A medical doctor is going to put you on pain killers and into traction if s/he thinks that will help. A chiropractor will try to relieve the pressure by manipulating the bones that are pinching. They are basically two different ways of treating the same thing and a "never the twain shall meet" sort of thing because the chiropractic and medicine are mostly incompatible philosophies. That is starting to change but the medical establishment will only view chiropractic as a supplemental therapy, whereas chiropractic schools teach that it is a complete alternative to medicine. When I lived in Texas, I was going to a college chiropractic clinic where I was treated by final year students. I was extremely lucky to get an intern who treated my MS with chirpractic instead of just giving me spinal adjustments. He did neurological testing every visit. Because MS is a neurological problem, and real chiropractic treats the neurologic system FIRST, I never felt better in my life! Unfortunately, I moved away and could only find your run-of-the-mill chiropractor who only treated the misalignments in my back, which provides temporary relief at best. If you find a chiropractor who had a strong philosophical knowledge base, you'll get more out of it. Unfortunately, a lot of chiropractors are out there to make money and that's it.