I know that for many people, seeing a chiropractor isn’t exactly a high priority.
That said, for the folks they have helped, they are godsends!
I imagine this giraffe really appreciated someone coming along who was willing to take on such a tall request.
The chiropractor in question is Joren Whitley, and his patient was a 15yo male giraffe named Gerry who was struggling to move the left side of his jaw.
They asked Whitley for help after noticing Gerry wasn’t chewing properly.
In the video, you can see Whitley manipulating the giraffe’s huge head, pushing on his neck and jaw until you hear an audible crack.
@dr.joren_whitley Since you guys liked seeing me work on the giraffes so much, I thought I’d give you another video! #chiropractic #chiropracticadjustment #chiropracticcare #chiropractor
The giraffe seems happy with the results, snuggling Whitley to convey his thanks (maybe).
Afterward, he talked to CNN about the encounter.
“Being able to work on a giraffe is a chiropractor’s dream. It’s the largest neck in the world.”
Gerry’s ability to feed seems to be right on track.
Whitley’s TikTok account features his work on other animals, too – dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and even bats.
They delight his 1.8 million followers.
Perhaps his most impressive treatment was given to a chicken. The birds have more delicate necks and spines than humans do, so it was an extremely risky proposition.
@dr.joren_whitley Stay til the end to see Mirabella shake her tail feathers #chiropractor #chicken #chiropracticcare #chiropractics #chiropractic
All went well, however.
This time.
The New York Times published an article in 2023 discussing the issues with chiropractic medicine, the main one of which is arterial dissection.
This happens when blood vessels connected between the heart and brain are sheared, which can and sometimes does result in death.
There are a wide range of effects, the least of which are nothing at all, but you get the point – messing with spines and arteries is risky business.
Chiropractors don’t agree, claiming arterial dissection is extremely rare, occurring in just 1 in 5.8 million adjustments.
At least one study put that number much lower, at 1 in every 1,000 cases.
Whitley’s patients seem relatively happy, though.
Then again, they can’t talk.
So I guess that means we’re right back where we started – except for the videos of cute animals.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read a story that reveals Earth’s priciest precious metal isn’t gold or platinum and costs over $10,000 an ounce!