Does Chiropractic Cause Stroke?
In 1994, there was a spate of negative media articles about chiropractic first on 20/20 (NBC), then on The Crusaders (NBC) and, in the June issue of Consumer Reports. I thought you might like some background information on what is going on and some data regarding the motivation for these allegations. Perhaps the most sensational allegation that has been made is that chiropractic cervical manipulation “causes” strokes. This one made the Associated Press and was on the nightly news all over the country and Europe. The Crusaders even showed an angiogram of a perfectly normal vertebral artery while the M.D. they were interviewing said it clearly showed a “ripped” artery from manipulation. The actual incidence of vascular accident from forceful manipulation of the cervical spine is two cases per million treatments, or .0002%. By comparison the risk of death from chymopapain injections administered by orthopedic surgeons for back and leg pain is 1400 deaths per million, or .14%. The risk of
