Doctor Zac Turner reveals the truth about chiropractic care
QUESTION: Dear Dr Zac, my friendship group has gone all in on chiropractic care – some swear it's a game-changer, while others outside of this group think it's just a fancy way of cracking your back. What's the truth? Will I be wasting my time and money, or is there some real science behind it? – Georgia, 35, Wollongong
ANSWER: Ah yes, chiropractic care – one of the most divisive topics in modern health. Somewhere between a massage and a magic trick, it's the sort of thing that people either swear by or swear at.
You've got wellness influencers on Instagram raving about how a single adjustment changed their life, while others see it as little more than a glorified back crack. Throw in a few viral TikToks with spine-popping sound effects and suddenly everyone's wondering if they need an urgent appointment – or a restraining order on their chiropractor.
So let's break it down: is there real science behind it, or is it just a bunch of clicks and giggles?
What's actually going on?
At its core, chiropractic care focuses on the spine and how it connects with your nervous system. The theory is that misalignments (called 'subluxations' in chiro-speak) can mess with nerve function and cause pain or dysfunction elsewhere in the body.
The fix? Spinal adjustments. That's where the classic crack comes in – a quick, targeted movement designed to restore joint mobility and relieve pressure.
Now, the subluxation theory is controversial. A lot of medical professionals don't buy into it wholesale. But does that mean the whole practice is nonsense? Not at all.
The science says … sort of
Here's the deal: for conditions like lower back pain, neck pain, and tension headaches, there's solid research showing chiropractic care can help. A 2019 study found spinal manipulation was just as effective as physio or medication for managing lower back pain – minus the side effects of popping painkillers every day (Rubinstein et al., 2019).
Where it gets murky is when chiropractors start claiming they can cure asthma, boost your immune system, or realign your chakras. There's not enough solid evidence to back up those kinds of claims, so if you hear them, treat them with a grain of magnesium salt.
Also, let's not underestimate the power of the placebo effect – which, by the way, is no joke. Believing a treatment will work can genuinely lead to pain relief and improved wellbeing. If you leave the chiro's office feeling like Captain Marvel after a recharge, who am I to say it didn't help?
When it helps – and when it doesn't
Chiropractic care can be a valuable part of managing musculoskeletal issues – especially if you're dealing with a stiff neck from too much scrolling or lower back pain from a desk job that's slowly turning you into a human pretzel.
But it's not a silver bullet. If your posture is trash and your daily exercise routine is walking from the couch to the fridge, no amount of spinal cracking will fix that. You've got to meet your health halfway – think stretching, strengthening, moving your body regularly, and adjusting your workspace so it doesn't slowly ruin you. A good chiro will talk you through all of this and will recommend adjustments to your daily life that will bring about meaningful change to your health and wellbeing. And that's priceless advice.
When to be cautious
As with any industry, there are good practitioners and … others.
Red flag 1: Anyone promising to 'cure' things like allergies, infertility, or Covid with a spinal adjustment. If your chiropractor sounds like a Marvel villain promising world domination through your spine, back away slowly.
Red flag 2: High-pressure sales tactics. You shouldn't be strongarmed into a $3000 'wellness package' on your first visit. If the vibe is more car dealership than clinic, it's not a good sign.
Red flag 3: Aggressive neck manipulations without proper screening. There's a rare but serious risk of stroke from certain neck adjustments, so they should only be done by highly trained professionals who've taken your full medical history into account.
How to do it safely
If you want to give chiropractic care a go:
• Do your homework. Check qualifications, reviews, and whether they're accredited.
• Listen to your body. Mild soreness after an adjustment is normal. Ongoing pain or dizziness? Not normal.
• Keep it balanced. Pair it with good posture, regular exercise, and maybe an actual pillow that supports your neck (not that sad pancake you've been using since uni).
Chiropractic care isn't a miracle – and it isn't a scam. It's a tool. And like any tool, it works best when used properly, by someone who knows what they're doing, and for the right reasons.
You've got this.
