Re: RE: Re: RE: Chiropractors

["Tracey" <tracey@tbt.co.za>]

>Well, my chiropractor can tell where I'm out of alignment as I walk into
the door, just by the way I'm holding myself.  I rarely have to tell her
"where it hurts", she knows exactly where the problem is,
>in fact it's usually not where *I* think it is.>


I trust your chiropractor does not rely on this initial assessment when
treating you?


Frequently it is obvious to anyone with some idea of human anatomy where
someone is out of alignment.  Most professionals will also tell you that the
human body is a funny thing, and that further investigation can result in
some interesting findings, quite removed from an initial, casual
observation.


>When my horse is out of alignment, it is obvious to a layperson's eye.  He
doesn't need to talk.  If I take him out of work as I did last winter it
gets worse, not better, just like if I don't do my exercises my back goes
"out".  Especially when I am dealing with a upward fixation of the patella,
I need to keep him in work, otherwise his whole body goes crooked.  I can
feel it as he moves under saddle and I can see
a marked asymmetry from the ground.  I am not "reading his mind.">


I didn't say you were.  All I suggested is that, without the benefit of
communication, I would hesitate to place my equine's body in the hands of
someone without a veterinary degree.


>I do not know how your physiotherapist differs in training from our
physical therapists, but I can tell you the physical therapists I have
worked with at the Stanford Sports Therapy Center had NO MERCY for my
personal pain threshold.  The physical therapy was more painfull than the
ACL injury itself!>


I believe the degree is pretty much the same, unless American bodies are
markedly different from SA ones.  And yes, physio can be extremely painful
in certain circumstances, but the assumption that, unless it hurts it is
doing no good, is somewhat old-fashioned.  And when it hurts, my physio
usually asks where the pain is coming from.  If it's hurting somewhere where
it shouldn't, further investigation is called for.


>I also had my horse treated by a lay chiropractor/farrier.  I was quite
concerned because his body was in quite a spasm afterwards, but it was a
MAJOR adjustment.  I have to admit, though, it made
a world of difference, he was able to take up the other lead which he never
was able to before once the spasm subsided.>


Uh-huh.  Good for you.  My horse had the opposite reaction.  Which brings me
to the reason why I am dubious about equine chiropractice : the only
evidence that it works is anecdotal.


>I think there are same differences in health care providers between South
Africa and California for both humans and equines!>


Why?  Are you perhaps suggesting that human anatomy differs from country to
country?  Or is this perhaps a completely groundless assumption that the
standard of education in this country is, in your opinion, lower than that
in America?


Tracey