Back Problems made worse by massage "therapist"I

FreakBoy

Thinker
FreakBoy
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
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176
Over the weekend I managed to do something to the upper left side of my back. I had pain running from the back of my skull down to my elbow, couldn't turn my neck and was in all-around pain.

I figured I have a nerve pinched somewhere and tried to find a chiropractor open on the weekend. The only thing we were able to find was a massage therapist who gladly took my $40 and then without my knowledge or expectation started hot-cupping my back.

Though the nerve pinch seems to be going away (which I'm willing only to give the massage part of the massage any credit for) but I'm now confronted with a fairly bruised back from the ridiculous cupping procedure.

All in all I'm going to be fine, but I'm upset that this happened and that now it turns out I've paid someone to give me artificial hickies all over my back

What might be done about this witch-doctor?
 
Thank your lucky stars that you only have hickies on your back. If you had found a chiropractor you might have had a stroke.
 
I've been to regular (not cupping nonsense) massage therapists who left me in more pain than I had been before. She dislocated a rib. Really painful.
 
ectoplasm said:
Thank your lucky stars that you only have hickies on your back. If you had found a chiropractor you might have had a stroke.
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I was under the impression that there were valid uses for chiropractors, was I incorrect?
 
FreakBoy said:
I was under the impression that there were valid uses for chiropractors, was I incorrect?
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Not unless you consider invoking placebo effect to be a "valid use". Any time you visit a chiropractor for treatment, you are actually opening yourself up to more potential danger and pain. It's kind of like a primary care physician that never went to med school, has tuberculosis, and doesn't cover his mouth when he coughs. ;)
 
Gate2501 said:
Not unless you consider invoking placebo effect to be a "valid use". Any time you visit a chiropractor for treatment, you are actually opening yourself up to more potential danger and pain. It's kind of like a primary care physician that never went to med school, has tuberculosis, and doesn't cover his mouth when he coughs. ;)
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Wow, I love getting new info.

I happen to have some pretty bad problems with my back... where should I go to deal with this stuff? The ER?
 
Chiropractic is about as effective as other treatments for lower back pain (ie not particularly effective). But because it has the potential for serious side effects (stroke), even though this is probably in a tiny proportion of cases, it is best avoided and a safer therapy tried.
 
Professor Yaffle said:
Chiropractic is about as effective as other treatments for lower back pain (ie not particularly effective). But because it has the potential for serious side effects (stroke), even though this is probably in a tiny proportion of cases, it is best avoided and a safer therapy tried.
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I'm ignorant of what the safer therapy options are. And since I do have back issues I would really like to know what therapies there are that can be trusted.
 
I went to QuackWatch and now I'm a bit confused. I went through a bunch of articles there which all seem to say the same general things.

Manipulation of the spine for back pain issues can be useful.
Avoid Neck manipulation
Many Chiropractors make ridiculous claims about what can be done.


I've been to two chiropractors in my life. Neither of them claimed to be able to do anything other than relieve pain caused by vertebral misalignment. And neither of them would touch my neck as it was too dangerous.

Are there more problems with chiropractic treatment than these?


It seems that there are a load of quacks out there using chiropractic treatment as a legitimized way of conducting "alternative medicine" that has nothing to do with spinal manipulation. These people I've never encountered.

I really would like to get some help on this. I've got my own back pain to deal with and a friend who is saying he's about to go to a chiropractor and I'd rather stop him before he goes, but I need some more info and some alternative truly scientific therapy.
 
Freakboy - sounds like you were lucky and have seen sensible chiropractors. Some of them claim they can treat all sorts of illnesses - see the Simon Singh libel case for example (sticky thread in this forum).

Here is Edzard Ernst's take on the back pain issue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/27/health-nice-chiropractic

And the Cochrane Review:

This review of 39 trials found that spinal manipulation was more effective in reducing pain and improving the ability to perform everyday activities than sham (fake) therapy and therapies already known to be unhelpful. However, it was no more or less effective than medication for pain, physical therapy, exercises, back school or the care given by a general practitioner.
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http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000447.html
 
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Professor Yaffle said:
Freakboy - sounds like you were lucky and have seen sensible chiropractors. Some of them claim they can treat all sorts of illnesses - see the Simon Singh libel case for example (sticky thread in this forum).

