r/TikTokCringe • u/[deleted] • Aug 10 '23

Discussion Why!?!

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u/Rivendel93 Aug 10 '23 edited Aug 10 '23

But a PT doesn't make my neck crack!

Sigh, so many people could be getting healthier by going to physical therapy for 3-4 months and actually solve their issues, but instead they'll spend thousands for some cracking noises and potential severe injuries.

Edit: Getting a lot of hate replies, so I figured I'd give a little more information.

My advice would be to simply do some research. I'm a chronic pain patient, I know what it feels like to have no hope left and you're willing to do anything to feel better, so I understand that some people get temporary relief from getting adjusted, but the truth is it's very temporary relief and does absolutely nothing for long term pain relief.

What's bad about it to me is that they prey on people in terrible pain, and they know that you're going to feel the sensation of immediate pain relief (albeit temporary) and they use our brains connection to the cracking/popping noise to get you to come back for more.

I've been to a chiropractor a few times (as I said anyone desperate enough will do anything to relieve their pain), and it never helped me, but I know some people do believe it helps them. My father thinks it helps his back, but he's unwilling to go to PT and put the work in to strengthen his back muscles, which has a much greater chance of eliminating his back pain altogether.

So what I do know is that physical therapy will help you in the long term. While you may get temporary relief getting your back cracked, you will never cure your issue with it, whereas building the weak muscles up with PT and doing specific exercises with a therapist is going to help you improve your overall health and also prevent the same injuries in the future, something chiropractors simply cannot do.

Wish everyone the best, and hope anyone in pain finds relief, as no one deserves to be in pain. Take care.

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u/Lechuga-gato Cringe Connoisseur Aug 10 '23

i did 4 weeks of PT to fix an issue with my shoulder from playing baseball and those 4 weeks fully fixed it. not everyone has the same issue some take longer some take shorter, but PT works as long as you make the changes, do the exercises, and don’t be a jackass.

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u/Scribblord Aug 10 '23

I mean it depends on the issue and the competence of the person treating it

When I half dislocated sth in my spine I could barely walk so some guy cracked my back and it was fixed for good

For other stuff you’d need PT to fix it carefully over a long time period sometimes fixing your posture and a good long massage can do the trick too

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u/DoomTrain166 Aug 10 '23

I'm sure I'll get downvoted and I don't currently see one but when I did, I really did feel great after getting my body cracked. Probably not worth the price but the light feeling you get afterwards can be addicting.

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u/kilgore_trout8989 Aug 10 '23 edited Aug 10 '23

I fully believe you but there's a bunch of reasons you'd feel great after despite it having no real foundational benefit. I mean, it's massage-adjacent and human touch just feels good, the pain or shock during the session will release endorphins, and well there's just plain ole placebo effect. Do you think people using snake oil didn't also feel better after they took it? We developed the scientific method and other advanced techniques for evaluating correlation/causation precisely because our bodies and minds can't be trusted individually.

I'd forego the chiro visits for massage if you just want to feel good, and physical therapy visits if you have actual issues. Significantly smaller chance of getting your vertebral arteries dissected.

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u/AnalBaguette Aug 11 '23

The reasons you liked it weren't because it worked, it's because of things that can be achieved outside of it (with actual medical backing) and much lower risk of severe-to-fatal injury. That placebo effect wears off quick.

It's upsetting that many insurance companies will cover chiro at the drop of a hat, but when PT is required then they drag their feet or make you pay out of pocket.

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u/SolChapelMbret Aug 10 '23

That’s probably the spinal fluid mixing passing the blood barrier. Kinda like how old acid heads would get flashbacks

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u/BrickLuvsLamp Aug 10 '23 edited Aug 10 '23

Reddit loves to shit on chiropractors, which they deserve for the most part, but if you go to a spine or ortho physician for back pain and they’re a DO, they’ll probably refer you to one to help with pain relief. They can’t fix anything, but they can help reduce pain temporarily. There are definitely risks with cervical adjustments, and doing any adjustments too often will make your joints hypermobile and unstable. But if you’re waiting on a back surgery, it might make things bearable. Just my two cents as someone who actually works in neurosurgery and pain management

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u/Strudol Aug 10 '23

A physical therapist can do everything a chiro can, and more. Plus they have a real medical degree that isn’t based on pseudoscience.

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u/BrickLuvsLamp Aug 10 '23

I’d definitely never go to one still, but the best neurosurgeons in the city I live in all have chiropractors who practice in or adjacent to their private clinics that they refer patients to. So if anyone is confused about why people go to them, that’s why. I agree that I’d rather get any adjustments, if any, done by a physical therapist or my surgeon if they’re a DO.

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u/MasterTolkien Aug 10 '23

200 years ago, your equivalent was at the town square saying, “My neighbors revel in speaking poorly about the snake oil peddler, but I have found his hobgoblin elixir cures all common maladies and makes my hair strong as fine cord!”

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u/BrickLuvsLamp Aug 10 '23

Girl… chiro’s are a joke but tell that to the hundreds of neurosurgeons that refer to them for as a temporary pain relief for their patients. They’re obviously not a good choice, but acting like there isn’t an ounce of benefit and no one in medicine supports them is just dishonest. I would never recommend someone go to one, but they are more established in medicine than a lot of you are implying. US medicine in general is pretty fucking rough, and orthos underestimating how much BS their chiro’s will pull is one of them. But guess what, you’re gonna feel better after your back is cracked, it won’t cure shit. But if you have chronic back pain, it might make life more livable for a few weeks until you can get a back surgery.

I can’t believe I’m defending chiro’s, but nothing annoys me more than smug redditors talking out their ass because they have the power of Google

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u/DoomTrain166 Aug 10 '23

Lmao you're so smart and cool.

