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Hi all
I am interested in people's experiences of using a chiropractor for injury treatment. I'm considering one for a knee injury which I think may be due to tightness/ possible misalignments in my back and pelvis. There seems to be growing trend for elite runners to use them so I thought it was worth exploring.
I would also be grateful for any recommendation of practitions accessible from Huddersfield or Sheffield in Yorks.
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I was talking to my physio about chiropractors. I've never been entirely convinced about some of these practitioners and so I was asking what she thought.
Her view (biased as it may be) was that often the chiropractors treat the pain and soreness but if you want a diagnosis and future prevention you are better off with a good physio.
My was experience was of it being a waste of time. Good physio or (when appropriate) perhaps podiatrist. In my view at least*.
*I have no interests to declare
.
Traditionally, physios and chiropractors approach injuries from different directions and so clash in their thinking. However, since I have moved to California, I have come across therapists who embrace the Dark Side (relatively speaking) and both can work effectively for the runner.
If you consider that our movement comes from a strong spine, core, extensor muscles etc, and that the arms and legs are offshoots of this central core, it is not such a leap of faith to believe that looking after your spinal health (as chiros do) will form the basis for a good foundation to an injury free running career.
The role of the physio typically comes in when you are injured and so they act as a sort of Sherlock Holmes working out the cause of your injury and applying the full range of their techniques to alleviate the problem and prescribing strengthening exercises to help avoid a repeat of the injury.
Having just come off the injury bench after a year with chronic Achilles problems, I can honestly say that the fizz, as lovely as she was, was not the one who got me off the bench. Rather it was the chiropractor with his no holds barred technique using his Graston tool and Active Release Therapy. Now the fizz has one of the same metal torture implements but was nowhere near as effective. In conjunction with advice and some off the shelf orthotics customised by an eminent sports doctor/podiatrist (here many podiatrists specialise as sports injury doctors and are surgeons), my condition was very definitively turned around from a position where I was wondering whether I would ever run again to one of hope (hurray!)
If you have an inkling that the issue stems from a back/pelvis misalignment (I definitely have a tight SI joint that plays its role in my Achilles story), then the chiro is the best person to investigate it. My first experiences of chiros were indeed along the lines of the sort that Medicalert's physio described (just treating the pain and soreness) but I have found that since then, and since I have been more inquisitive about the causes, all the chiros I have seen have been much more than a quick click and out the door.
My advice, for what it is worth, would be: (1) seek the advice of a recommended chiro and address the issue as far as you can with them; (2) follow up with a trip to the physio for ongoing maintenance and strengthening exercises; (3) treat yourself to regular sports massages to ensure that (1) and (2) don't go to waste by the continued pounding of your knees on tarmac. That is, of course, assuming you have super health insurance...
Thanks MsE. I think you are spot on with your evaluation of the roles of the different types of professional when we are injured. I have not really looked into this before and I am beginning to think that you need to build up a team of people to call upon so you have access to the full range of services. i am trying to do that myself at the moment, but trying to find a top notch chiropractor within reach of Huddersfield is proving v tricky.
I'd be interested to know which elite runners have used chiropractic services, as I believe it is supposed to be a growing trend.
Update:
i have been using a good Chiropractor that works in Huddersfield and Oldham Since I posted in Aug. I see him once per week. He does some manipulation, nothing that feels drastic and suggests exercises to support recovery.
anyway, the cumulative effect has been phenomenal. My body feels better than it has felt for about 20 years and I am due to do my first ever 16 mile training run tomorrow. Wonderful. Hopefully, London 2014 here I come.
c