Are Chiropractors as scam?

Today we're talking about scams! Not credit card scams or identity theft scams; we're talking about health scams.

Approximate read time: 4 minutes 24 seconds

This article was inspired by this tweet by Austen Allred.

You know when things are a half-joke?This tweet feels like that. Like it's funny, and you giggle, but then you think about it for a second, and you're like, "wait, he has a point."

Chiropractors aren't all bad

Chiropractors are low-hanging fruit because we all know someone who goes to a chiropractor like clockwork, but the truth is MOST CHIROPRACTORS DO A GREAT JOB.Yes, I said it. As a physical therapist, most chiropractors do a great job. I'm not talking about the ones who crack your back and then do a muscle test to determine what your allergies are just so they can sell you their secret voodoo supplements and sign you up for an eternally recurring appointment to "realign" your fragile spine and hips. Yeah, those are the garbage ones. (To be fair, there are plenty of physical therapists who fall into this garbage category as well. They're the ones that give everybody heat, stim, and ultrasound...  you know, things you could've done at home with stuff you bought off Amazon)I'm talking about the chiros that perform the adjustments they deem necessary and then sit down and talk to their patients about the things they need to change in their lifestyle to support long-term relief.Those chiropractors are wonderful, and I love working with them. 

It's not chiropractors you need to look out for

Quack chiros are easy to spot; what you need to look out for are the medical professionals who have no plan to make you independent after they treat you.Here's an example; You were just diagnosed with high cholesterol, and you've been prescribed a statin to help lower that cholesterol.Problem solved, right?Meh... not so much.More like a problem delayed and likely magnified.Why?If you get a medication and make no changes to your lifestyle, what's happening?You're covering up the problem; you're not solving it. It's like having your dog crap in your living room, and instead of cleaning it up, you cover it in plastic wrap and leave it on the floor. Medications without lifestyle changes are like using a kickstand to prop up a lifestyle that compounds disease.

Compounding disease

What does that mean?Let's continue with the high cholesterol example.Most people who end up with this diagnosis have other things going on as well. Some of the most common comorbidities (other issues that they have going on at the same time) are; Poor blood sugar control, poor diet, poor sleep, poor stress management, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking, the list goes on and on. Does it make sense to look at that list and take a person who has high cholesterol and say, "yep, this medication will solve the problem?"Nope.Because you can easily predict what happens next. Poor blood sugar control evolves into diabetes.Being sedentary and eating poorly evolves into obesity.Long-term statin usage evolves into myopathy (muscle pain and injury).

Is it really a scam?

With all things that involve real live humans, the answer is it depends. Many people with high cholesterol have no desire to change their lifestyles. They don't care about, or more likely don't understand, the consequences of continuing on their path of an unhealthy lifestyle, so they just want the pill. The real ethical issues arise when medications, injections, adjustments, massages, or ANYTHING else that's touted as the answer to your problems, but you have to keep paying for it for the rest of your life. 

What do you do?

So what do you do?Do you stop taking your medications?NOOOOOOO!!!!!It's not the medication or treatment that's necessarily bad; it's how it's being used. If you need medication to address something, your first question needs to be, "What's the plan to get me off of this?" or "What needs to happen for me to get off of this medication and what are the steps I need to follow to be successful?"That's how medications are meant to be used. As a bridge, not a destination. The same goes for chiropractic and physical therapy.They aren't the end goal; they're just bridges. Bridges to ASSIST you in making lifestyle changes that support your long-term health.

That's all for today.* Important side note- There are obviously exceptions to these things. Some situations require relying on medication or long-term medical care. In those cases, there's no shame in getting the outside help you need. Medical advancements have saved countless lives and given those who wouldn't have had a place in society an opportunity to live extraordinary and fulfilling lives. This article isn't directed at those scenarios. It's meant to be a wake-up call to those who may have fallen asleep at the wheel and need to get to work.

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