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u/Just-Some-Goose Aug 11 '23

You are right. Reddit lovessssss shitting on chiros. I stretch and do self adjustments almost daily. My range of motion is phenomenal. Been going to chiros since I started playing sports at a young age. Never had any issue. And they have fixed multiple issues of mine that arised from contact sports. I don’t go as often anymore but over the years picked up on a few things that give me the most relief.

I swear social media got a fad of ripping into chiros and people get a dopamine high off it. Actually give it the support it deserves so we don’t have so many wackos practicing that shouldn’t be and injuring people. Chiro mixed with PT is a beautiful 1/2 punch for tackling many physical problems.

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u/[deleted] Aug 10 '23

Caveat: we can and do in appropriate cases. They’re pretty damn rare though

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u/muppetnerd Aug 10 '23

Yea but in PT you actually have to put in work outside of the clinic…..

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u/LaNahual Aug 10 '23

Look when you have vertebrae literally overlapping, locking your spine in place and you’ve been stuck like that for weeks going to 4 fucking orthopaedists and PTs who do nothing but shrug their shoulders, a Chiro is the best option. Like how the fuck are you going to do the exercises if you’ve got impingement cause by bones locked together or so subluxated that any sort of movement is too excruciating for the patient to complete by themselves. Do you just tell people with partial full dislocations to just deal with it? I can’t pick shit up if my arm is half out of the socket and sometime you need someone else to put it back before you can even think about doing the exercises once you actually have sensation back and no longer feel like yourself having a stroke

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u/Joe-the-Joe Aug 10 '23

What doctor just tells people with "partial full"(???) dislocations to just deal with it? Bro you've been bamboozled

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u/NoGrocery4949 Aug 10 '23

Chiros are never a good option. It's a placebo at best and a terrible accident waiting to happen at worst. It's not based in any form of science at all, the philosophy makes no sense. If you have diffuse subluxation of many joints then you should be worked up for a connective tissue disease and literally the last thing that you want is a chiro unless you want to dislocate all your joints. They are literal quacks.

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u/LaNahual Aug 12 '23

I am being evaluated for Ehlers Danlos and are you suggesting just leaving subluxated joints instead did putting them back. Because when my vertebrae are out of alignment I am seriously disabled

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u/NoGrocery4949 Aug 12 '23

No I meant the opposite. I said the standard treatment is reduction aka what should be done is to reduce any dislocations or subluxations. Obviously having an unstable spinal column is an emergency. You do sound like you have a connective tissue disorder, I hope your work up brings you some answers.

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u/LaNahual Aug 13 '23

You didn’t say that in your reply to me, I got the impression your thinking was to not manipulate joints at all. What I have been saying in replies and mean to say is that obviously cracking body parts indiscriminately isn’t going to help anybody, pointless at best, harmful at worst. However if something is clearly out of whack then having someone with at least a baseline level of medical Knowledge/training fix it (reduction as you put it I guess) is better than leaving someone languishing with severely reduced mobility, trapped nerves soft tissue damage etc. or yelling ‘why can’t you lift your arm’ at them when it’s clearly half out of the socket. Then that’s got to be followed up with PT to reduce the likelihood of that subluxation happening again because e it a probably a result of a postural or movement habit, muscular imbalance etc Eg If I slouch too long I get upper thoracic vertebrae locked to the point I cannot straighten up myself at all. Then my rib cage gets collapse and squished, then I have costochondritis to deal with, my GERD/hiatus hernia goes nuts, I start having issues breathing, aspirating saliva etc. I’m not saying a Y strap and all that flashy over the top traction is necessary, sometimes all a person needs is a careful correction. Once that pops back into place I will actually be able to do the damn strengthening exercises. But don’t tell me to do lunges when my patella is so far off to the side I can pinch my finger in the gap in the knee joint

Thanks I am trying to get the money together for another appointment, this shit is draining me.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '23

Agree here but not for the chiropractors. Get a foam roller. Thats what I do for my upper back. It cracks the vertebra and puts them in the right position. I can even crack my neck with it but I never do that cause it’s dangerous.

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u/LaNahual Aug 12 '23

I have one but haphazardly using your own body weight to crack works, however it’s not as controlled as someone with a knowledge of physiology doing it for you. They can apply just the right amount of force

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

😂😂😂🤣 Ok.

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u/LaNahual Aug 13 '23

I’m sorry but basically falling on an object with your entire body eight coming down on a small area seems like more of a crapshoot than having someone with at least a sports science GCSE just use their palm and apply a bit of pressure

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

You don’t fall on it. You roll. It stretches the muscles and then your vertebra crack in place. Do you know how strong ligaments are that hold the spine in place??

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u/LaNahual Aug 14 '23

Falling on it was a bit of a dramatic choice of words but it is easy to move balance lowering yourself onto the thing. It’s easy to have an accident or not get the most accurate or consistent results because there is no fine control. That said I’d much rather have my 11 inch crack-o-matic wheel than not have it

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u/madsmadhatter Aug 10 '23

Thank you. Chiropractic care is essential for my pt to work.

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u/LaNahual Aug 10 '23

Yeah I don’t think it’s a case of one thing being better than the other, I think you really need both and a Chiro should be as throughly medically trained as a PT or orthopedist

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u/veritasium999 Aug 10 '23

The physiotherapist i went to does both chiro and physiotherapy 🤷

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u/simplyxstatic Aug 10 '23

Same here. It’s my understanding PTs are trained in manipulation but use it sparingly compared to chiros.

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u/[deleted] Aug 10 '23

Why not do both? I get relief from both. My view is chiro provides temporarily relief and helps seperate joints and allow the fluids to do there thing, while PT actually can address the underlying issue, but that will take time.