Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Chiropractic

My mother thinks that I need to see a Chiropractic and see what he can do. And of course he says the injections-eneberel will not work........He also said he cant "cure" me. But are there any benefits to going? Any suggestions?

I havent seen a chiropractor, but I did visit an osteopath just the once.
Mind you, this was a little while b4 any sort of diagnosis.
Never again. Even with the advice given, I could barely walk the next day, and then experienced a long and painful flare. I wouldnt dare go again. The adjustments were painfree by the way. Just the aftermath my body couldnt handle!

Hi Tal...I was seeing a chiropractor from '98-'01, before I fused and I had no problems getting the adjustments, I'm not sure how much it helped me, I didn't notice a big change but after a car wreck in '04, I went back to the same chiropractor and several ribs were broken during the first adjustment since returning to him...he nor I was aware at that time that I AS and that my lumbar and thoracic spine had some fusion by then...so just be careful and make sure that your chiropractor is aware of any radiographic changes. Good luck no matter what path you choose.

Hi! I went to see a chiropractor for my neck, and he really messed it up. It got SO inflamed that I could barely sleep at night. He basically cracked everything really quickly and then sent me on my way. Not the best approach for me. He got rave reviews on line, though. I then went to another chiro who was very gentle and used little hammers and other strange tools on me, rather than just yanking me around. I dunno - it seemed to help calm it all down, but I don't know.

My opinion (and it's just my opinion, and I'm open to other ideas here) is that a field like chiropractic draws a lot of people who (a) might not really know what they're doing (particularly when it comes to people with auto-immune diseases), (b) are *close* to being quacks, and (c) are big on selling expensive pillows and creams and whatnot as an adjunct to their business. I think there ARE good, effective chiropractors out there, but you might want to see an osteopath instead of just a chiro. I think they have more training. Anyone else know if this is true? Just BE CAREFUL. I know several people who wish they'd never gone. But I am open to trying new things, so if it had worked for me, I'd be back there in an instant.

I dunno, is that helpful?

Take care!
~Moll

i think it depends on the office and what they do.
i'm lucky to have found a good office that knows how to handle people like me.

i had a PT that did chiropractic gentle manipulations (isometrics) to my SI and lower lumbar that were always a little misaligned, but when i'd leave the office, they'd always remisalign within an hour or two and then in a quick way that wouldn't be good so she decided to leave it alone.

when i told the chiropractor this, he and i decided not to do any spinal manipulations.

but i go there because they do lots of other things.

what is really useful for me is the ultrasound of my trigger points in my upper back and my tendinitises all over my body.

i could get ultrasound at a PT but the insurance makes going to the PT much more of an uphill battle, whereas i have unlimited visits to the chiro and don't need a referral, so the chiro is very convenient.

chiros do a lot of other soft tissue minipulation as well. the office i go to does trigger point release, massage, other? but these things don't work well for me, so we don't do them.

the chiro also seems very knowledgeable in diagnosing what tendon or ligament is unhappy. that helps me in knowing how to treat it to help it get better.

sue

people with AS fusion should never go to a chiro in my opinion.

Just too dangerous

Do not wish to alarm you but advice of NASS here in UK is that anyone with AS should never be treated by a chiropractor or osteopath as there is a danger that treatment could cause permanent damage. Physiotherapists are the best for AS. Take care.

I have seen a chiropractor in the past, but currently am seeing a PT who does many chiro-like things.

Although I have pain, MRIs and X rays show absolutely no joint changes in my spine or in other joints. There are no syndesmophytes. What I am saying only applies to a person without evidence of joint damage. Much more caution should be used if there is evidence of joint damage.

The PT realigns my vertebrae when they are out of alignment. I've found that gentle "muscle energy" techniques work best for me. Jerking, torquing or contorting my spine leaves me sore, but realignment with muscle energy techniques is fine. When a vertebra is out of alignment, I get muscles spasms and soreness in that area. Realignment gives me almost instant relief.

The PT also does myofascial release on me. Myofascial release is a hands-on technique in which pressure is applied to release restrictions in soft tissue. Myofascial release has kept me mobile and helped my enthesitis pain.

The PT also mobilizes joints which have become tight. I've had PTs work on my cervical and thoracic joints, my rib-spine joints and my feet joints. I have found that keeping my feet mobile minimizes my knee pain and keeping my thoracic spine mobile minimizes my neck pain. In both cases, immobilized joints in one area cause dysfunctional movement in a nearby area which causes me pain.

I've also had ultrasound treatments on sore entheses, helping them to heal.

I started with a new PT recently and I warned him that my body is very delicate, easily irritated and easily injured. I told him that any new technique he wants to try should be done very cautiously. The first time he tries a technique which is new to me, he should try just a little bit so we can see how my body responds. At the next visit, we evaluate what happened and how my body responded, then decide whether it is safe to try a little bit more.

So chiro-like manipulations have been a large part of my treatment plan, a part which I have found to be immensely beneficial. However, if you have any radiographic changes to your joints, I would approach with extreme caution. Even if you don't have changes, still approach with caution.

Karen

My PERSONAL experience & opinion is to proceed with caution when seeing either a PT or a Chiropractor. I would get recommendations if you can.

I saw a chiro on/off for many years before my diagnosis. She was amazing & treated with me with kid gloves. As time went on, she realized we weren't just dealing with a "mechanical" back problem & sent letters to both my primary doc & neurologist that they needed to look harder to find out the source of my problem. And until I got a firm diagnosis of something, she would not treat me anymore. At first, I was very upset, but I came to understand & respect her decision.

So my then-neurologist's next bright idea was to try PT. So I did - at a local hospital. They put me in traction & it nearly killed me. I ended up in the ER - it was the most awful experience ever. I vowed I'd never do PT again.

A couple more years later, and still no diagnosis, and still more problems, my primary doc suggested PT (I had dumped the neurologist). I told her I would not go for any more PT. A few months later she pretty much gave me no option but to go to PT, so I chose another facility.

I remember going in there with the biggest chip on my shoulder.

It turns out to be one of the best things I ever did. My therapist was amazing & treated me for 2-1/2 years, in spite of only having insurance coverage for 20 visits. He also treated me with "kid gloves" because it was very apparent I had problems. I got my diagnosis after seeing him for about 1-1/2 years. And I remember him telling me that AS was the first thing he suspected after he had treated me for a while.

So good luck - just choose wisely.

i really do think it depends on who you see more than what type of specialty. i had 2 amazing PTs and a lot of mediocre ones. i've heard horror stories about chiros and yet i've found a practice that will do ultrasound for me but knows better than to touch my spine and SI.

sue