Medicare wasted over half a billion dollars on chiro and osteo nonsense

[burdle]

No. Physio's don't do adjustments unless they are Chiropractors. For those that "don't" want adjustments there is that option, I figured I would mention this.

In order to see a Physiotherapist in the US, you cant show up without an order, you have to go see a GP(General Practioner) first and pay them. That's where it starts, they are the gatekeepers. When I made my commitment for surgery, I changed my PCP (Primary Care Physician) to my scoliosis surgeon so I could save the money that was charged every time I went to the GP......To be honest, my GP did nothing but charge a whole bunch of money. And I never met my GP, he used a PA (Physicians assistant) for everything. Imagine paying and not even meeting your doctor. This happens in the US, you can have doctors orders from doctors you have never met. There is no doubt a lot of invoicing that happens. Heavy duty invoicing with a capital H.

In order to see a Chiropractor, you don't need an order from a GP. They get their own approval through the insurance company. You can get worked on the same day.

I went to Physio after my shoulder surgery and that was great. This was ordered by my shoulder surgeon. The shoulder therapy actually helped with my spine.(post surgery) I never had an order(Before surgery) for scoliosis physio since we didn't have a scoliosis surgeon in my town. My regular Orthopedic surgeon wouldn't order it for some reason. Herniated discs are not easy to deal with....especially 4 of them in a 70 deg lumbar curve.

Once again, my chiropractic adjustments were necessary. I was always adjusted and they would adjust every single level. Many times I was barely walking when I went in, and the next day I would go skiing....Huge amounts of pain improvement.
Chiropractic also frowns on medications and an opoid habit can be expensive and cause problems all across the board.

For those that elect to do Scolismart, that is their decision. Regardless of what they say or claim as far as correction, parents need to be aware, and take it with a grain of salt. If the therapy makes the kid feel better and it avoids surgery, I think that's a good thing. Its another tool in our arsenal battling this disease, and having that choice is so important. Feeling better has a lot of value....and scoliosis is never cheap.

Their training has a lot to be desired, so if one wants to use a Chiropractor, get approval from a scoliosis surgeon. If one has scoliosis, they should see a scoliosis surgeon first to rule out things that the untrained will not find.

Ed

Yes I should have said that there is nothing chiro do that physios can't except adjustments- and adjustments have no evidence of success other than the anecdotal and personal. That is placebo- I am not knocking placebo - there is evidence that it is a powerful force. - but moving a joint so that trapped air comes out has no scientific evidence behind it. I am a believer of placebo - if it works it works and as a chronic pain sufferer I am in favour of whatever takes your pain away. However I have to stand firmly behind evidence based medicine - otherwise the flood gates open to any quackery. Look at the current thinking on pain and where it comes from and how the brain deals with it and you will see that chiros have not embraced this. They can't because they would have no business left. Then look at physiotherapy and see how pain science is being incorporated into their training. Physios respond to changes in the medical world; to new ideas based firmly on evidence. Chiro do not they self regulate and thus their methods will never evolve. The world of chiros ( lets forget the scoliosis patient for the moment) will always diagnose something and the patient will always believe that what the Chiro has done has made the problem/pain go away and so he must return again for more treatment. to keep it going away. However evidence shows that a lot of pain will go away by itself- with movement and exercise etc. But the placebo effect comes into play and once a patient believes in something ... you see where I am going.
The world of Chiro relies on the patient coming back an back- unlike current medical thinking of empowering the patient it does exactly the opposite.

In UK the model is different. The GP is free of charge and if he recommends physio that is also free. However Physio is also available privately- you can just go to one in the same way you go to a Chiro- you pay in both cases. But all physios whether private or NHS are trained exactly the same way and that I feel is the key. I pay to go privately so that I have more freedom to choose the time and I can ensure continuity.

However I also believe physio training needs to be more informed about scoliosis and needs to offer targeted therapy for a scoliosis patient - fused or unfused- which is something that is not really there at the moment.


I cannot agree with you regarding Sciolismart. Choice can be dangerous if is is the wrong choice. Smart do not just claim to keep you flexible and pain free. They claim to straighten a curve. They are totally against fusion surgery. However with the advent of VBT they have seen a niche whereby instead of patients turning their back on smart they now say come to us and we will keep your spine flexible in preparation for any surgery you might have. No evidence - just shedloads of money. that could be spent on better healthcare. It is dangerous because there is currently only a small window for VBT surgery and time wasted with Smart could close this window. Also it is emotionally dangerous because their target is mainly youngsters with worried parents who would do anything to cure the scoliosis and are totally misled. I am been in contact with so many who have done the bootcamp- long, arduous, very expensive and have been told that their child's curve is improving only to find later that it hasn't and then been blamed themselves for not following the program correctly. I will fight long to get rid of people like Smart. We as scoliosis patients must protect ourselves and others!