Nerve Compression in the Lower Spine. Certain type of stroke after neck manipulation. Conclusions Spinal manipulation, particularly when performed on the upper part of the spine, is often associated with mild to moderate adverse effects. It can also cause serious complications, such as dissection of the vertebral artery followed by a stroke.
At present, the incidence of such events is unknown. In the interest of patient safety, we must reconsider our policy on the routine use of spinal manipulation. Experts Say Serious Injuries and Death from Chiropractic Treatment Are Rare. However, it's important for patients to understand what type of care they receive, especially if they suffer from a health problem that could make chiropractic adjustments dangerous.
It is important to fully understand the limits of chiropractic treatment, as well as the potential risks associated with aggressive or jerky movements of the neck and spine. Overhandling syndrome can begin after high-speed adjustments from a chiropractor or through self-manipulation. While chiropractors provide wonderful care in many cases, there is a risk of damaging ligament structures and causing joint instability with continuous, high-speed adjustments. If these manipulations are performed over and over again to the point where the area is continuously subluxated, it is shown that the ligaments are too stretched and need to be addressed.
Prolotherapy should be sought to repair ligaments and stabilize joints. In addition, it is important that the patient stop receiving and performing joint manipulation, especially while receiving prolotherapy. There is a known phenomenon called vertebral artery dissection, which can occur during chiropractic manipulation of the cervical neck. Adjustment occurs when the chiropractor performs a certain maneuver with the head and neck.
While some patients may get relief from adjustment, there may be a different outcome. The procedure involves an area where an artery, the vertebral artery, is located, which carries oxygen-rich blood to the brain. The adjustment is known to result in a dissection of the vertebral artery. Dissection can cause the wall of the vertebral artery to rupture, causing a flap where blood can collect, slowing blood flow to the brain and sometimes causing a clot to form in the wall tear.
Later, the clot can break down into smaller clots that then flow to areas of the brain. Such clots can cause a stroke or stroke. Strokes Can Cause Brain Damage. If there are several clots going to different areas of the brain, the damage can cause multiple deficits and symptoms.
Again, appropriate and prompt attention to symptoms may be needed after a chiropractic adjustment of the cervical neck to treat a vertebral artery dissection. There have been cases where vertebral artery dissection results in significant permanent brain damage leading to lifelong disability that requires extensive rehabilitation, treatment, adaptations, and costs. This patient had a history of chiropractic-induced vertebrobasilar infarction, and arteriovenous fistula was a complication of chiropractic manipulation. Self-manipulation refers to the high-speed manipulation achieved by contorting and pushing the spine itself to achieve cracking and purported adjustment of the spine.
The upper cervical spine cannot tolerate much rotational force used by some of the chiropractic techniques. Unfortunately, many chiropractic patients are unaware of possible vertebral artery dissection from cervical neck manipulation. This results in transient stretching of the joint capsules which, according to chiropractic belief, restores the position of the spinal cord and nerves, allowing the nervous system to function optimally and improving the body's biomechanical efficiency. A patient with cystoid macular edema treated with an intravitreal injection of triamcinolone earlier in the day presented severely altered vision in the right eye due to hemorrhagic detachment of the choroid following chiropractic manipulation of the neck later on the same day (1).
think more like a prolotherapist like an experienced chiropractor does. The therapists involved are mostly chiropractors; this predominance is likely due to the fact that these therapists use spinal manipulation more frequently than other professionals. Chiropractic care is of interest to neurologists because it is used as a treatment for several neurological conditions. We see a large number of cases of hypermobility after the person has had excessive chiropractic manipulations.
These tragic incidents have led some to warn people of the risk of medical malpractice related to chiropractic adjustments. These chiropractors want to oppose the claim that their colleagues can treat numerous medical conditions through spinal manipulation. The United States government recognizes chiropractors as practitioners of medicine and they can be hired in the United States Army. Although success in relieving back pain has been claimed, rigorously controlled studies have failed to demonstrate the role of chiropractic manipulations in this benefit.
Another expert, a doctor, said he doesn't recommend chiropractic treatment for people who have spinal problems, such as spinal cord or nerve compression. . .