Dr Zac Turner is a medical practitioner specialising in preventive health and wellness. He has four health/medical degrees – Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Nursing at Central Queensland University, and Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is a registrar for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and is completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (UNSW). Dr Zac is the medical director for his own holistic wellness medical clinics throughout Australia, Concierge Doctors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
35 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Punching above our weight': Booming sector helping to lift Aussie economy
Australia's economy is getting a surprising boost from the wellness sector, which has quietly grown to one of the nation's leading sectors. According to a new report by Global Wellness Institute, Australia ranks seventh in the world when it comes to spending on their healthcare. In total this added $194.4bn in 2023, up 10.9 per cent year on year or around $7,402 per person. Wellness now makes up seven per cent of Australia's GDP, placing it behind the construction sector. Currently the construction industry accounts for around 9 per cent of GDP and employs more than 1.3 million people. Anytime Fitness managing director Simon Thompson says the results show the wellness economy is doing its share of the heavy lifting when it comes to Australia's economy. 'When you consider our population, Australia is punching above its weight and has pioneered many wellness communities that support healthy lifestyles, vibrant social connections, and sustainable living in its growing housing markets,' Mr Thompson said. Mr Thompson said the push was coming from younger Aussies. 'Gyms, instead of pubs and clubs, are now often the number one choice for weekend outings, and even dates,' he said. 'Gen Z now spends seven times the amount of money on getting fit than Gen X.' According to the report, Australia's overall wellness growth is coming across a number of sub-sectors. Wellness tourism has swelled by 32.9 per cent between 2019 to 2023 while thermal/mineral springs are up 21.5 per cent. Wellness real estate, mental wellness and physical activity round out the top five sectors. The report comes as prime minister Anthony Albanese separately spruiks the benefit to Australia reviving its building and manufacturing sectors. During a doorstop in the electorate of Bonner in Brisbane the prime minster and Energy Minister Chris Bowen talked up the home battery incentive and solar panel uptake. 'It's good for everyone because what it does is take pressure off the grid during peak times, and that's why this is such good public policy, good for households … of course, good right throughout Australia,' Mr Albanese says. According to the ministers, 28,000 Australian homes have installed a home battery under the government's policy. But Mr Albanese wants more Australians to take up the scheme and for the panels to be built in Australia. 'Chris (Bowen) was at the South Australian factory producing solar panels earlier this week, or at the end of last week, that's expanding by nine times,' Mr Albanese said. 'We also want to produce more things here. We have everything that goes into a battery. One of the progress we have is for battery manufacturing.' Mr Albanese went further calling for more large infrastructure projects such as trains and boats to be built in Australia. 'We want things made here and here in Queensland. I want more manufacturing, more jobs to be created here.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Could conches put snoring to bed?
Andy Park: Well, it's a distinctive sound usually found on the salty trade winds of the Blue Pacific, which may replace the far more infuriating sound of your partner's night-time snoring. Yes, one bizarre sleep apnoea study released this week suggests blowing on a conch, yes a conch shell, may be the key to night-time happiness for everyone. And let's face it, people have probably done worse in the search for a good night's sleep. Myles Houlbrook-Walk reports. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Could this be the answer to ending this? On the streets of Sydney, those living alongside snorers are open to all sorts of solutions. Opinion: Very distracting. I don't think I could sleep with anyone that snores. There's a 12 person room, there's at least three people though snored. The person above me and the person next to me snored. And for doing like 25,000 steps a day in Europe, walking around and getting like no sleep because of snoring, it was rough. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: A new study released this week by the European Respiratory Society and carried out by a research institute in India, looked at 30 people with obstructive sleep apnoea. It required them to play a conch seashell, specifically a shunk in this instance, for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. The study found those who practice shunk blowing as a low cost breathing technique were less sleepy during the day and had better quality sleep at night. The findings were especially exciting to Karen, who's not keen on using a sleep apnoea machine. Karen: And the doctor actually suggested one of those, you know, breathing machines. When you've been married 40 years, that would be like the icing on the cake for the death-knell of the marriage. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: I think hearing something like that, would you ever be willing to practice? Karen: I don't know. I've got a conch shell at home. Maybe I'll give it a go. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: You're kidding. Karen: Yeah, I've got a little one from the islands when I did used to sail back in the, in the eighties. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: You know how to blow into it and all that? Karen: Not really, but I'm sure I could try. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Do you think if you suggested it to your husband, he'd be, Karen: he'd think I've completely lost the pot. I'd have a crack at it. I think anything that, that helps, you know, um, tried pillows. I've tried loads of different things, but yeah, I'm just a mouth mouth breather snorer. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Dr Kat Lederle is a sleep therapist in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC, this study fits in with other data around improving respiratory muscles. Dr Kat Lederle: So what that probably does is it strengthens the muscles in the face, in the sort of firings in the thoracic area. And it's really, it's the regular practice. And there are other similar studies looking at other instruments and looking at other exercises that all involve basically the face and sort of the neck, the muscles there to strengthen them and to then stop them from collapsing at night. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Dr Moira Junge is the CEO of the Sleep Foundation and was not involved in the study. She says it's a novel idea. Dr Moira Junge: It is curious. I've never, um, hadn't heard of this before, even though I have heard of ancient healing things like, you know, with Buteyko methods and things like that. So we don't have standard guidelines or it's not a validated part of therapy for sleep apnoea at this stage at least. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: But she warned the sleep industry can be prone to solutions that are not yet substantively proven to be effective and recommended pursuing other means of treatment under the guidance of a healthcare professional. Across the board, Dr Moira Junge says practising good sleep hygiene is crucial. Dr Moira Junge: Consistent sleep patterns, being very aware of the light and the dark. So being in really bright light conditions when you want to be alert. So during the day and in the night-time, plunging yourself into dim light conditions and less stress, unwinding, unplugging before bed. And that doesn't mean just phones and screens. It's like unplugging from your busy mind, unplugging from responsibilities. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: She says more research needs to be done before this can become a promising alternative. Andy Park: Miles Houlbrook-Walk there.
SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Would you seek health advice from TikTok? Why experts are sounding fresh cautions
It's billed as relatable content — ordinary people offering advice on common health dramas, beauty and lifestyle hacks and medical developments. But experts are increasingly cautioning about the dangers of unqualified influencers offering health advice or warning people off certain medical devices and treatments. For children and young women, there are fresh warnings to be alert to misinformation. New research by The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne has found two two-thirds of teens are getting health information from social media, with many trying trends they see online. The leading topics they follow are fitness, skincare and diet. The National Child Health Poll surveyed more than 1,400 Australian parents and one of their children aged between 12 and 17 years old. Almost half of the teenagers said what they see on social media later makes them wish their bodies were different. Year 9 student Willow said social media can be a harmful place as it applies pressure for young people to fit certain societal standards of beauty and body image. She said health and wellness treatments such as sun tanning were widely discussed among friends at school and on social media, making them hard to avoid. "Recently I've seen (content) romanticising tan lines," she told AAP. "It's probably not the best thing for young skin or those more prone to melanoma." Willow said she had seen peers trying trends such a switching to retinol in their skincare routines, which isn't recommended for young people. "They're being presented with huge amount of content that's often quite persuasive. It may be emotive and engaging and offers solutions or advice to common challenges that we know teenagers face," she said. "This really leaves them quite vulnerable to being misled." Paediatrician and director of the National Child Health Poll, Dr Anthea Rhodes, said it was important to teach children how to identify evidence-based health information. "The teen years are a time of self-discovery and curiosity — for influencers and marketing giants, however, this can provide the potential for big business in a relatively vulnerable population," she said. Concerns about reproductive health content Public health experts have raised concerns about some of the content related to reproductive health on social media. In a recent study, La Trobe University researchers looked into the rise of contraceptive misinformation on TikTok, analysing 100 TikTok videos on contraceptive health between August and September 2023 with the hashtags #birthcontrol, #contraception, #thepill, #naturalbirthcontrol and #cycletracking. The researchers acknowledge the study is constrained by limitations, including a potential for selection bias, the relatively small sample size, and the inclusion of English-language only videos. Even so, during that period those videos had collectively gained 4.85 billion views and 14.6 million likes. According to the study, published in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, just 10 per cent of the videos sampled were created by medical professionals. The researchers found more than half — 53 per cent — of TikTok content creators clearly rejected hormonal birth control, while about a third — 34 per cent — expressed distrust in health professionals. Megan Bugden, the report's co-author and a lecturer in public health at LaTrobe, said a lot of the advice given on TikTok is based on personal experience and beliefs rather than medical advice or evidence. Bugden said most of the influencers analysed explicitly endorsed natural birth control methods, methods known as 'fertility awareness'. But she said the videos failed to disclose any potential limitations, which can include motivation, partner cooperation and biological variabilities. She said what's worrying is that it will mislead a large proportion of young people by over-emphasising the reliability of the method — failing to discuss the potential risks of unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Need for accurate, reliable content She said there was a real opportunity for public health practitioners to join these platforms and disseminate accurate, reliable, non-judgmental content that's easily accessible to a huge range of people. "We need to be partnering with trusted online voices that have this huge reach with young people and ensure that they're getting access to non-biased information that is informing their contraceptive beliefs and therefore then decision making." She added that while videos by health professionals gained on average more likes and followers, TikTok's algorithms amplify influencers' voices, giving them greater reach than medical experts. Budgen urged people to seek credible contraceptive advice — that just because someone says they're a doctor or wears a lab coat, it doesn't mean they can be trusted. "Always ask your medical practitioner as well. Go in and have a discussion around some of the ideas you've seen online and ask how credible they are and how reliable they are, and ask them for evidence. You can always ask your GP for the clinical guidelines relating to any sort of medical recommendation that they're suggesting." TikTok declined to comment when contacted by SBS News. — With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
