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Unfortunately, a lot of myths have been perpetuated throughout chiropractic’s 100+ year history, and one of them is that it is unsafe. Many reasons exist for the spread of these myths. Two big reasons are that most people don’t know a lot about chiropractic, and throughout its history there have been calculated political efforts to falsely brand chiropractic unsafe. Once someone experiences chiropractic for themselves, they often see how silly these myths are.
A proposed connection between chiropractic neck adjustments and a certain type of stroke has been publicized on occasion. The problem is, many of these publicized stories are heavy on drama and emotion, and contain very little research and facts.
The fact is, much research has been done on the potential occurrence of a type of stroke and the cervical adjustment. The most recent study in the journal Spine found that the incidence of people having a stroke immediately following a chiropractic visit was no different than those having a stroke following a medical doctor’s visit.1 In any event, its important to understand that the chance of suffering a stroke following a chiropractic neck adjustment is as rare as 1 per 3.8 to 5 million neck adjustments.2 This number pales in comparison to your chance of experiencing other rare events such as:3
- Struck by lightning – 1:700,000
- Bathtub drowning – 1:818,051
- Accidental suffocation
in bed – 1:565,700
So, you should be about 9 times more worried about suffocating in your bed than about suffering a stroke following a neck adjustment. In fact, when you look at stroke risk a little closer, you find that those receiving neck adjustments from a chiropractor have the same risk of experiencing a stroke as the general population!2
Chiropractic care has been shown to be one of the safest forms of health care available. Chiropractors are certainly the safest physician you could visit. How can I make such bold statements you ask? One of the best ways to measure the risks associated with a particular doctor’s care is to look at what the most expert risk assessment professionals in the world say. Malpractice insurance companies care a lot about their bottom line just like any business, and so their actuarial statisticians determine premiums based on the risk.
What chiropractors pay for malpractice insurance in an entire year is less than or equal to what medical doctors pay in one month.4 And that is for primary care/family physician medical doctors. Specialists such as surgeons are much higher! This is not intended to insult medical doctors in any way because the riskier procedures they use are necessary at times, but it highlights just how safe chiropractic really is.
Chiropractic Care Risk...
Why is a Chiropractic Safety page Necessary?
Chiropractic Neck Adjustments...
Sources:
1. “Safety of Chiropractic Interventions: A Systematic Review.” Spine. 2009, Oct.
2. “CVA Monograph.” NCMIC Insurance Company. 2005.
3. CEVantive University. Chiropractic continuing education program.
4. “Medical Malpractice Insurance: Multiple Factors Have Contributed to Increased Premium Rates.” United States General Accounting Office (GAO) report to Congress. June 2003.
Chiropractic Safety – The Facts