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 Someone asked me privately about the safety of neck manipulation, as 
her MD cautioned her not to have it done. Apparently he was fearful of 
causing stokes, severing the spinal cord and some such stuff. People 
often have trepidation over neck manipulation, which in reality is a 
very safe and effective form of treatment in skilled hands. Here is my 
response to her question:

 That's a good question, and one with a reassuring answer. Skilled neck
manipulation is quite safe. There seemed to be a correlation noticed
some years back that in about every 2 million cases or so of neck
manipulation, a patient would suffer a stroke a few days later. This
caused some doctors and scientists to theorize that the stroke was
somehow caused by the manipulation. At first glance, this seemed
logical. I mean, after all we are moving things around a bit in there.
This has been studied extensively, and we now know that the stroke is
not caused by the manipulation. It is because patients who are about to
have a stroke (all on their own) often consult a chiropractor ( or their
MD for that matter) because neck pain and headache are often early
symptoms of a stroke. These symptoms drive them to see their physician,
and independent of  what the doctor does for them, their stroke occurs.
In fact they found a *higher* incidence of stroke in those who saw their
MD than those who saw a chiro! Obviously, it's not from what the MD did
for their neck pain or headache, either.
  My malpractice insurance costs about $1,500 per year. There is a
direct correlation between the cost of malpractice premiums and the
dangers of each medical specialty. Family practitioners pay about
$10,000, and surgeons and specialists pay $60,000 to $200,000. If what
chiros did was so dangerous, our premiums would reflect that, and we
wouldn't even be allowed to perform neck manipulation if it caused some
of the complications that some accuse.  I have done it every day for 25
years, and lectured and taught it in every major city in the country,
and never hurt anyone. Your doctor was well meaning but simply
misinformed on a tricky issue.  I hope this helps.  Dr\

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