safety of chiropractic care
Arterial dissections following cervical manipulation:
the chiropractic experience. Haldeman S, Carey P, Townsend
M, Papadopoulus C. CMAJ 2001: 905-6.
This study showed that
the risk of stroke from chiropractic cervical adjustments
is extremely rare and that the risk of dying from several
painkillers is greater. The risk of stroke from cervical manipulation
was determined to be 1 in 5.85 million which is lower than
the risk of being struck by lightning.
Perspectives: an overview
of comparative considerations of cerebrovascular accidents.
Rome PL, Chiropractic Journal of Australia, Sept. 1999:29(3),
pp87-102.
This is a literature review in which the safety of
spinal care is compared with medical procedures.
The authors
review one study in which the death rate of CVA (cerebrovascular
accidents) for the general population was compared with the
death rate of CVAs in chiropractic patients. The rate of fatal
vertebral artery damage following cervical Spinal Manipulative
Therapy was calculated to be 0.00025% (1 in 400,000) in the
US. This was compared to deaths from CVA in the general US
population of 0.00057% (1 in 176,900 CVAs).
Patients under chiropractic
care therefore had a lower rate of CVAs than those of the general
population so chiropractic care may be considered protective
from CVAs for patients.
The authors state: On analysis, spinal
manipulation is one of the most conservative, least invasive
and safest procedures provided within the health care professions.
A potential risk of catastrophic side-effects from SMT is substantially
less than for any of the medical procedures or interventions
listed in the tables accompanying this paper.
Risk factors and
precipitating neck movements causing vertebrobasilar artery
dissection after cervical trauma and spinal manipulation. Haldeman
S, Kohlbeck FJ, McGregor M. Spine 24(8):785-794. 1999.
The primary
cause of the very rare incidence of vertebral artery injury
after neck movements is most likely underlying weakness in
the artery than a specific form of neck movement.
Sudden movements
(as in sports, falls, manipulations) or slow but sustained
movements such as painting the ceiling, back a car, intubation
under anaesthesia or a shampoo at the hairdresser’s have
been reported to precipitate this condition.
“…the
literature suggests that chiropractic is not only very safe
but much safer than medical and other professional management
of low back pain.”
From the Manga Report by health economist
Pan Manga, Ph.D. (funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health),
1993.
Risk assessment of neurological and/or vertebrobasilar
complications in the pediatric chiropractic patient. (Risk
of complications in pediatric patients under chiropractic care).
Pistolese Richard A. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research,
2(2), June 1998 p. 73-81.
How safe is chiropractic care for
children? In this paper both the number of chiropractic adjustments
children have had and the risks of neurological/vertebrobasilar
complications or injury are compared. It was found that in
the period 1966 to 1977 over half a billion adjustments were
delivered to children with an injury rate of one in 250 million.
From
the abstract:
This paper has reviewed literature concerning
the occurrence of neurological and/or vertebrobasilar (N/VB)
complications in patients receiving either specific chiropractic
adjustments and/or non-specific manipulations of the spine.
This topic was chosen due to the potentially severe consequences
of N/VB complications, regardless of etiology….The number
of pediatric visits, extrapolated to also include the periods
between 1966 and 1977, was estimated to be 502,184,156….The
estimated risk to the pediatric chiropractic patient in this
category of (N/VB) complication was estimated to be approximately
1 in 250 million pediatric visits that a N/VB complication
would result.
Comment: A 1 in 250 million chance of injury means
the patient has a far greater chance of being hit by lightning
than having an injury from a chiropractic adjustment. In
discussion with the author, it was stated that the above
statistics may actually be low and the chance of injury even
less than 1 in 250 million. I know of no healing art with
such a safe healing record.
Copyright 2004 Koren Publications,
Inc. & Tedd Koren,
D.C.