milovany Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I took advantage of an introductory offer for a new local chiropractor. I kinda messed up my right shoulder a couple of years ago when I spent hours on the couch with my newborn, surfing the 'net in a very un-ergonomic position. Now that I type for a job (plus spend time on the computer at home), it hasn't gotten any better and aches at about 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. So I saw the Chiro. about this last week, and received one treatment (it's called ART and is for soft tissue damage). I went back today for his analysis and proposed treatment: $1350 for 10 treatments. I've never been to a chiro. for regular treatment. I'm not convinced it will work, but wonder if it's worth a shot. Ack! I can think of lots of other things I'd rather spend $1350 on if it's not going to work, you know? And three days after that initial treatment I'm hurting MORE than usual. I mentioned this today and at first he seemed kind of surprised ("Really?") but then said it can be normal. Dilemma, dilemma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I took advantage of an introductory offer for a new local chiropractor. I kinda messed up my right shoulder a couple of years ago when I spent hours on the couch with my newborn, surfing the 'net in a very un-ergonomic position. Now that I type for a job (plus spend time on the computer at home), it hasn't gotten any better and aches at about 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. So I saw the Chiro. about this last week, and received one treatment (it's called ART and is for soft tissue damage). I went back today for his analysis and proposed treatment: $1350 for 10 treatments. I've never been to a chiro. for regular treatment. I'm not convinced it will work, but wonder if it's worth a shot. Ack! I can think of lots of other things I'd rather spend $1350 on if it's not going to work, you know? And three days after that initial treatment I'm hurting MORE than usual. I mentioned this today and at first he seemed kind of surprised ("Really?") but then said it can be normal. Dilemma, dilemma. Once when I was much younger....maybe late 20s....I got myself in a bad way from holding a phone on my shoulder for 8 hours at work. I was on the phone A LOT. That is when I fell in love with the chiropractor. I believe in them. It does take a few treatments though. Does your insurance not cover any of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I do agree with sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. If it was your back, then I'd go to the chiro in a heartbeat. But since it's a shoulder... DH and I somehow hurt our shoulders about the same time. We both started at the chiro. DH was going first. It wasn't getting any better. After about 2-3 weeks, he went to his doctor. His doctor referred him to an ortho. He had a strain in his shoulder. He got a month or so of PT and is now better. I went to the chiro. He was convinced he fixed it. It still hurt. I went to my doctor. She ordered tests. Mine was different though - my shoulder hurt and my finger got that tingly pins and needles feeling. The tests came back fine. She gave me an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxants. If that doesn't help I can go back and get steroids and possible surgery. Nope, it doesn't hurt that much. Now it comes and goes. The most recent time it was back, I was at the chiro again and told him it was back. He moved my arm around in big circles. There was an obvious clunk as something fell back in. The problem is 2 nights later I laid on that shoulder and heard it clunk back out. I like my chiro. When I have back pain, when dh throws my hips out, when I get lots of headaches due to neck issues, he works wonders. But our shoulder problems were not helped. I'd get another opinion from a regular doctor before spending that kind of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 You could also get another opinion (and free consultation) at another chiropractor. When I was pregnant with dd7 I had some severe hip pain and trouble walking at times because of it. I went to a chiropractor, who did a free adjustment in lieu of x-ray (it would normally be x-ray and discussion of problem). Then I found out he wasn't in my insurance network. I went to another chiropractor, got another consultation & adjustment. His office was in my insurance's network, so I picked him. But whether you have insurance for this or not, I think it's worth consulting more than one chiropractor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I am a big fan of chiropractors. My uncle is a chiropractor, and I have seen chiropractors all my life. I currently see a chiropractor, but my insurance does not cover chiropractic at all. He charges $37 for an office visit. This includes an adjustment and therapy if needed, like ultrasound or TENS. I've lived on two other cities where I had to pay for chiro visits out of pocket, and those visits were $40 and $38 each, also including therapy. I am not familiar with the particular treatment acronym you mentioned, but in any case $135/visit seems pretty steep to me. I tend to be leery of chiropractic offices that charge a big up front first visit fee, especially since there are plenty of offices that allow a consult visit for free. I've also been a patient a time or two at an office where they tell me I need XX number of visits, or need to come X times per week. I never remain there, but find an office where I am able to come in as needed instead. There seem to be two types of chiropractic offices- ones that try to mold the patient to a treatment protocol, and ones that accommodate each patient individually. It may not always be justified, but I am leery of the first and an enthusiastic support of the latter. