Spinal manipulative therapy is an independent risk factor for vertebral artery dissection
Had to comment on this one. With the risks that some researchers have stated, patients would be dropping dead left and right in my office alone. Other, more favorable researchers doing very large studies (this one had 171) have estimated that 1 chiro in 40 will experience a cerebral-vascular incident in THEIR LIFETIME OF PRACTICE. When we talk deaths, there are literally less than 100 on record over the past 50 years or so. Compare this to NSAIDs, a common therapy for neck pain. Conservatively, 16,000 deaths PER YEAR. And a quick search on PubMed did not produce ANY articles showing benefit of NSAIDs in neck pain. And yet these researchers have started a cascade of controversy that states that risks of spinal manipulation outweighs benefits. Talk about double standards!!
Neurology — Abstracts: Smith et al. 60 (9): 1424