it makes him better at bothI think

 

[Woncrinklz]

Chiropractors are snake oil salespeople. It’s a sham.

Well, I agree with you on certain terms. They manipulate the skeleton and muscles over time to release pressures for some immediate issues, and attempt to resolve other issues over the long-term through constant manipulation. Things like a froze-or cramped neck or upper back could be a blessing to fix. But I doubt slipped disk issues, stenosis, or equivalent has much hope, as is in my case.

BUT

You are correct, though, about how far their manipulations can go. The unique angles or positions each person has with their skeletal structure are not easily re-written unless you could soften the problem'd bone and then re-harden them to the perfect human conformation for a symmetrically aligned bone structure, along with the muscles, etc. Everyone has off-place angles that eventually may cause pain or discomfort. Then muscles and nerves react by compensating, etc., and someone calls a chiropractor..

All they do is try to "temporarily" ($$$) alleviate the skeletal offsets. They can't be "fixed" when the bones and muscles are "set in their ways" with age.

Though, with a doctor's authorisation, a chiropractor can help a developing skeleton of a child...possibly. But in my head, since the bones grow in micro-measurements constantly, a lot of harm could be done "adjusting" a growing body without an enormous amount of measurements and scans to control the progress. It seems cooky..

Don't nobody get mad at me for my opinion about chiropractics. It's simply that I'd be one scared fool to have work adjusted on my back. Talk about wetting one's britches! The pain would be indescribable. I went to one once, and it was stupid.

"You may feel more pain for a while before you feel better at first...", they said to me after putting electrical muscle zappers where they assumed my back muscles needed more spasms. Pffft!