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably seek a second opinion. If I felt strongly it was a soft tissue injury, I'd probably seek out a physical therapist instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I LOVE my chiropractor and he practices ART. He would NOT state up front how many sessions you would need. That is highly dependent on the person. I believe my sessions that include ART are $85 each It is not unusual to be a little sore for a day or two from the manipulation, but it shouldn't last past that. I hope you are better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Several years ago, I was trying to put wallpaper up in the bathroom and fell, totally messing up my shoulder. I was positive I'd broken it; it hurt so bad I almost passed out. The ER x-rayed it and said that there was a lot of soft tissue damage, put me in a sling and told me to not move it. I went to my chiro and he took the sling away and said, "Move it only until it hurts, then stop." He said to move it every day, and don't let it get stiff. He treated it daily for a week, and it did hurt more initially because of the swelling. He very very gently adjusted it after icing it down and it helped IMMENSELY. Now, unless I hyper-extend it, the shoulder is completely pain-free and back to 100% range of motion. I never even had to take pain medication past that first day. SO, all that said, I'd give it a try. Maybe ice it down before being adjusted and see if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I am for all things natural in healthcare. Really. I am. Except for chiropractors. :001_huh: I know. Look, I'm not slamming them at all, I don't consider them quacks and I totally believe that they DO help people. But I have never had a problem since I stopped going to mine. When I went faithfully, my back hurt all the time. Then I lost my insurance and couldn't go, and my back has been fine ever since. Now that I have ins again, I don't bother going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I just looked up ART and it does sound promising. But still, $135 a visit sounds steep and I would be wary of a set number of visits up front. Everyone heals differently. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 After years of chiro treatments, I'm no longer convinced. I was being seen once a month after the neurosurgeon told me that the bulging disc in my neck wasn't "impressive" enough to do anything about (and had been seen for several years for chiro before the surgical appt.). When I began running two years ago, I realized my visits to the chiro were getting farther and farther apart. I saw her once last September before my marathon and haven't needed to go since then. Exercise and physical therapy would be my vote. And I say that having LOVED the feeling of my chiro adjustment. I just didn't see any change after so many visits over several years. It was the exercise that has "cured" it. IMO, I would seek physical therapy instead and see what they say about exercise to keep your muscles strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've had mixed results with chiropractors, but I was incredibly impressed with rolfing. And it sounds like your problem would be better addressed by rolfing anyway. Is that something you might consider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I love my chiropractors. One of them I see for "regular" back problems--lower back, shoulders, neck. He charges $40 per visit, and doesn't say ahead of time how many treatments it will take to straighten me out. I've been going since last July, which seems like a very long time, but I'm old, and it takes a long time to fix me, lol. I went to another chiropractor, who does physical therapy in addition to chiropractic, a few years ago because I had a bad rotater cuff--3 out of the 4 muscles of the rotater cuff in bad shape, almost no backward mobility, very little forward mobility, exceeding great pain. This one did have a plan for how many sessions, which therapies to start when and for how long. He charged quite a bit more than the other chiropractor, but his "prescription" was right on. So I'm not completely surprised or worried that your doctor has determined how many treatments you'll need. Seems as if he's charging quite a bit, though, but if he is sure the treatment will do what it's supposed to, and you avoid surgery, then it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 That seems expensive to me, and also, I don't understand how he would know you would need 10 sessions. My chiro costs $55 a session and it has taken a few sessions at times but he never knows until the session he is doing, when to ask me in for the next one. Usually, if I (or my dd who he has worked with) is in a bad way, he will ask us to come back in 2-3 days. Maybe a couple of times he will do that. Then it will be longer between sessions. Even when I had a severe neck issue it was only about 5 sessions over 2-3 weeks. He even told me recently NOT to come back for a while because it would be better if I used exercise to heal my issue than rely on chiropractic adjustments. I mean, I just feel good about someone who says that, KWIM? I know there are different chiropractic modalities and some are more in depth...and I AM sold on chiropractic for many things- but knowing up front that it would take 10 sessions? As long as he's not asking for the money up front, I would probably go back a couple of times. But if it wasn't getting better, I would stop and try something else, or a different chiro. Or a different physical modality like therapeutic massage, rolfing, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabella Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I guess I feel that if you have to keep going back to someone, it's obviously not working?! I've never been to a chiro, but my Mil has spent thousands. She says it helps for a couple of days - so she continues to go for those few days of relief. I just can't picture forking out year after year when long term relief is not given. For myself and my family, whenever we have a neck or back pain we go to a Bowen therapist. It usually only takes 1 treatment (at a cost of $30), or maximum of 2. Maybe we go once a year or two? I don't doubt that some people's problems are obviously worse than ours, but I'm still unsure about the efficacy of the treatment if it is ongoing for such a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairytalemama Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 $1350 seems a lot to me too. I saw a chiropractor weekly (on the advice of my primary care doctor) for several years because of back pain and loss of feeling on my right side caused by long hours of driving in the car for work. In my case, it was covered by insurance (I only paid $7 a visit out of pocket) and I did get some relief for the few days following the visit, but never complete relief. I didn't feel much better until I changed jobs and didn't spend 2-6 hours driving in the car everyday anymore. I haven't seen a chiropractor in years now and feel fine. I would listen to the other posters and get a second opinion first for sure and I would get that opinion from a MD. You may have damage that the chiropractor can't see or you may need physical therapy instead. You may not see relief until you find a job that doesn't require repetitive motion. I hope you find a solution to relieve your pain soon. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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