“The most recent research (Neck Pain Task Force Report of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010, a study sanctioned by the United Nations and the World Health Organization) indicates neck manipulation is a safe and effective form of health care,” according to the medical journal Spine.
Dr. Cassidy was an investigator with the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. The work of this international task force affirms the safety and benefits of chiropractic care for people with neck pain—a condition frequently treated by doctors of chiropractic.
The study, which analyzed nine years’ worth of data from a population of 110-million person years, concluded that vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) stroke is a very rare event and that the risk of VBA stroke following a visit to a chiropractor’s office appears to be no different than the risk of VBA stroke following a visit to the office of a primary care medical physician (PCP).
The study goes on to say that any observed association between VBA stroke and chiropractic manipulation—as well as its apparent association with PCP visits—is likely due to patients with an undiagnosed vertebral artery dissection who are seeking care for neck pain and headache prior to their stroke.
Over the years, popular media has all too often sensationalized the association between chiropractic cervical manipulation and cerebral vascular accidents—even though the evidence would strongly indicate that this assertion is incorrect. The organizations representing the chiropractic profession believe this most recent evidence should help to dispel any myths on this issue, as well as provide more data to support the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic procedures.
As a profession, doctors of chiropractic remain committed to expanding the research and clinical understanding of VBA injuries, because even one cerebral vascular incident that could have been prevented or detected early is one too many.
Source: ACA Today