Chiropractic adjustment is safe when performed by someone who is trained and authorized to provide chiropractic care. Chiropractic procedures may seem dangerous or intimidating, but the reality is far from rumor. Manipulation of the spine to treat low back pain has been documented to be safe and effective, especially in the hands of a properly trained professional. 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. Currently, 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. Spinal manipulation and chiropractic care are generally considered safe and effective treatments for acute low back pain, the type of sudden injury that results from moving furniture or being approached.
To be safe, always check with your doctor to make sure your condition benefits from chiropractic or other pain relief alternatives. In nine cases, they were associated with spinal cord injuries (myelopathy, quadriparesis, central cord syndrome, or paraparesis); two patients experienced horsetail syndrome; six patients developed radiculopathy; and three patients had cancer-related pathological fractures that chiropractors had not managed to diagnose. The goal of care is always to improve symptoms, relieve pain, and improve the patient's physical functioning. The initials DC identify a chiropractor, whose education generally includes an undergraduate degree plus four years of chiropractic college.
In fact, a red flag could simply be that a patient has not undergone a proper physical exam or that the chiropractor does not have the proper skills and training needed to carry out the treatment. Chiropractic had just worked on Lynne Beliveau's neck when she became dizzy, unable to see or move. In patients younger than 45, the odds of having a vertebrobasilar accident within a week of visiting a chiropractor increased by a factor of five. This had allowed chiropractors to create a falsely positive image about the safety of their treatments, he said.
Research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics suggests that chiropractic care, specifically spinal manipulation, may improve migraines and cervicogenic headaches. Elizabeth Haran Caplan knew she was in trouble seconds after a chiropractor in Oklahoma City manipulated her neck. In addition, this review aims to assess the risk of an intervention (spinal manipulation) and not that of a profession (chiropractic). The evidence for the effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation is inconclusive, in part due to the lack of large, rigorously designed studies.
In this age group, cases were five times more likely to have had more than three chiropractic consultations with a cervical diagnosis in the month prior to the event. Chiropractic care aims to treat the entire body, including a person's ability to move, act, and even think.
