cracking the neck increases the risk of a stroke?

Question

i looked up neck cracking in google and the first link told me that it increases the risk of a stroke is that true?

Answer 1

Stroke from chiropractic neck manipulation occurs when an artery to the brain ruptures or becomes blocked as a result of being stretched. The injury often results from extreme rotation in which the practitioner's hands are placed on the patient's head in order to rotate the cervical spine by rotating the head .

The vertebral artery, is vulnerable because it winds around the topmost cervical vertebra (atlas) to enter the skull, so that any abrupt rotation may stretch the artery and tear its delicate lining. The anatomical problem is illustrated on page 7 of The Chiropractic Report, July 1999. A blood clot formed over the injured area may subsequently be dislodged and block a smaller artery that supplies the brain. Less frequently, the vessel may be blocked by blood that collects in the vessel wall at the site of the dissection.

Chiropractors would like you to believe that the incidence of stroke following neck manipulation is extremely small.

Speculations exist that the odds of a serious complication due to neck manipulation are somewhere between one in 40,000 and one in 10 million manipulations.


No one really knows, however, because (a) there has been little systematic study of its frequency; (b) the largest malpractice insurers won't reveal how many cases they know about; and (c) a large majority of cases that medical doctors see are not reported in scientific journals

In 2003, a coroner's jury concluded that Lana Dale Lewis of Toronto, Canada, was killed in 1996 by a chiropractic neck manipulation. Among other things, the jury recommended that all patients for whom neck manipulation is recommended be informed that risk exists and that the Ontarion Ministry of Health establish a database for chiropractors and other health professionals to report on neck adjustments
.

Proper consent should disclose that (a) the risk is unknown; (b) alternative treatments may be available; (c) in many cases, neck symptoms will go away without treatment; (d) certain types of neck manipulation carry a higher risk than others; and (e) claims that spinal manipulation can remedy systemic diseases, boost immunity, improve general health, or prolong life have neither scientific justification nor a plausible rationale.

Answer 2

It might... but I'm not sure. I say that because a while back I saw a report on the news where too much pressure on the neck might pinch the arteries and cause a stroke...

Answer 3

yep it be true. there have been cases of chiropractors giving their patient a stroke will doing a neck adjustment

Answer 4

wow, i have never heard that...thanks!