I should have trusted Skeptical Inquirer
I have been having bad back and neck pain recently. It has interfered with work and sleep, restricted my range of motion, and left me very uncomfortable. It feels like certain joints need to have pressure relieved (i.e., it feels like my back and neck need to ‘pop’.) Unfortunately I could not trigger this on my own.
One day last week it got very bad, and out of desperation I decided to call a chiropractor, something I had never done before. I first called my insurance company (I have the Aetna EPO plan) and asked if chiropractic care was covered. “Yes,” they responded, “with a $40 copay.” That struck me as rather steep, but hey, I was hurting. I asked how to go about seeing a chiropractor, and was told to choose a name from an online list of in-network providers, and was told that eligibility was based on “medical necessity.” I asked how necessity was determined, and was told that it was based on the report of the chiropractor.
I chose Jean M. Duffy from their list (I’ll also write “Jean Duffy” here in case someone is using a search engine looking for her) and made an appointment for later that day. I had, in short, probably the worst clinical visit in my entire life. The receptionist was unprofessional, the office was severely over-heated, Duffy insisted on teasing me about word choices even though I was in obvious pain. She struck me as unintelligent and unresponsive. She was fairly dismissive when I voiced concern about the use of high-velocity popping, which is widely regarded as unnecessary and quite dangerous. I got a challenge to “define that precisely” for her, then was told in a doctor-knows-best tone that she did “what she decided was necessary”. At the end of a long questioning process she performed some perfunctory stretching of my neck and back, proceeded to perform exactly two manual manipulations (one in my neck and one in my mid-back), and told me I was done. When I expressed surprise at this (not the least of which because I was still in pain) I was given a lecture about chiropractic not being a “pill” that “fixes something immediately”. Sorry, Jean, but the prospect of immediate relief is the only thing that took me to a chiropractor in the first place. If I wanted slow-but-sure recovery I’d do physical therapy, something with which I had great success a year ago after an injury. She then iced my back and neck for under five minutes, a quarter of the time that I was iced at physical therapy.
I was asked to make a follow-up appointment two days hence. I was hesitant to do so because I was unsure I would be coming back, so I asked if I could call tomorrow and make a follow-up appointment. “No,” Jean said, “It would be better for you to make an appointment and cancel it if you need to.” (“Sure,” I thought, “that way you could charge me for the missed visit if the notification period is less than 24 hours.”) I went up to the receptionist without Jean. She asked me to make an appointment and I repeated my desire to call tomorrow to re-schedule. The receptionist agreed and I left.
My neck was still in pain and still had limited range of motion. When I got out to my car I simply turned my neck to the right and it ‘popped’ again, and instantly felt better. A simple turn of the neck, not a forced turn, and yet Jean did not perform this. I suppose it’s possible that her work on my neck allowed the later pop, and that that pop could not have occurred otherwise, but I’m skeptical. I was annoyed leaving the office, and thought to myself that the only thing left would be to find out she was a crook as well, that she’d find a way to charge me more money than she had said.
The next day she called me and told me that she had contacted my insurance company and they refused to pay, saying I needed a referral for chiropractic care, the exact opposite of what I had been told on the phone.
“All I can say is I hope you got someone’s name,” she said. “We’ll just have to send you a bill.” I asked how much. “$50,” she said. “Just $10 more than your copay.”
I’ll just pay it. It’s not worth fighting for $10. And it may be true. But I won’t be surprised if I find that Aetna has also paid that $10 after all.
I had never gone to a chiropractor before for a couple of reasons. One, the theoretical basis of their medicine is absurd and discounted by the traditional medical community. Two, after my father injured his neck some ten years ago he considered going to a chiropractor but went to a specialist and got an x-ray instead. He was told by the specialist that with his condition, had he gone to a chiropractor he would have ended up a quadriplegic. So why did I go? Good question. All I can claim in my defense was extreme pain, and the anecdotal evidence of friends who have received immediate relief from chiropractic care. But one is again reminded, in this story, that even pain is no excuse to abandon reason and logic.
Devotees of chiropractic will rightly point out that this is one sample point, one practitioner, and should not be used to make a judgment on the whole discipline. But next time, if I ever go to a chiropractor again, I will do so strictly based on a referral from a friend. But will I go again at all? Probably not.
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January 29th, 2008 at 18h32
Sorry to hear about your bad experience – that sucks. However, one doctor’s unprofessionalism or poor results has little to do with chiropractic as a whole. The theoretical basis of their medicine would only seem absurd if you based your opinion on the word of the “traditional medical community” who normally conducts very good research… except when it comes to evaluating forms of treatment that do not fall under their perview.
Traditional medicine, drug manufacturers, and politics are so deeply intertwined, I’m surprised people fall in line so easily. As for the quadriplegic comment – that doesn’t even make sense without proper context. Was the doctor assuming the chiropractor would come in jerking things around? (Good) Chiropractors take great care with xrays and all proper scans to ensure there will be no collateral damage – that’s why we are doctors as well.
