How Dr. Tyler Bigenho uses TikTok to educate people on proper posture
While scrolling on your mobile phones, you’ve probably swiped through one of those medical-related videos—some are uplifting, some are educational, some are gross and weird (but oddly satisfying) like pimple-popping. But have you heard of ASMR back cracking videos?
The internet has allowed healthcare professionals such as Dr. Tyler Bigenho, DC to use social media as a platform to share informational content and spread awareness about medical topics. Dr. Bigenho is a licensed chiropractor based in Newport Beach, California and is one of the many “medical TikTokers” working their way through the fastest growing social media platform. “I would look at other chiropractic videos and a lot of them just have the same stuff—all they do is crack people. And, you know, in my office I do a lot of education—that's one of the biggest things that I do. I show people what I'm doing on the spine,” he told PhilSTAR L!fe.
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Despite being a noob in social media, the twenty-something doctor was able to make his way in creating videos with the help of his younger clients. “I tried to be a little bit different, I guess. Try to show my creative side.”
But a question you might ask is, “Is it safe?” Totally.
We have to admit, hearing those cracks do sound terrifying, but if done professionally, there’s nothing really there to worry about. For some, they think that getting your bones cracked by a chiropractor can lead to stroke and death even. "People can have an aneurysm in their neck already, and if the chiropractor doesn't ask enough questions to realize that that person has an aneurysm and he cracks his neck, yeah he can slip the vertebral artery and they can stroke out and they can die," Dr. Bigenho said, but also adding, "But you know a lot of the really good chiropractors take all the necessary precautions. It's really easy to tell if someone has an aneurysm in the brain."
Dr. Bigenho debunks another misconception saying, "The biggest thing that I'm trying to get rid of is chiropractors making you sign up for like a really, really long-term treatment plan and spending a bunch of money up front.” Dr. Bigenho believe that “Honesty is the backbone of his practice.”
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So, when is it time to see a chiropractor? Well, if you want an instant relief to any chronic pain, that’s when. “Anytime you have any pain in your shoulders or in your shoulder blades, headaches, neck pain, or low back pain, or sciatica—chiropractors are really good at getting rid of it,” Dr. Bigenho said.
Chiropractors perform manipulations and adjustments to help your body heal itself, which often needs a specialized equipment or method to perform.
However, for some, getting a treatment for the long-haul is a much better choice. “Physical therapy is what makes the pain not come back.” As opposed to chiropractic, physical therapy uses massage, heat treatment, and exercise to improve your mobility.
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Dr. Bigenho further explains, “Other people don't ever want to have tension, so they go to a chiropractor first, get out of the pain, and then they go to physical therapy every week and they're fine! They pretty much never have pain.”
“Chiropractors like me, I can get you out of pain. I can get rid of the pain. But if you go back to doing exactly what you were doing which caused the pain, it's gonna come back.”
Whatever treatment you want to take, it is important to listen to what your body needs.