Much has been made in the media over the past several years regarding the risk of strokes associated with chiropractic manipulation of the neck. While in very rare instances, chiropractic manipulation is associated with damage to the vertebral artery resulting in stroke, this is far from an implication of chiropractic treatment as the CAUSE of such strokes. In fact, various studies have shown that such incidents occur rarely (about as rarely as reported with chiropractic treatment) with ordinary daily activities such as turning one’s head when driving to look for traffic, or having one’s head tilted back in a shampoo bowl at a hair salon.
A new study published as a supplement to the February 15, 2008 edition of the prestigious medical journal Spine, now indicates that the risk of vertebral artery stroke is approximately equivalent when patients visit their family physician as it is to when patients visit a chiropractor. The finding comes from “The Bone And Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force On Neck Pain And Its Associated Disorders”. This Canadian study reviewed approximately 32,000 citations and performed critical appraisals of more than 1,000 studies in developing its 236 page report – a pretty “heavy-duty” look at the available research on neck pain.
The study analyzed a total of 818 cases of vertebral artery stroke admitted to Ontario hospitals over a nine year period, and it concluded that such strokes are a very rare event and, as stated earlier, the risk of such strokes associated with a visit to a chiropractor is no greater than the risk following a visit to a family physician’s office.
Now, some of you reading this may be wondering how this could be. After all, the treatment chiropractors do is a lot different than the treatment that family physicians typically do. Well, what you have to understand is that the vast majority of vertebral artery stroke cases are probably already underway BEFORE the patient ever gets to the doctor’s office!
You see, the early symptoms of this type of stroke usually consist of… neck pain and stiffness. Now, when someone has neck pain and stiffness, and they decide to seek out treatment, some go to a chiropractor, some go to a medical doctor, and then smaller numbers probably see acupuncturists, massage therapists, etc.. But because the incidence of this type of stroke is so rare, the health care providers who see the most patients will tend to have the highest chance of a vertebral artery stroke patient come into their offices. The health care providers who tend to see the most people with neck pain and stiffness are chiropractors and family physicians.
So, the person coming in who is in the midst of a vertebral artery stroke looks very much like anyone with a stiff, sore neck – a pretty common complaint in the offices of both chiropractors and family physicians. Unfortunately, there may be no other outward signs of a vertebral artery stroke that there is more going on than the typical sore neck. So, most chiropractors and family doctors alike do what they are trained to do – they examine the patient. The problem is that the examination process alone, which involves moving the head and neck in various ranges of motion, can potentially make the damage to the artery worse, and the stroke progresses from there. Even when the doctor does absolutely nothing that would potentially aggravate the condition, the damage to the artery may progress just as a natural consequence of blood pressure tearing the artery, and over time, the stroke symptoms become more apparent and move beyond simple neck pain to the more classic signs of stroke.
But because the symptoms often get worse during or shortly after the visit to the doctor, it is presumed that the doctor’s visit caused the stroke, when in actuality, the stroke caused the doctor’s visit.
So, what is the risk of stroke from chiropractic? Well, various studies have placed it at somewhere between one in 1 million to less than one in 5 million chiropractic visits. This latest study in Spine is consistent with those estimates. The reality is, you are in far greater risk from driving to your chiropractic visit than you are of suffering any significant injury or side-effect from chiropractic treatment!
But if you’re still worried about the potential risks of chiropractic, or you just don’t like the sounds that come from your spine when you get adjusted with “traditional” manual chiropractic techniques, there are low-force methods of chiropractic treatment that can be very beneficial and are extremely gentle and safe for even the most fragile of patients. For anyone fearful of manual chiropractic adjustments, I recommend looking into treatment with the ProAdjuster or with Activator Methods. Many people are pleasantly surprised by how quickly and easily chiropractic treatment can make them feel better. The safety and effectiveness of chiropractic make it an excellent option for the treatment of almost any kind of musculoskeletal pain, and it often is helpful in alleviating other conditions as well.
Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more on safe, effective natural healing methods.