This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I know that many people are helped by chiropractic methods, particularly the gentler, safer methods that have been developed in more recent years.

I probably won't be popular saying this, but I would never let a chiropractor touch my neck again after my own personal experience of excruiating pain and c-spine damage caused by a very reputable chiropractor, who not only practices but is a teacher of chiropractors.

I see a holistic M.D. who pactices cranial sacral massage which is a very gentle technique. He begged me before I saw the above chiropractor not to have chiropractic adjustments because of my particular body frame. I have small and delicate bones and osteopinea, pretty much going to develop into oseteoperosis (sp?).

My holistic guy told me, some people's body frames are more receptive to chiropractic manipulation but he thought I was a very bad candidate.

He was right. After the "expert chiro" adjusted my atlas, I spent the night flat on my back literally screaming, and I do mean opening my mouth and screaming, in pain while my husband begged me to go to the ER. I refused because I hate hospitals. I have never screamed in pain before, even though I've had some pretty rough health scenarios. But it felt like a a screwdriver was being driven thru the back of my head.

I went to see my ENT (a different doctor) who is also a neck specialist and he said he was tired of seeing his patients walk into the office with neck injuries from chiropractic adjustments. He said he wasn't so opposed to other spinal manipulations, but that the neck is fragile, esp. in my case. He gave me injections of steriods, sent me to a physical therapist but it took TWO effing years of my life to be able to even look up at the sky - and that was due to time and constant physical therapy, cranial sacral massage, and yoga. I still don't have the range of motion I had prior to that "expert's" manipulation.

Another person I know ended up having a stroke after a neck manipulation because the adjustment dislodged plaque in his carotids. He never did fully recover.

While anyone's welcome to say these are rare cases, judge your own skeletal structure or be examined by a holistic doctor before allowing someone to manipulate your neck.

I would consider gentle chiropractic for lower back problems but even some of those adjustments have aggravated the bursitis I have in my hip.

Chiropractors do have a good knowledge base but they are not M.D.s and I've seen too many of them trying to act like they are.

However, I've known people who have been helped by them, so I think since all of our body types are different, there are people who can benefit from gentle manipulations. But I'd never recommend letting someone adjust your neck. If you felt better, then your bone structure is very different from mine, and I've had to admit there are people who benefit from even a neck adjustment.

But my experience was hellish and I lived in a nightmare of pain at the same time I had developed full-blown MS. I sure didn't need that.

In any case, a venous problem like CCSVI is not something I'd bring to a chiropractor.