This is the question being asked in SELF-magazine this month. The article is titled, “A Deadly Twist”. An article like this comes out every once in a great while, but it never seems to show both sides of the story. All we ever hear about is how dangerous it is to have the neck adjusted, but on the flip side, chiropractic has helped many people who suffer with migraines and headaches. There are both benefits and risks to having your neck manipulated, but there are also exams and screening procedures to prevent these injuries from happening.
This article states that chiropractors are causing strokes in young, healthy women. In SELF’s online poll, more than 20% of women who visited the chiropractor said they felt no better afterward, and 8% said they felt worse. Fair enough…but what happened to the other 72%? They failed to mention that they actually felt better after the manipulation!

I am not saying that there isn’t a possibility of a neck manipulation causing a stroke, but the risk of it happening is 1 in 4,000,000. Now compare that to the overall mortality rate for spinal surgery: 7 in 10,000. A study titled “The reality and acceptance of risk”, published in JAMA in 1980, found an even greater “voluntary risk” of death per person per year from many common procedures and activities. For example, soccer and football have a risk of 1 in 25,500 of death, and motorcycling 1 in 50.

In 2001, researchers at Duke University found cervical manipulation appropriate for both tension type headache and cervicogenic headache, and noted that “cervical spinal manipulation has a very low risk of serious complications” which may be “one of its appeals over drug treatment.” A 1996 study done by the RAND Corporation concluded that “Manipulation is probably slightly more effective than mobilization or physical therapy for some patients with sub-acute or chronic neck pain, and all three treatments are probably superior to usual medical care.” It also found that “manipulation and/or mobilization may be beneficial for muscle tension headache.”
It is true that neck manipulation is a risk factor for stroke, but it is an extremely small risk. The low risks of chiropractic treatment are reflected in the extremely low malpractice rates for the nation’s doctors of chiropractic. For any health care intervention, the issue is balancing effectiveness and safety and the risk/benefit ratio. Please ask your doctor of chiropractic any questions or concerns you may have about this subject, and be sure that you feel informed of any health care intervention that you choose.

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About the Doctor: Dr. Kelly Minicucci

Dr. Minicucci is a graduate of Logan Chiropractic College in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to her Doctor of Chiropractic degree, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech. Dr. Minicucci is studying to become a Fellow and a Diplomate in the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture later on this summer.

Dr. Minicucci has her own practice, Total Health Concepts, located 1 block south of Chatfield on Kipling, and will offer availability on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The clinic offers massage therapy, Acupuncture with ElectroMagnetic Imaging diagnosis, Ear Candling, Reiki and Essential oils.

Dr. Minicucci is an avid outdoor enthusiast, with interests such as horseback riding, biking and skiing. She has taught various aerobics classes over the past 8 years and loves to both work out and motivate others.

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We offer ElectroMagnetic Imaging for accurate acupuncture diagnosis, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage, Reiki, Raindrop Therapy (essential oils) and Ear Candling
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