Does chiropractic care work?!

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Yes. Find one that specializes in sports medicine who also does laser therapy, interferential, ultrasound, any or all of the aforementioned. I have a chiropractor who treats professional athletes on a regular basis -- they have to get "back in the game" as soon as possible, so she's really up on her game.
Another option is to find an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner.
The trolls are nuts. In the UK and the US some loony tunes spread slanderous and libellous comments about chiropractic. It took a lawsuit to shut them up because their comments were similar to some of the ones expressed here. They're completely out of touch with reality.

While there is evidence that manipulative therapy can be effective for certain types of back pain, the idea behind manipulating the spine for knee pain is without any evidence. It's also difficult to give you any specific advise regarding your particular situation until we know the source of your knee pain. If it's because you have a large meniscal tear, I'm sorry, but no amount of spinal manipulation will change that....

Most things that any legitimate, evidence based chiropractor would offer for treatment for knee pain really isn't any different than what a PT would do. It might be that spinal manipulation MIGHT further benefit ongoing physical therapy treatment, but really, this is just speculation.

If you do go see a chiropractor, I implore you to see an "evidence based" practitioner (usually called a mixer) and stay away from the hio method and "straight" chiropractors that will get you believing in energy fields and such...

I would also be happy to give you further advice if you can give us further input as to the cause of your knee pain (ie, patellofemoral, meniscus, etc).

...and Mr. E should go back to anatomy lab to reducate himself on where the L-3 nerve root exits. While the spinal cord certainly passes through C-1, the motor neurons that control the lower extremities is so deeply imbedded in the cord that you'd have to be practically paralyzed before subluxation of C-1 would interfere with the desecending motor pathway...and if it was at C-1, you'd be dead anyway...

I am a PT

If your orthopedist thinks surgery might be an option, then there must be something structurally wrong within the knee joint. If you do decide to try a chiro.make sure your doctor writes him a letter explaining what is wrong with your knee.Tell him to explain in very simple terms,so the chiro can understand.Being that they are not doctors,they have a very hard time understanding big complicated medical terms.I'm almost positive you'll have to sign up for at least 30 visits (to start) so the chiro can start to "align" you from head to toe. You see,it is not a knee problem,it is an alignment problem. And guess what,after a year of being "realigned" you knee is still going to hurt. Good Luck!

the medical-minded relegate it to the only thing they can understand and are familiar with, non-corrective (and therefore useless) physical therapeutics. the purpose of chiropractic is simple, to correct the cause of nerve interference. period. i could supply numerous testimonials of others, but personally i have had no knee problems. instead, i will mention that the most common cause of health problems in general, including joint problems, is nerve interference. nerve interference to muscles causes them to elongate and weaken. this creates imbalanced stress on the joints they attach to, which often results in pain and a tendency for injury, as ligaments are made to bear the additional load weakened muscles do not. the most common neurogenic muscle weaknesses tending to produce knee pain involve one or more of the following: the quadriceps femoris, the leg adductors, and the hamstring (though others may also be involved). the source of the nerve interference is in the upper neck, due to subluxation of the atlas (c1) vertebra which impinges the spinal cord. see an hio method upper cervical specific chiropractor. ( there are many who deny the principles of chiropractic and fail to correct nerve interference, yet still use the name "chiropractor" to describe themselves. i would avoid such persons).

Chiropractic care is not a cure all, like some chiros will have you believe. Any help with your knee, certainly depends on what is wrong with your knee. If it is arthritis then I the help from a chiropractor or medical doctor will be limited. Since you have seen other professionals then I would say your knee would be a poor candidate for chiropractic care.

I am a sane chiropractor.

I asked a similar question earlier today. It seems like there is a lot of debate over whether the treatment is helpful, with some saying it is. Others believe that it is not and that chiropractors mainly get into that profession as an excuse to fondle the patients butt. So it really is a mixed opinion. It may vary from chiropractor to chiropractor. Maybe go have one appointment but look at their behavior towards your butt in a skeptical manner.

Research and common-sense

Just remember that testimonials are not evidence. Science says the chiro is definitely useless for everything except non-specific lower back pain. Even in that area it provides no objective relief, only subject relief. I don't think that there is any science based reason to use it for your knee but of course you're free to do as you like.

cake lady
Most USA chiros are trained to work with all the joints in the body, not just the spine. extremity manipulation is a skill not all posses. another poster gave good advice to seek a sports injury trained chiro. they will know how and whether it is safe for them to treat your problem. if you have had an MRI make certain the DC has a report. if there are any torn tissues in the joint the chiro will not manipulate.

Chiropractic works like magic. I have always had back pain, but when I started seeing a chiropractor it went away in a month or two. Now I can run, jump and play tennis like I could as a teenager.

chiropractors will rip you off. true story: i told him my back gets a little strained at work when bending down over and over again; he said in a low voice "God that's not normal". x-rayed me and said I had a fracture. went to a real doctor, x-ray was clear

Do you think a massage might make your knee feel better? That's basically all a chiro will offer.

Easier to go to a massage therapist and a hell of a lot cheaper too.

Chiropractors have certainly helped some people with massage, accupuncture and other treatments but most conventional doctors regard them as quacks.

There is no substantiated evidence to suggest that chiropractic works for anything other than temporary relief of lower back pain.