Ballad Of Chiropracty (Advice?)

[Loon]

I’d like to ask a question for a friend from my neighborhood
You probably haven’t met him, but I know him rather good.

Many years ago he took a very nasty fall
It hurt his back quite badly, this he does recall.

Yet this very weekend, he went out for some tennis,
But my friend forgot that things like that are a menace.

He thoroughly intended to give the ball a whack,
Instead he got spasms all through his lower back.

It was just a greeting from that ancient injury,
But still he lost the set, in fact, he lost all three.

Even just this morning, his back was feeling pain,
It was difficult to work, it was struggle, it was strain.

He told me ‘bout his problems over the internet,
He said he hadn’t been to see a doctor yet.

Then he said something to make my sensors glow,
For this silly injury he he was heading for chi-ro.

Having been here many years, having read much, and learned
It seems that chiro is a place where all you get is burned.

Yet most Americans fell that if your back is hurt,
Chiro’ll banish pain, and to comfort you revert.

Even I, before I trod these shores of skeptic thoughts,
Believed chiro offered help for back in painful knots.

He knows that chiros work on spines and backs
But the impression I get here is that all of them are quacks.

So what should I tell my dear, dear friend?
Should I say “Wait! Time this pain shall end?

Need I proclaim that they’ll fill his head with pap?
Should I warn him all they merit is a slap?

Or are there chiros with a practice safe and sound,
That can fix his back and help him to move around?

I thought much about this but, my information lacking,
I came here for advice from intellects so cracking.

Help me to help my friend, this I ask of you
For I do not wish to lead him into the hands of woo.

[Quasi]

www.quackwatch.org look at Chirobase. Having dealt directly with chiropractors and licensing board members, I can say some chiro are a lot better than others, but "legitimate" chiros are very, very hard to find. I have met one extremely dangerous chiro, who is not even licensed, and the chiro board refused to take any action, and the attorney general also refused to take any action, so do not expect any safety or quality of any chiro you visit. Essentially, you will have to rely on learning about back pain first, then visiting several to find out what they are all about. Osteopathy is another option, and now many therapeutic professionals are actually using the proven chiro manipulations in conjunction with the best in other back pain therapies. Education is the best advice, and there is a lot to learn.