IS CHIROPRACTIC CARE SAFE? Can Chiropractic Care Cause Strokes, Paralysis, Disc Bulging, or Addiction?

Throughout the 25 years I have been a chiropractic patient and the 15 years as a practicing chiropractor, I have often been asked the question:  "Is chiropractic safe?  I have heard so many scary stories about it and I'm afraid it could hurt me, or I'll just get addicted to it once I feel better so that I'll just have to keep coming back." 
    
How many times have you heard someone or some article/program suggesting that chiropractic is dangerous for children or cause strokes or blow out discs?  How many scary stories have you heard about how someone felt worse after the first adjustment and how they will never go back?  Or, how chiropractors can get you so addicted to the adjustments that if you don't go back regularly, you will feel even worse?  And, on top of all those scary stories, how many times have you heard someone say that chiropractors are just money-hungry quacks who just tell you to keep coming back even when you don't really need to?
    
Trust me, I have heard it countless times, and for the past 18 years, I have answered each question and concern calmly, rationally, and scientifically.
    
First, let me explain how safe and effective specific chiropractic adjustments are.  There have been countless research papers done on the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for all types of conditions and ages, from infants to the elderly, by government reports of several countries, research journals from the scientific community, and from millions of satisfied patients around the world, since chiropractic's birth in 1895. 

Every day, more research papers come in to prove the scientific efficacy of chiropractic care for ailments such as asthma, colic, bed wetting, headaches, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neck pain, low back pain, scoliosis, and other visceral problems.   These days, more and more medical doctors are advocating the use of chiropractic care for many different conditions.  I have even watched the daytime television show "The Doctors" tell the audience on several different episodes that chiropractic care can help with back pain or scoliosis. They even showed patients getting chiropractic adjustments by a chiropractor!  Times have surely changed from 1985 when I first started chiropractic care, or even 1995 when I first became a licensed chiropractor.
    
Long-time practicing chiropractors have often told me the stories of how horrendous the propaganda and slander against chiropractic used to be on a daily basis in the years before 1990.  On February 7, 1990, the chiropractic profession won a substantial lawsuit against the American Medical Association for its unlawful, unsubstantiated, and unscientifically-based slander and false propaganda against the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments.  In WILK (and 4 other chiropractors) VS. AMA, the United States Court of Appeals made the decision that the AMA systematically and intentionally guided its members to NEVER refer their patients to chiropractors or associate with chiropractors in ANY way, socially or professionally, because they believed that chiropractic was an "unscientific cult" and chiropractors were "unscientific quacks."

Judge Susan Getzendanner in this landmark case issued her opinion that the AMA engaged in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade "to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession."  She also stated that "the AMA had entered into a long history of illegal behavior...(and had) engaged in a lengthy, systematic, successful and unlawful boycott designed to restrict cooperation between MD's and chiropractors in order to eliminate the profession of chiropractic."  Due to this victory over the illegal practices of the AMA, its members were then encouraged to associate with and refer their patients to chiropractors when they felt it was needed.  Prior to this judgment,  medical doctors and other health professionals were constantly telling their patients on a daily basis how unsafe and unscientific chiropractic was, or giving daily warnings and cautions against chiropractic care in the news or newspapers.  I even had several of my wonderful patients tell me that their medical doctors told them that IF they ever went to see a chiropractor, they could no longer be that medical doctor's patient!  How incredible is that?  Of course my patients immediately changed medical doctors and were convinced that there were many bigoted and unprofessional people in the medical community.  

However, TIMES HAVE CHANGED.  Now, more and more medical doctors, nurses, and professionals in the health industry seek regular chiropractic care.  Also, many of my teachers in chiropractic school were licensed medical doctors, including neurologists, and research scientists who became chiropractors themselves due to the amazing results and safety of their chiropractic care.
    
How long does it take for decades of slander, propaganda, and distrust to disappear?  How long does it take for erroneous gossip to disappear?  It can take a very long time, after tremendous effort to re-educate people.  For my part, I had such an amazing personal experience with chiropractic, that I was undeterred by others' fear-tactics and misinformation.  I knew how safe and effective chiropractic care was.
    
When I tell people about the safety of chiropractic care, I give them some statistics. For example, it is scientifically shown that less than 1 in a million chiropractic adjustments could result in some kind of negative result or injury.  1 in a million.  What are the chances of severe adverse reactions or malpractice associated with medical intervention such as drugs and surgeries? The statistics are staggering.  Some say it could be as high as the #1 cause of death in the United States, above cancer, stroke, and heart attacks because it is proven that most of the medical accidents and malpractice events that occur on a daily basis are never even reported!  AND, I often tell people what my chiropractic malpractice insurance costs are compared to other health professionals.  I tell them that I pay between $1,000-$2,000 per year for liability insurance while some medical doctors can pay upwards of over $100,000 per year.  So, which profession has the greater risk of injury and malpractice?
    
