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'Chiropractors Are Bullshit' (theoutline.com)
From an article on The Outline, submitted by two readers: If you're one of the approximately 80 percent of Americans who have suffered from back pain, you may have been referred to a chiropractor for medical help. In the modern-day internet landscape, you'll find chiropractic celebrities like Dr. Josh Axe (1.7 million Facebook followers), Dr. Billy DeMoss (20,000 Facebook followers), and Dr. Eric Berg (472,000 YouTube subscribers) giving advice that goes beyond managing spinal issues. Both in their offices and on social media, chiropractors have adapted to a marketplace that's demanding more than just pain management: they extol the virtues of an "alkaline diet," tell you how to manage stress with detoxing, and wax scientific about the adrenal gland. [...] Chiropractic care, I'm sorry to say, is little more than the buffoonery of a 19th-century lunatic who derived most of his medical theory from seances. It has not evolved much since its creation. Chiropractic beliefs are dangerously far removed from mainstream medicine, and the vocation's practices have been linked to strokes, herniated discs, and even death. Chiropractors can't replace your doctor, and I'm amazed that they're still even allowed to practice. [...] Though some chiropractors are now making an effort to introduce evidence-based practices into their treatment, chiropractic as a whole hasn't evolved like other areas of medicine -- with hypotheses, experimentation, and peer review. Instead, it was birthed by a strange combination of hocus pocus, guesswork, and strongly held religious beliefs.
Anecdotes are not data, etc...
However I screwed my back up something awful by pulling a sledge load across a floor - exactly what you NEVER should do - and a chiropractor had me walking and feeling not nearly as painful after one visit. After 3 visits I was "cured". That was 12 years ago, been fine ever since.
So it worked for me. However, as you point out nobody should be expecting them to cure cancer or diabetes or acne or any bullshit like that.
If you are into alternative medicine that involves the “manipulation of muscle tissue and bones”, I’d suggest seeing a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) rather than a quack chiropractor. I’m not a fan of osteopathy but, at least, that field has properly educated medical doctors (the aforementioned D.O.s): in the U.S., those are normal physicians with an added specialisation in osteopathy, and they will therefore have the ability to use the gamut of modern medicine like any physician. (On the other hand, I’d suggest avoiding the non-D.O. plain “osteopaths”, who are not physicians.)
Why play woo roulette with a chiropractor? There is no reason that a chiropractor is required at any stage in the process. Need a nice back rub? Go to a masseur. Need treatment for a physical problem? Go to a physiotherapist.