One might ask, if half of patients have adverse effects, why do they keep coming back? There are plenty of psychological factors that could explain that. Many alternative providers tell patients that increased symptoms mean the treatment is working and they have to feel worse before they can get better. And one practice-building technique taught to chiropractors is not to ask whether the original symptom is better, but to ask “What’s better today?” If they can find anything positive, like sleeping better or improved appetite, they emphasize that improvement and distract the patient’s attention from the fact that their original complaint has not improved.

Sorry, but that's friggin disturbing.

I know it's just my experience which is completely irrelevant but I love my chiropractor so gotta testify. He stopped the headaches I was getting (the kind where you keep throwing up), has offered interesting nutritional advice I've followed up on and never asked "What's better today?" It's hard to find a good one (I screened him as carefully as I did my doctors and dentist) and he is the best I've ever found (when I lived in SF, I went to the chiro the SF ballet uses but I didn't think he was as good --- he also never asked "What's better today?") My former boss also went to him as a last resort before back surgery (which was the only hope a specialist from Cedars Sinai gave him). He went through three months of adjustments (was better in the first two weeks) and then never went back - it's gotta be around 10 years ago now.

Just in case, I want to add, I'm not saying people don't need back surgery. I'm a big fan of successful surgery. Both of my dogs have had serious orthopedic surgery for torn knee ligaments and it only took me 4-5 months of rehab per leg.

I tend to think of chiropractic more as a sort of precise targeted massage. I certainly wouldn't use it if it didn't make me feel immediately better, and medically I consider the practise itself pretty ineffective as the sole treatment for back problems; it can pop locked joints loose, bringing some comfort and restoring posture, but that's about it.

It's hard to find a good one

Yeah.

I got lucky when I tried chiropractic after seeing an unsatisfactory physiotherapist; the chiro's treatment was actually pretty similar to the physio's, but the chiro was more attentative, prescribed better exercises, and actually wanted me to get better instead of just wanting to joint-crack me for the rest of my life.

I tried a different Chiro while staying in another city, and that guy was a nutbar. While the first chiro relieved my pain with gentle pushes and tugs, this guy was just clumsy. When I asked him about exercises he just looked at me funny, as if he expected me to believe his little joint-popping tricks were all that I needed to get better.

They looked for all articles that reported adverse effects associated with chiropractic irrespective of type of design.

With a study design like that, it's a real shocker that they concluded that chiropractors might be bad for you.