First Time at Chiropractor

[Briks42]

Went to a recommended Chiro last night for the first time ever because of lower back pain that I had mentioned in another thread. He told me he thinks my right hip is out of alignment (tilted forward too much), which is causing my back to be over-extended all the time, which causes the pain.

He had me do some stretches and also did some weird cracking type things to my back and hips. It didn't really change how I felt. This morning my back still feels the same and I also had a new pain in my right hip. Nothing too bad, but noticeable and new.

I am scheduled to go back there tomorrow and he asked me to not squat tonight (I made it clear I really don't like missing workouts if I don't have to but I am going to miss this one).

Does any of this sound normal? I know chiros have a rep as being "phony" doctors sometimes so I'm a little nervous. Have any of you ever been diagnosed with a similar misaligned hip? Does that make any sense?

I am definitely going back tomorrow to talk to him about the new pain and ask him if thats normal, but my bullshit radar is on right now.

[strengthstarter]

Can't speak to your guy but I've had good success. One thing my chiro told me was that it can take a few adjustments to notice a change as the alignment is corrected. I actually felt better after the first time though. Whether it was really effective, I can't really say, but after 3 weeks of nearly debilitating back pain, it went away after my week at the chiropractor.

[Razor]

I go to a Chiro 1-3/ week when I'm in town. Remeber Chiros are like mechanics, MD's and strength coach's some a very good and use science coupled with personal experience to help you, others just plain suck!

Chiro's should take a xray and do some back ground before they do any "adjustments" to your spine. See my last training post to read about my experience with Chiro's

[TomC]

Chiropractors, like any doctors, are highly variable in both quality and effectiveness. Misaligned hips and spines are common diagnoses and you don't necessarily need an x-ray to determine that. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unsubstantiated claims that are passed off as fact by chiropractors. By the same token, lots of doctors and physios say that squats will destroy you, so there is blame to go around.

Here's the deal, if you go to the chiro, get adjusted, and feel better, then it is worthwhile. If not, consider going elsewhere. One thing that chiros are usually good at is making backs hurt less.

[coreJack]

Briks, keep us posted. I have misaligned hips as well, which I suspect is at the root of several issues I've been having, but have held off b/c I am wary of the quackage that seems all too prevalent amongst chiros and ART specialists.

[Briks42]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

I will keep you posted. I have an appointment at 10:45AM tomorrow. The hip pain I felt this morning was gone an hour or 2 after waking but my back still felt the same. I skipped the squats tonight, but benched and did chinups (I rotate chins/pullups with deads/cleans). I felt a little pain as I arched my back a little on bench press, but it didn't affect my lifts and feels the same after the workout. I am hoping that what no matter what happens when I meet the chiro tomorrow, I can get back to squatting on Monday.

As far as this guy's credentials, my friend and other people he has sent there have all gotten results, so I'm willing to be trusting for now.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi Briks,

I was diagnosed a mis-aligned pelvis last year, with the right side tilted slightly forward compared to the left. I didn't give me back pain, but I had some imbalanced in my legs and gait because of this.

The diagnosis was made by a physio, who told me it was probably caused by a tight pyriformis muscle.

He fixed the issue in one session, manipulating my glutes and stretching me.
I have since had further session with him, about once every three months, to check my pelvis is still properly aligned, and so far it's been good.

If the cause of mis-aligned pelvis is muscular tension/imbalance, I think it should be possible to fix it fairly rapidly. Maybe you could ask you chiro if he thinks this is the case.

Hope everyting goes well for you.

IPB

[Briks42]

PB and others,

Hopefully it is fixed as easily for me as well. I went back Saturday morning and he said it was still misaligned so he had to step up the stretching and cracking a little bit (he said he could get the hip back in alignment, but then had to crack the back to get the spine back on track too). He showed me a few stretches to do and scheduled me to come back tonight. I will ask him what he thinks about a tight pyroformis being a possible cause.

My back feels a good deal better now. There is still some soreness, but it is definitely healing. If I am understanding him correctly, the hip being misaligned is the bigger problem. The back becoming injured was a function of that. So while the back injury still has to heal, if we can get the hip to stay in proper alignment, that should help to not aggravate the back in the future.

[Guido]

I was having some constant knee, hip, and lower back pain a little over a year ago and saw a chiro/ART practitioner. He had me come in for about 6 sessions and I seemed to feel better and better after each one. It really did work great and I was squatting again pain free for a long time. Now some of the hip pain is starting to come back so hopefully he can get me fixed up again, but I must say that he worked wonders on me so I am wholeheartedly on the ART/chiro bandwagon.

[Chewie_jrc]

Just going to echo what some others have said. I have some pretty bad knee pain (IT band) and some groin/hip pain. Saw an ART/chiro and it went away. I hear a lot of shit talked on these guys but it works. I was hurting to the point where I couldn't squat or even run, now I can squat 3 wheels pain free. I'm sold.

[coreJack]

These positive experiences have convinced me to give chiro/ART another shot. Just set up an appointment.

[coreJack]

So I saw a chiro/ART guy. After the initial exam, his diagnosis was "You're a mess". But he seems to have some ideas on how to fix me up. So I'll see him for a couple of weeks and hopefully there will be some measurable improvement.

I didn't leave paralyzed, which is my biggest fear when it comes to chiropractors, so that's always nice.

[Razor]

glsd to hear your still among the living and walking...

[allyn703]

anterior pelvic tilt seems to be pretty common. I think this is whats going on with my lower back since I just started being active again after a looong time doing nothing but sitting on my ass.

Here's a few good articles:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/low_back_pain.htm

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/hips_dont_lie_fixing_your_force_couples

[Briks42]

Just an update on my back and my chiro visits.

I've been to see him 3 times now. It seems that my hip is now in proper alignment but my back is still hurting.

The good thing though is that the pain is more centralized now, a few inches to the left of my spine. Last week the doctor told me that as it heals, it goes from being a more vague, blurring, all-over pain to becoming more centralized. If he is right about that, then I guess it is healing.

I am still not doing lower body exercises, so I have been limiting myself to bench, press, and chinups/pullups, which especially sucks for me since my lower body is soooooo weak compared to my upper body. I am scheduled for appointments tonight and tomorrow night before leaving for Vegas Friday morning. My hope is that after seeing him the next 2 nights and then not doing any training for another week is enough to have me ready to start squatting and deadlifting next Wednesday when I'm back from vacation.

[coreJack]

Briks, did he release the muscles that were pulling your hips and lower spine out of alignment before realigning the bony structures? Sometimes chiros will just make adjustments to hips and spine, but if they don't release the seized-up muscles, the bones will get pulled right back out of alignment, which of course means you get to go to the chiro for life so that he can continually provide temporary relief by realigning the bones.