Edit: Amended to reflect the fact that this was likely a translation error.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
[2]: https://web.archive.org/web/20100516074554/http://jrsm.rsmjo...
(FWIW, "osteopathy" is also a quack practice, in the US. It's distinct from osteopathic medicine, which is an actual medical science. But it might be hard to translate that distinction; if your practitioner has a medical degree, then they're the "real" one.)
It's more expensive, but you only get one spine per life and I can tell you from acute experience that you don't want someone to damage it trying to get that last satisfying cracking noise out of it.
If your back is giving you hell, you don't want a chiropractor, you want an orthopedist. And that orthopedist will probably refer you to a physical therapist, which is where the magic really happens.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Chiropractic_Association_...
It backfired.
"...before the case closed, a quarter of all members of the British Chiropractic Association were under formal investigation"
Started going to chiropractors, since I could not sleep at night with out horrid back pain. After 10 different chiropractors, I finally found a good one. He practiced something call DNFT (directional non force therapy). No cracking of the back or neck. Just gentle pressure on different parts of my spine. Amazingly it worked wonders! I go back every 5 years or so for a tune up. Its black magic but it worked for me.
However, it seems like there are two options, surgery, and physical therapy. Maybe I should have given the PT route a chance.
All that to say I wish the field would die but the amount of quackery can vary very widely between chiros from little more than a pop factory to essentially the same experience as an average PT.
We have qualifications for a reason.
While I totally agree I would extend this recommendation to not trust anyone who does spinal manipulation without proper knowledge, since practioners of quackery use a lot of job titles.
This especially includes osteopathy (maybe with the exception of the US variant "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine", I only know the european kind) - damaging the spinal cord or big blood vessels with slow motions doesn't make it less damaging.
As a rule of thumb: If it looks like a quack, swims like a quack, and quacks like a quack, then it probably is a quack.
There may be anecdotal evidence for it being some kind of miracle cure, but I can also tell anecdotes of people getting bonus stays at the local hospitals stroke unit after visting an ostheopath.
As for the field as a whole, I don't fully know what to make of it. My understanding is that some fairly large and prominent companies (think Fortune 100) keep multiple chiropractors on retainer for their employee's benefit. Is it possible that there's something of value there which isn't fully understood or are these companies just acting irrationally? Worded a bit differently: if it's a scam, why are so many big companies paying for these services?
Massage feels great, but many people feel uncomfortable about it, or don't take it seriously because the provider is not wearing a white coat, or there's no clear "science" behind it. Chiropractors don't massage you see, they correct your subluxations (which are totally real and not made up) with the application of pressure to the body. People walk away from a treatment feeling good, and Chiropractors leverage that to convince them that their services are more that what they are, strange and somewhat risky massage therapy.
While magical beliefs (misalignment of your bones causes literally all problems with your health) are still common, the industry learned to be careful about what legally relevant claims they make and generally represent themselves as a kind of physical therapist that can help you with back pain. Because of this (and lots of lobbying dollars) they have gained real legitimacy in the legal/medical sense and can even get reimbursed by insurance for their services.
TLDR: they get hired because people like them, and they've built a passible veneer of legitimacy.
> misalignment of your bones causes literally all problems with your health
Sounds like scientologist anatomy
If their employees want that service mostly, they give them that service. The same way insurance will often include it, even though it is useless. If people are willing to pay for it, they won’t turn down good money.