Doctor or chiropractor/osteopath?

[Jonny69]

A plea for help, I'm feeling a bit lost. I injured the lower part of my back lifting something in August but at the time did nothing about it due to circumstances. It's been giving me pain ever since and is in the joint rather than in the muscles.

What are my options if I actually go to my doctor? Am I just going to be fobbed off with pain killers or should I not waste my time and go straight to a chiropractor or osteopath?

I have a friend with private medical care and they have been excellent with his back, but I know from past experience I won't get that sort of care or urgency with the NHS.

[Will]

Crystal Palace Sports Injury center is fantastic. They fixed my shoulder problem, they're not extorionately expensive, and they are all a) very professional b) highly qualified c) lovely people (mainly Aussies and Kiwis) d) they were able to fix an 8yr old injury of mine, whilst still letting me go to the gym and play rugby.

[Kitten]

Osteo without a doubt. 8 weeks last year of agony and 8 GP appointments where they failed to spot a misplaced rib. Osteo spotted it in less than 5 minutes and fixed it quickly.

Genius. Can't recommend them highly enough, as anyone who has had the misfortune to sit listening to me waffle on about mine will tell you!

NHS waiting list was over 12 weeks for me to see a physio, osteo was about another 12 weeks longer. Mine costs £40 per session and is worth double that at least.

[Jonny69]

How many sessions though Kit? I'm not short of cash for this but I don't want to be at the same time :(

[Glaucus]

Doctor first but they'll probably fobbed you off

Mum had problems with her back for years. Doctors fobbed her of pain killers etc. eventually had enough and went private. 8 sessions of cracking her back and being given exercises to do every day and she was better.

[Kitten]

How many sessions though Kit? I'm not short of cash for this but I don't want to be at the same time :(

I had two and he said that would be enough to fix it. I went for a few more because I felt great after the sessions but two was enough to fix the immediate problem. Probably 5 or 6. I had a lot of secondary damage from muscle compensation so he taught me what was causing that and how to stop making it worse. That was invaluable.

How about going for something like a medicash plan? £12/£14 or so per month for a year, but on the lowest plan you can claim £120 for dental/£120 for eyes (includes lenses and glasses) and you get 50% up to £300 worth of session medicine (like osteo or homeopathic treatments) - so I pay around £150 a year for medicash but get £240 back on eyes & teeth and paid £80 for 4 sessions of osteo (they gave me the other £80 back). Well worth it in my opinion. I seriously wouldn't even bother with the GP, they'll give you painkillers and tell you to come back in a month if it's still bothering you. They're effectively just gatekeepers now.

[Feek]

Well it took me three trips to the doctor to get referred to a physio for my back and they only referred me once I asked. Two days later I was face down on the couch and I was all sorted within a couple of weeks. This was all NHS stuff.

So I'd go to your doctor, explain the situation and ask for a referral. You've got nothing to lose.

[Kitten]

That's fair enough - I waited 6 months (on strong anti-inflammatories and codeine - not the best thing to be on for long-term) to actually see the physio - once I got on the waiting list for the waiting list, there was another 12 weeks before the app came through - and tbh the physio wasn't up to much ( I had 3 different people, and while it wasn't bad, it was nothing like as good as the osteo - I suppose that's down to luck though!)

Can't hurt though Jonny, depends on how quickly you want it sorted out. Once I'd seen my guy my mood was totally different and things changed very fast. If you can get it done on the NHS then it'll be a lot easier on the pocket.

[Jonny69]

And I suppose I've already been putting up with it for 3 months...