June 16th, 2008 at 11h32
I lost my address book to a dead hard drive and have been trying to recreate for over a month (slow going). I don’t live in California anymore, but will be there in a few weeks and wanted to schedule an appointment with my old chiropractor. I came across this blog accidentally by doing a google search rather than a whitepages search, and WOW, am I shocked!
First, let me say that although I’ve seen chiropractors since I was a teen (scoliosis), Jean Duffy is the first chiropractor that I stayed with, and there are very good reasons for that. (BTW, I saw her regularly for about 10 years until the time I moved out-of-state, and now I see her when I am in town visiting — having a long-term practice with long-time patients, she is obviously doing something right!). For one thing, although you insinuate that she is a “crook” and basically accuse her of having a bad attitude in general, I found her to be more one-on-one rather than lofty like some doctors can be (was it maybe the Yonkers accent that got you?). As far as working with my insurance company, she was the best — it was very seamless, and I paid my co-pays when the bills came. Otherwise, I didn’t even have to be involved. Her staff has always been friendly (and she has the best massage therapist I’ve ever gone to — Mary — whom I miss terribly!)
I could go on and on about my great experience(s) with Jean Duffy as my chiropractor, but I’d rather address a few things you threw out there. The main thing that got my attention is that you said your neck popped on it’s own, something that Jean could not do. Was that later that day? You said earlier that you couldn’t do it yourself either, so did you think that the relief by just ‘turning your head’ was a miracle? I’m surprised you didn’t connect her words with the results: “…about chiropractic not being a “pill” that ‘fixes something immediately’.”
You also said that you had great success through physical therapy after an accident a year prior. Well, why didn’t you go there first, especially since you were already so skeptical of chiropractors? I also wondered if the neck pain was possibly a result of that injury (I am still suffering the afteraffects of a pinched disk 30 years ago).
You really just sound like you are ranting about an experience that didn’t go the way you expected it. I know the internet is completely unmonitored and uncensored, and anyone can post anything, but it’s really unfair the way you slander Dr. Duffy’s name (and your intent is obvious by the fact that you state the reason you are posting her name without her middle initial as well is to make it easier for people to find this using a search engine).
I poked around your website a little to see what you were all about. The very first thing I see is “I’m not fine, f*%# pretending” is displayed as part of your website banner. Hmmmm, very telling. On your “about this site” page, you begin by stating that you are “on medical leave from developing software for a living”. Well, I developed software for 10 years, then switched to graphic design which I continue to do from my computer, and although my right wrist, elbow and shoulder bother me frequenly, I am not on medical leave. It sounds like you are predisposed to medical issues — with your experience(s) maybe alternative medicine is just not for you.
When I spoke with Dr. Duffy earlier today, she was totally unaware of this incident. I’m sure she’ll be looking through her 2003 medical records to see who you are and what really happened (there are always at least two sides to every story). I hope that anyone who comes across this blog will consider the source, and if they are interested in being treated by Dr. Duffy, they should talk to her about this and any other concerns first and make up their own mind. I also vehemently hope that after 5 years you have reconsidered the situation and understand the repurcussions your blog can have one someones reputation — you should rescind!
November 30th, 2008 at 10h04
There are good and bad doctors in every field of which you are aware. Chiropractic helps to restore and maintain the body’s normal spinal biomechanics, which is very scientific. When proper biomechanics are restored, pain typically goes away. Now, you do have other chiropractors, like some Medical Doctor’s, that still maintain outdated philosophy which is not been proven. Really, the only faction of the medical community that remains skeptical are typically older physicians who typically think they know it all. Their opinion is not from a scientific standpoint, as that argument now doesn’t hold water with all the research available. In our office, we get many referrals from neurosurgeons, general practitioners, internists, physiatrists, and other medical professionals weekly.
Chiropractic therapy is not a cure all. It sometimes can be a quick fix but other times it can take numerous visits. That’s why many insurance plans will give you 20-30 visits depending on your diagnosis. Physical therapy is similar. Depending on the severity of the condition, how long it’s been there, and diagnostic imaging is usually what a treatment plan is based on. If you have a structural or disc problem that’s been there for years, you can’t seriously expect one treatment to reverse years of damage.
I hope you find the relief you’re looking for.
November 30th, 2008 at 15h34
Matthew, thank you for an informative, considered, and, especially, polite email. It is much appreciated.
In retrospect, I’m sorry I overreacted to Nikki. It was not a good period in my life when I wrote that, but that’s not much of an excuse. I’m leaving it up to show how much of an ass I can be at times (there are others).
April 7th, 2009 at 19h42
It’s nice to finally find a site where the blogger knows what they are talking about.
November 3rd, 2009 at 18h27
[...] therefore deserved a healthcare provider) started paying for chiropractic “treatments” (here, previously.) The theory of chiropractic is that all disease is caused by “subluxations” of [...]