Crunch Time

Doing a massage the other day on a lady who works as an emergency room nurse at a local hospital, I ran into some solid granite.

“I don't like chiropractors,” she said.

Ok. Why?

“We see people in the emergency room all the time. The chiropractor adjusted them and they come in later in pain and they are really messed up.”

Well, that’s a pretty firm belief. I volunteered that I tend to freeze up if I hear crunchies in my neck, so I go to a “soft” or Palmer Method practitioner. They can pretty much adjust me without creepy sound effects, or they use an activator that sets up a vibration that moves the joint.

“I’d never go to one. I hate them,” she said.

Well, that was a good spot to change the subject. It happens. Sure, maybe people have a bad adjustment. But perhaps they ignored advice on hydrating, icing, resting or whatever and ended up in trouble later. Or they froze when they heard the noise.

I do get folks coming in the door, who ask me if I like PTs or chiros or acupuncturists or whomever. I tend to say they are just like doctors and dentists. Some are really good, and some aren’t, and it’s often hard to tell without getting in there and giving it a try.

Then, I will get a first-person story about some horrifying experience or a complete waste of time or money or some-such. I remind myself that someone coming for a massage probably likes massage and may not respond well to another modality. Like keys to a door, one therapy may not fit every person. Sometimes a method may create more problems than it solves, or the practitioner may have missed something that would have led to a different outcome.

I also remind myself that if a therapy is successful, people stop looking for solutions. It’s the iceberg effect, in a way. If a problem is solved with surgery, exercise, adjustment, etc. those people won’t be coming in. Only those who are looking for a therapy that works better for their body will continue to seek help.

What do you say when someone complains about another practitioner, especially when they are a member of another profession? Do you agree they are all quacks? Do you tell them you are the only one to take care of the problem? Are they looking for validation or sympathy? What should you say if anything?

I think saying you are sorry they had that experience is a good answer. It doesn’t smear any profession or practitioner but it does validate the experience. But here I wasn’t dealing with first-hand experience. This was empirical observation, which in some people can lead to granite beliefs about how other tribes (or professions) are clueless idiots.

Of course, one needs to pick one’s moments, too. I sensed this wasn’t one of them.

I ventured another question. What treatment do people get if they are in pain from an adjustment?

“We have to give them Valium or Dilaudid they are in so much pain.”

Well, folks in the emergency room should know best how painkillers work. As a massage therapist, however, I see people who get hooked rather than relieved by painkillers, especially when heavy-duty painkillers given for muscle or joint pain. But that’s another perspective, for another blog.