Here is Edzard Ernst's take on the back pain issue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/27/health-nice-chiropractic

And the Cochrane Review:


http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000447.html
Click to expand...


Reading right now, will report back. Thanks!
 
Massage therapy that doesn't start with a table shower just isn't adequate.

Fordama
 
FreakBoy said:
Over the weekend I managed to do something to the upper left side of my back. I had pain running from the back of my skull down to my elbow, couldn't turn my neck and was in all-around pain.

I figured I have a nerve pinched somewhere and tried to find a chiropractor open on the weekend. The only thing we were able to find was a massage therapist who gladly took my $40 and then without my knowledge or expectation started hot-cupping my back.

Though the nerve pinch seems to be going away (which I'm willing only to give the massage part of the massage any credit for) but I'm now confronted with a fairly bruised back from the ridiculous cupping procedure.

All in all I'm going to be fine, but I'm upset that this happened and that now it turns out I've paid someone to give me artificial hickies all over my back

What might be done about this witch-doctor?
Click to expand...
NO!! a voodoo practitioner worked on you and it made things worse? I have never before not heard of that happening, so I must just be feigning surprise. Good luck on retaliation - a bag of flaming dog poo on his/her doorstep might help.
 
From the linked articles it appears that the best practice is to stick just with a general practitioner.

I find it interesting, though not incredible, that manipulation for lower back pain is no better than pain management with verified medical treatments and physical therapy.

It may be possible that the prevalence of chiropractic and the number of people willing to partake is due to a common sense connection.

My back hurts and started hurting after I made X movement. Since it was movement that appears to have caused the pain, then movement should be able to resolve it.

​
This seems to be a very tangible view of how to deal with the pain where traditional medicine provides the same results but with less physical connection to what seems to have caused the pain.


Thank you for your info!
 
Professor Yaffle said:
Chiropractic is about as effective as other treatments for lower back pain (ie not particularly effective). But because it has the potential for serious side effects (stroke), even though this is probably in a tiny proportion of cases, it is best avoided and a safer therapy tried.
Click to expand...

IIRC it's one specific neck-snapping technique that causes stroke.
 
FreakBoy said:
From the linked articles it appears that the best practice is to stick just with a general practitioner.

I find it interesting, though not incredible, that manipulation for lower back pain is no better than pain management with verified medical treatments and physical therapy.

It may be possible that the prevalence of chiropractic and the number of people willing to partake is due to a common sense connection.

My back hurts and started hurting after I made X movement. Since it was movement that appears to have caused the pain, then movement should be able to resolve it.

​
This seems to be a very tangible view of how to deal with the pain where traditional medicine provides the same results but with less physical connection to what seems to have caused the pain.


Thank you for your info!
Click to expand...


I suspect you are correct, but in my state (Minnesota) it's also because chiropractors have hired good lobbyists. Insurance companies are required by law to pay for chiropractic care. As a result, we have higher insurance rates than other states.
 
Do massage therapists have a licensing board where you are? That's who to complain to.
 
Message therapist? I went to a message parlor to send a message home to my mother, and boy was I surprised when the woman asked me to get up on the table...

Answers, answers, where are the answers. The only people I know who have been able to rid themselves of pain caused by soft tissue injury and sciatica have done the following:
Gentle stretching every day
Light, whole body exercise every day (such as swimming)
Maintaining a healthy body weight through diet and execrise.

...and it took them a couple years, but the pain goes away.
One of my friends used to race stock cars and he has been in several bad wrecks, and he got a bad neck injury mountain-biking.

Another one of my friends had horrible sciatica....until he lost about 50lbs. He eats right and exercised every day.

Does anyone else have any other examples?
 
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