Don’t Let A Chiropractor Crack Your Neck
Posted by Phoenix Woman on April 16, 2009
Not unless you want to risk stroke and/or death:
Stroke from chiropractic neck manipulation occurs when an artery to the brain ruptures or becomes blocked as a result of being stretched. The injury often results from extreme rotation in which the practitioner’s hands are placed on the patient’s head in order to rotate the cervical spine by rotating the head [1]. The vertebral artery, which is shown in the picture to the right, is vulnerable because it winds around the topmost cervical vertebra (atlas) to enter the skull, so that any abrupt rotation may stretch the artery and tear its delicate lining. The anatomical problem is illustrated on page 7 of The Chiropractic Report, July 1999. A blood clot formed over the injured area may subsequently be dislodged and block a smaller artery that supplies the brain. Less frequently, the vessel may be blocked by blood that collects in the vessel wall at the site of the dissection [2].
Chiropractors would like you to believe that the incidence of stroke following neck manipulation is extremely small. Speculations exist that the odds of a serious complication due to neck manipulation are somewhere between one in 40,000 and one in 10 million manipulations. No one really knows, however, because (a) there has been little systematic study of its frequency; (b) the largest malpractice insurers won’t reveal how many cases they know about; and (c) a large majority of cases that medical doctors see are not reported in scientific journals.
Click on the link for more. You’re better off seeing a licensed massage therapist or a doctor who specializes in sports medicine.
11 Responses to “Don’t Let A Chiropractor Crack Your Neck”
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Artichoker said
Phonenix Wowen is apparently unaware of the current research. You are actually more at risk of suffering a stroke by visiting your PCP according to this study.
http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2008/02151/Risk_of_Vertebrobasilar_Stroke_and_Chiropractic.19.aspx
And, chiropractic manipulation is one of the best modalities for neck pain.
http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com/NorthDenverNews.html
And, yhe public is ver satisfied with chiropractors
watch the video.
http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com
RobertaCA said
In 1980 I had a car accident that fractured the 1st vertebrea. I survived without complications. But after 20 years I was having problems with left arm going numb, headaches. Did the Massage therapies and rehabilitation, neck stretches and stuff. In 1995 I met a doctor in Apple Valley, MN that did Atlas Orthogonal technic. It changed my life. I would never let anybody get near my neck or manual adjust it. That scared me to the devil. This procedure is so precise it is awesome. No pain, no jarring and no twisting of the neck. Maybe you can do a blog on this particular pocedure. I was forntunate to find another Chiropractor down in Texas that does the same procedure. Dr. Kevin Berg has a clinic in Bloomington, MN now. Maybe give him a call and discuss this procedure with him. No change of a stroke with his method.
Roberta
Keri (Auburn Gal Always) said
My very healthy, physically-fit 41 y-o brother saw a chiropractor for a stiff neck. His 2nd visit the D.C. explained that he would adjust his cervical vertebrae, saying it would be very uncomfortable for a brief moment. My brother described the pain as gut-wrenching. He could not hold back the agony, wailing and moaning at the top of his lungs. (This is a man who broke his elbow on a dirt bike and drove it off the trail and back to the trucks.) He could not stand any touch but had to be assisted to sit upright and then supported as he walked to a chair across the exam room. Violent vomiting immediately followed. Instead of calling 911, the staff called my brother’s wife. Finally she insisted they call 911. An ambulance ride and 2 weeks in the hospital later, my brother is still recovering from a 1/2 inch interior perforation to his carotid and vertebral arteries. He suffered a stroke in his cerebellum. His cardiac rhythm was permanently affected, and he now has a pacemaker. He still has vision loss, extreme senstivity to light and colors, and serious balance problems. He survived, against the hospital doctor’s prognosis.
I was a firm believer in the efficacy of a chiropractor’s skills and care. I had seen one many times in my life. I will never allow anyone – regardless of their “training” or “certification” or “professional title or designation” – crack a single joint in my body, particularly my neck or back. The risk is simply not worth the temporary relief. Even while seeing my own chiropractor, I always experienced the most benefits from electrical stimulus therapy, ultrasound therapy and massage.
Since my brother’s injury and stroke, I have seen that chiropractors are very defensive and unwilling to admit this is a significant risk. This makes me doubt the conscience of the entire profession. Never did the chiropractor tell my brother there was a risk of stroke or any serious injury. Never has a chiropractor told me there was a risk of any injury as a result of any adjustment I received. Why is this?