However safe chiropractic is statistically, can it still cause some negative reactions or results to some patients?  Of course it can!  Chiropractors are people, too.  ALL professionals have made mistakes, intentionally or unintentionally.  There are incompetent and immoral professionals in every field, including ministers!  Chiropractors also have many differing levels of ability and training, as in every profession. 
    
Can a patient get sore or irritated after their first adjustment or two?  YES, they can.  Sometimes, because so many patients get such relief after their first adjustment, chiropractors often forget to tell their patients that they can feel soreness or irritation at first because of the dramatic change to their nervous system and spinal alignment.  Often, the soreness is mild to moderate for a few hours or days (like doing a new exercise at the gym) and then it disappears, as well as the intensity of the original complaints.   However, there have been times when the patient's nervous system is so sensitive and over-reactive that there is increased pain and headaches after the first couple adjustments, before their chief complaints get better.  Usually that disappears with continued care, or a different chiropractic technique must be used for that sensitive person.  However, if the patient never returns to the chiropractor and gives him/her the opportunity to address these concerns,  how can the patient ever have a good experience to tell others about?  So, again, fear is sent out to others.
    
Can inappropriate chiropractic adjustments cause paralysis, strokes, and blown discs?  Perhaps it's possible, but at most, it is statistically much less than 1 in a million.  And, studies show that patients under regular chiropractic care are actually healthier than the average population, with less incidences of paralysis, strokes, and disc problems!  It has been proven in countless studies and reports that chiropractic care actually CORRECTS numbness, loss of function, neurological deficit and improper mechanical loading of discs!  Again, I have had many cases where my patients have had their symptoms from strokes been dramatically diminished, or had disc surgeries canceled because of the tremendous relief their chiropractic care had given them.  Also, I have had patients cancel knee and hip replacement surgeries because their spinal alignment was so much improved, allowing their knees/hips to bear the load more properly, and allowing nerve innervation to be restored in those areas.
    
Is chiropractic care safe?  With a highly trained chiropractor (not massage therapists, osteopaths, physical therapists, or medical doctors) giving a gentle, specific chiropractic adjustment, it is nearly impossible to cause any serious negative side effects.  And, the chances are very high for getting dramatically decreased pain,

Can you get addicted to chiropractic care?  My answer is always the same:  you can get addicted to living a life without pain and immobility!  When you have been living in pain and dysfunction for any period of time, your body/mind gets desensitized to it.  You are unaware of its full impact on your health.  However, when you finally get pain relief or restore function again, it is a dramatic change to your life.  Without regular chiropractic care to fully correct the problem areas, the body tries to return to its previous misaligned state, with its corresponding pain or conditions.  So, the awareness of that previous state of ill health is even more noticeable than before because you have not gotten desensitized to it again.  Given enough time, you will once again live in greater dis-ease and dysfunction, with less awareness of it. 
    
Are chiropractors just telling patients to return frequently, even after their pain and symptoms have disappeared, because they just want your money?  I cannot speak for every chiropractor in my field.  I know there are some who may be unethically recommending care that may not be warranted.  HOWEVER, the vast majority are loving, caring, highly trained professionals who sincerely understand the importance of regular chiropractic care in correcting and restoring patients' spines, nervous systems, and lives. 

Like regular oil changes and tire rotations, regular dental check-ups, or very regular exercise, maintenance is key to proper function and longevity.  How long does it take to correct misaligned teeth?  We don't think twice about wearing braces for many years and then a retainer for even more years!  Why then do you think getting your spine corrected will only take a few adjustments?  Symptoms are the last to show up and the first to disappear when getting your spine corrected.   Over 90% of your nerves have no way to tell you something is wrong through PAIN. Instead, it can cause dysfunction in a cell, organ, tissue, or function in the body without any symptoms.  That is why chiropractors often advise patients to come in regularly, not only to correct spinal misalignments (vertebral subluxations which impinge on nerves), but to MAINTAIN their spinal alignment and PREVENT health problems in the future!
    
Do chiropractors want your money?  Well, what business person doesn't?  We still have to pay our costs in running a business.  But, regular chiropractic care is not advised to fleece you out of your hard-earned money.  It is offered as a way to increase your health and wellness, preventing more costly medical problems in the future. The choice is always up to YOU if you want to keep the recommendations!  Over the years, many of my patients have told me how much healthier they and their children have been since starting regular care, and how much less money they have spent on drugs and  medical doctor visits, and how many days they have not missed from work due to illness or pain. 
    
I love chiropractic. I have loved it for 25 years, especially the last 15 years as a practicing chiropractor.  I am blessed to witness miracles every single day! 

Please, regardless of your fears and the negative stories you may have heard about chiropractic, give a loving, skilled chiropractor a chance to win you over to this great profession! AND, if you are still nervous about chiropractic adjustments, there are many, very gentle techniques that do not cause sounds to be released (like knuckles popping) or procedures that do not involve manually turning your neck and back.  Furthermore, if you are unhappy with the chiropractor you are currently seeing or have seen, then find another one!