Can a chiropractic adjustment really cause a stroke?

Only in people whose carotid artery is in an unusual place that can be crushed if there is a high-force adjustment to the neck. A good chiro will check for the placement of the artery before adjustment.

BTW, there are 1-2 deaths per year out of about 30 million adjustments. Very safe!

yes, but it isn't likely.

You can have a stroke if during an adjustment an artery is torn or even pinched. This isn't likely, but it can happen. Even if an artery in your neck is torn or pinched, in most cases its fine, but very rarely, you can tear an artery and cause a clot or loss of blood flow.

Now, to be fair, the odds of this happening while doing something like gymnastics or football or even volleyball are probably the same as your chiropractor doing this to you, but it could possibly, rarely happen.

Stroke, as a result of chiropractic adjustment is extremely rare and both sides of the argument can present studies that they will say proves them right.

The fact is that there is much disagreement about both the effectiveness and risks involved with chiropractic treatment. In my opinion, it is the only thing that should needs to be said about chiropractic adjustments:

A chiropractor cannot 鈥渃ure鈥?any condition-- at best, they would just make your muscles feel better. It would be best to first see a doctor or an orthopedic specialist. I would advise that one does everything they can to avoid chiropractic treatment, as it will often do more harm than good.

Chiropractors have to believe that everything causes conditions that only they can fix so they can convince patients that we can't live comfortably without visits twice per week.

I had a stroke last year as a result of chiropractic treatment and have since made it a priority to raise awareness of the dangers of chiropractic care. I ask that anyone going to visit a chiropractor to be aware of the risks and make an informed decision about treatment.

Although the chiropractic community will argue that I don鈥檛 have a degree and I don鈥檛 know what I am talking about, I only want to make sure people considering chiropractic treatment that there are risks. I have nothing to gain from this. Can chiropractors say the same? Make sure you get both sides of the story!

I think its an old wive's tale created by those opposed to chiropractic.

I don't think so