Phoenix Woman said
“Since my brother’s injury and stroke, I have seen that chiropractors are very defensive and unwilling to admit this is a significant risk. This makes me doubt the conscience of the entire profession. Never did the chiropractor tell my brother there was a risk of stroke or any serious injury. Never has a chiropractor told me there was a risk of any injury as a result of any adjustment I received. Why is this?”
I wish I knew, too, Keri. But they will certainly swarm any website that dares suggest there might be anything wrong with the practice.
So, since they’re here, I might as well post this link:
And just in case somebody tries to blow off Ms. Heck’s story as some sort of freakishly rare phenomenon, here’s what some neurologists had to say about neck-cracking back in 2008:
Discontinue the Desire to Crack Neck Joints | Natural Health Answers to Joint Pain Problems | www.steveshealthanswers.com said
[...] Don’t Let A Chiropractor Crack Your Neck [...]
wendell said
“In first world countries, sudden infant death (SID) is the most common cause of death during the first 12 months of postnatal life.” Wow, put those 3 words together and you stir up a lot of emotion. Here’s a study performed in hopes of identifying the cause of and a possible solution to sudden infant death.
louisville chiropractor said
If that is the case try to find a chiropractic clinic that has a licensed practitioner, with that you don’t have to be afraid. Because they know what they are doing and they are trained professionals.
Suwanee GA Chiropractor said
Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States,thanks for such a nice post.This is a really good read for me, Must admit that you are one of the best blogger I ever saw.Thanks for posting this informative article.
Denver Colorado Chirorpactor said
It is always heart wrenching to hear stories of of people that have adverse effects from chiropractic care, but there is some need of perspective.
1. Everyone is told, and they sign an informed consent paper saying they where. While not legally required to inform patients, because the risk is that minimal, most malpractice carriers for chiropractors require that you do to. The “I was never told” just isn’t true.
2. The risk of stroke amongst the general public is actually higher that than of going to a chiropractor. http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1033
3. The risk for any treatment, drug, and surgery can be substantial even if the relative incident rate is small. Many people will denounce Chiropractic treatment because there is a risk of stroke in as little as 1 in every 40,000 (0.005%), but at the same time berate a parents for not vaccinating their child with MMR because it carries an approximate 4% chance of febrile seizures or worse. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15265850
just saying…
Charles II said
That’s the other side of the story, DCC, but I would say it needs its own rebuttal:
First, the post is directed against a specific procedure, not against the profession. The problem– a failure to quality-control procedures to ensure that they are properly-performed, safe, effective, and optimal– exists in all branches of the health sciences.
Second, you’re misapplying risk statistics. Those in the general public who are getting strokes are, for the most part, elderly. The cohort of people getting strokes from neck manipulation is much younger. Furthermore, the time period is very different: the general public statistics are measured over the full year, while the statistics for neck manipulations occur within a short time following the patient visit. That’s a factor of 100 in itself.
Third, you’ve failed to count the rate of the control group in making your comparison on MMR. Five percent of all children have febrile seizures between six months and five years. In other words, you’ve taken the total number of FS in vaccinated children and divided it by the total number of vaccinations, but failed to subtract out FS in unvaccinated children.
In order to do full risk/benefit, we also have to subtract out the health costs of failing to vaccinate, which includes– in addition to a range of consequences a lot worse than febrile seizures– am increased incidence of FS due to an increase in cases of of mumps, measles, and rubella.
Furthermore, you describe the consequence of vaccination s FS “or worse”. The “or worse” turns out to be a slight elevation of epilepsy in a subgroup of particularly vulnerable children. You are comparing this to paralysis or worse in chiropractic patients. It’s an inappropriate comparison.
The data from the MMR vaccination might indicate that children at high risk of FS be spared the vaccination. The data from chiropractic stroke indicate the procedure should be banned: little benefit, substantial risk.
Finally, informed consent may work as a defense in the courtroom, but we all know that many patients do not fully understand risks when they undertake them. Conscience demands that professionals ensure that benefits genuinely do outweigh risks, and that procedures be replaced as the risks become known. Medicine does require experimentation, and experimentation involves risk. It seems to me, however, that the experimentation for this procedure has been done.
Phoenix Woman said
The fact that DCC chooses to defend his profession by waving about MMR data he doesn’t understand is very suggestive, Charles. Hatred of MMR is a prime signifier of the anti-vaccine movement as originated by the now-utterly-discredited Andrew Wakefield.