Injury At the Chiropractor's
Monday June 16, 2008
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| Photo: Michael J. Summerville |
Samples of what people around the 'net have been saying:
- How do we know she wasn't already at risk for a stroke? Perhaps it was going to happen anyway.
- Other health care sectors have even higher rates of error – shouldn’t we be punishing them, too?
- Chiropractors choose not to be medical, so you can’t really compare their errors to those of the medical establishment.
- VAI is a rare injury and this event has been sensationalized.
- Are chiropractors dangerous? How can you tell if yours is legit?
- There are chiropractors and there are chiropractors. Some make mistakes and cause irreparable damage, but going after the profession as a whole won’t work.
How about you? Knowing about VAI, would you still go see a chiropractor for your neck pain? Let us hear your comments.
Sources:
The Canadian Press Paralyzed Alberta woman sues chiropractors, province for $500M
YouTube.com Sandy Nette’s Story
Related:
Comments
This news story is uncanny for me. Just this week, I was inquiring into getting my wife to try chiro for her lower back pain. And then this story pops up.
Needless to say, I am now frightened about anyone in my family trying chiro.
p.s. I happen to live in the same city as the plaintiff, Sandra Nette.
I knew about VAI already – my mother’s mother died from it post adjustment when my mother was about 20. I wouldn’t use a chiropractor just out of respect for my mother’s feelings, even if it didn’t concern me!
Heather, I am so sorry to hear about your mother. Thanks for your comment.
Anne
I have being seeing a chiro for many years for headaches (the only thing that works by the way). I feel for the woman who got hurt but $500M! This seems a little too sensationalistic to me. I will still be getting neck adjustments by the way.
The notion that a chiropractic adjustment can cause a stroke by tearing the arteries in the neck is FALSE and is not supported by a shed of credible science. A recent study published in the journal SPINE reported that you are just as likely to suffer from a dissection of the carotid/ vertebral artery after seeing a MEDICAL DOCTOR or Chiropractor. The rates are the SAME. This means that Chiropractic adjustments’ can’t be the cause. chances are the dissection was causing the neck pain to begin with. It is impossible to distinguish difference between this pain and just regular neck pain. If the patient has no risk factors for arterial dissection then the doctor most likely not order a very expensive MRA that will show the tearing in the arteries. In the case of the Canadian doctor the national insurance will not let the chiropractor order this test anyhow. This whole topic is distracting people from the REAL issue: The recommended treatment by the Medical establishment is Non steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAIDs. NSAIDs KILL 16,500 people a year in the US alone and injure hundreds of thousands more! Therefore, if you don’t want to die from that poison you are taking every day stop and go to a chiropractor. Chiropractic is 100 years old and has helped millions of people world wide. If they killed people then it would not be one of the fastest growing professions in the country.
Thankfully I had no vertebral arteries ruptured, but I did have 3 disks ruptured by a chiropractor, but like everything else it is not the profession but the individual who is providing treatment. I personally now see an acupuncturist instead of a chiropractor and this is working for me. I wouldn’t totally rule out chiropractic care, since I have seen some people that it has helped better then any other treatments that are out there. JUST DO YOUR RESEARCH before you trust your fragile body to anyone for any type of treatment, no matter how simple the procedure.
Interesting discussion. For Peter I have one question. There is pretty solid scientific evidence that NSAIDS are effective at decreasing body aches and pains in many diseases. What is the scientific evidence that chiropractic manipulations do?
And Debbie, how can I do my research about a chiropractor? Are chiropractors required to report their bad outcomes? And do they?
Thanks
Yes, just go to http://www.chiro.org.
I’ve always been a bit leary of going to a chiropractor, even though my Dad went almost every week. My back isn’t in terrible shape, but I’ve been advised by several medical practitioners I need my middle back checked out after an injury I sustained as a child. (Silly me, what was I thinking? I tried to do a backflip on a concrete pad).
Needless to say, I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories too, and being a Canadian makes this a bit harder to swallow. I think I too will stick with my acupuncturist for now, as well as my yoga practice.
I suffered from daily headaches for over 15 years and relied heavily on NSAIDs to manage my pain and be able to function. Who knows what kind of damage that might have done or continued to do? A few months ago I began chiropractic treatment, with neck adjustments, and am now totally pain (and OTC painkiller) free. My energy level has gone through the roof and my entire quality of life is enhanced. I believe my risk of stroke was higher before the neck adjustments.
Like anything else, you must be in the hands of a skilled Chiropractor that you trust, and you must be completely open about your medical history so he/she can make the right decisions for you. I am blessed to have found such a Dr. and intended to continue my treatments.
I am 25 yrs old and was perfectly healthy until about a month ago. I experenced a mild headache lasting for about 10 days when I decided to go see my family physician. They performed an MRI and a CT scan which came back completely normal. My PF diagnosed me with sinusitis and gave me sinus medication. After a few more days, I decided to go see a chiropractor because of all the great things I’ve heard. She manipulated my neck and caused a Vertebral Artery Dissection. While in the hospital, they performed an MRA and another CT scan which clearly showed the stroke and dissection. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend the risk to your health by going to a chiropractor. While the chances seem to be very low, the damage can be fatal. Hope this helps.
There are currently 43 Random Control Trials that demonstrate Spinal Manipulative Therapy (or adjustments) are beneficial for Low Back Pain. Of all the trials that have been conducted, not one proved negative, and most proved more efficient and successful than medicine in relieving pain and returning workers to their jobs in less time, and is DEFINITELY less costly. For headaches, the 12 plus RCTrials that have been conducted have shown chiropractic manipulation to be about on par with medicine, with no negative effects. The capacity for a neck adjustment to cause a tear in the vertebral arteries is NOT considered possible, the neck would have to turn past 180 degrees or more (basically you would break it first), BUT, it is believed that rotation of the atlas MIGHT actually exacerbate a stroke waiting to happen, the kind seen in upper cervical adjustments done by any chiropractor. But this same rotation occurs every time you back out of your driveway. So no one knows for certain what correlation exists between cervical adjustments and strokes, though there may be one, if incredibly slight.