I think chiropractor is taking sis for a ride

[heatherindeskies]

The insurance company called today.... sis' b/f took the call. Apparently when she hit a deer a few weeks ago she was injured (news to us as she still works) and the insurance company is asking about the many chiro visits she has had at their expense....
Yes she was seeing this chiro doc before that accident, but after that accident suddenly she 'needs' to see him four visits in one week, with a $1,000 bill attached?????

He is taking her for a ride, and I think talked her into believing it is OK because insurance is paying for it and/or else she is playing the insurance company too....
makes me mad... docs and people like this is what makes everybody's insurance go up!!!!
Unless I get some other proof of what is going on this is one doc I now have lost some respect for.

 

[zzGypsy]

maybe, or maybe not.

part of how chiropractic care works best is frequent adjustments after a trauma, followed by less frequent adjustments and then an occasional tune up adjustment.

don't know anything about your sis's condition of course, but what I would expect from my chiropractor if I had an accident is this:

a checkup and xray to look for hard-tissue damage and things out of place, and especially if I had whiplash symptoms (pain, stiff neck, headaches, vision issues, inability to turn or bend my neck...)
if there was no hard-tissue damage, and provided there was not so much swelling or soft tissue damage that an adjustment can't be done, 2-4 days of adjustment in a row (one per day). then 2-3 the next week, then 2 a week for 1-3 weeks, then once a week or every two weeks if I still had neck issues, pain, headaches.
also ice or heat applied to my neck before or after adjustments.
possibly some theraputic massage after the swelling decreases to remove the "splinting" and adhesions that can occur in muscles that have been damaged.

if it was just a small bump, might be 2 adjustments the first week, then 1 a week for a couple of weeks, then occasionally as needed after that.

sometimes something like a car accident takes people into a chiropractor's office, where they find stuff that's been out of place for a while, but just never been treated. then a small incident can lead to longer and more intense treatment because they are addressing much more than the event that sent the person in. think of it like going in for a chest xray for bronchitis and finding out you have lung cancer... well, probably not that dramatic, but you get the point.

when treating a long-term chronic issue, frequent adjustments are required to make headway.

aaaand....
some chiropractors are crooks and scamming the system. just like some MDs do.

hard to know for sure, except by this: is your sis doing and feeling better than she was without the treatment?

I had migranes for *many* years and what reduced them from the *shoot*myself* level of 3-4 a week to an occasional migraine was chiropractic care. I went *daily* for about a month, then 3-4 a week for a couple more months, down to once weekly after 6 or 7 months. 12 years later, I still go once every couple of weeks to once every couple of months, as needed. I've got a chronic problem that takes maintenance to keep in check. I'll tell you it wasn't cheap, all those visits, but I'd surely have put a bullet in my head if I hadn't done it. drugs didn't work, chiropractic did.

so... maybe a ride, or maybe not. how's your sis feel? that's the proof.

 

[debilorrah]

How many visits is that $1,000 for?

 

[jeepguy982001]

lol sounds fishy i was in a semi truck(no trailer) and rear ended at 35 by a loaded semi and i haven't had no problems. I know plenty people who have hit deer and no issues minus the car damage

 

[Stacykins]

Quote:
That is great you and people you know came out unscathed. Not everyone is so lucky and no, they are just not milking it for the attention. Every accident is different. Some people get more seriously hurt than others, even if they walk away from it. The human body just isn't designed to absorb the mechanical stresses experienced in car accidents.

 

[ronniewayne]

i'm with Gypsy i started going to a chriopractor about a yr ago and still go at least once a week ....it sure helps my neck and back the tuneups make all the difference...and insurance is not paying for mine ...i pay it out of pocket but the dr is giving me a break for that...i hope your sis gets all the treatments she needs and not 1 more...i am not for scaming the system medical dr or chriopractor...

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
I was rear-ended once, and had no significant issues... and then again, I stepped off a curb unexpectedly and froze my neck up badly enough I couldn't open my jaw or turn my head left even an inch.

just depends. I don't think its possible to generalize the results of an accident. there are so many different dynamics at work.

 

[jeepguy982001]

i'm not saying that you can't be hurt or hurt later. Just that now a days its hard to tell who is actually hurt and whos looking for money. Didn't mean it to come out in a bad way. And not just the victom looking for money doctors are just as bad.

 

[zzGypsy]

yeah, there's good ones and not so good ones.

saw my dentist on the news one night... being arrested. for insurance and medicare fraud.

nice way to find out you're getting a new dentist.

 

[jcatblum]

I trust my chiropractor & will go off any of his suggestions for treatment. He has helped me have feeling in my leg & toes & stopped migraines. Both of which I have spent yes of seeing doctors & specialist with no relief. My insurance doesn't caver any chiropractic care. However my chiropractor bills less for cash clients & every 5th adjustment is half off. She needs to find out if there is a way to get a cash rate instead of being billed same as the insurance company.

---- we have moved & I now will drive 45 min to see my chiropractor- instead of going to someone local. It depends on how she feels about her chiropractor. I always ask my husband to go to the chiropractor & he thinks it is a big waste of money. I know it has helped me more than I can ever imagine& wouldn't give up my regular chiropractor visits at any cost.