Thursday, November 01, 2007

Is there a Chiro shaped hole in your life?

Tonight is my follow-up consultation with the chiropractor at which he comes to the shock conclusion that for a not so small sum of money he can help me achieve a healthy spine and nervous system.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of time for the theory he espouses and I know first-hand that conventional medicine has its limitations and downsides (having found myself in the vicious cycle of analgesic headaches, he’s preaching to the choir on that one), but do I really need to adopt the doctrine of chiropractic practice wholesale, in order to receive treatment?

Call me a post-modernist, but you can’t ask me to be cynical about one meta-narrative only to expect me to replace it blindly and completely with another.

Yes, I’ll agree that stuffing your body full of chemicals is not a totally good idea, so why do you then expect me to unquestioningly adopt your recommended supplement regime of high dose Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Omega 3 and Glucosamene Sulphate?

With a website that even most evangelical Christians would find a bit ‘preachy’, a CD book of his deep wisdom that I must study and an earnest delivery style that just makes me want to giggle, I’m starting to wonder if this is all a good idea.

Underlying all this, is a deep-rooted lack of comfort with health care being coupled with financial gain. His message that remedial care alone only results in repeat problems, whereas ongoing care and change in causal factors is required for long-term resolution, makes perfect sense, but somehow the use of a graph and arrows pointing to ‘decision time’ makes it all seem a bit like double-glazing sales.



Still, I guess you want a practitioner that believes in what he’s doing (and boy does he) and he seems to be well qualified and knows his stuff. He also comes highly recommended. So I decide that as long as my lack of fervent conversion doesn’t stand in the way of treatment, I’m prepared to bite back on the innate reaction to the proselytising and keep sight of the good stuff. I just need to nod sweetly along as he goes for the hard sell.

Then the bastard starts hitting me in the back, wrenching my neck until it pops and twisting my arms in ways they really aren’t designed to go.

I think he smells the rat of agnosticism…

2 comments:

Rob (the ergonomist). said...

Don't do it L1z!

Go for some actual evidence based medicine, rather than out-and-out quackery. Before you know it, he'll be releasing the negative energy build up in your polar chakras.

There are other non-pharmacological routes you can take which have actual science behind them...

1 i z said...

Lol! Trust me the minute anyone says anything like chi or chakra I'm out of there.

To be fair Rob, it's a bit harsh to call it out-and-out quackery (minor quackery at worst!) or suggest there isn't evidence to support it - heck my GP even gave me a referral.

You problem is that you just don't 'believe'.

Probably something blocking the flow of chi in your faith chakra or something...now if you'll just let me place this crystal... ;-)