A study in the Journal
of Vertebral Subluxation Research estimates the risk of
neurological and/or vertebrobasilar complications in pediatric
chiropractic to be approximately 1 in 250 million. Pistolese RA:
Risk assessment of neurological and/or vertebrobasilar
complications in the pediatric chiropractic patient. Journal of
Vertebral Subluxation Research 1998;2(2):77-85.
The RAND corporation estimated that the risk of
stroke from chiropractic adjustments was "one in a
million." ("The appropriateness of manipulation and
mobilization of the cervical spine. Santa Monica, CA: RAND
Corporation 1996: xiv. (6).)
Over a ten-year period, Danish researchers found
only five cases of "irreversible CVA after chiropractic
treatment." Based on this, they estimated a risk of one
stroke per 1,320,000 neck adjustments. ("Safety in
chiropractic practice. Part I: The occurrence of cerebrovascular
accidents after manipulation to the neck in Denmark from
1978-1988," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, 1996; 19: 371-7.)
Based on a survey of 64 California neurologists,
Albers, M.D., estimated the stroke-chiropractic correlation to be
"one in every 500,000 manipulations." Co-investigator
Philip Lee, M.D. noted, "Indeed, most interventions by
allopathic physicians have a higher complication rate than
chiropractic interventions." ("Neurologic complications
following chiropractic manipulation: A survey of California
neurologists," Neurology 1995; 45: 1213-5.)
The author of a Canadian study found 13
documented CVAs related to chiropractic care in Canada, and no
deaths, over a five-year period. Since some 50 million cervical
adjustments were given by Canadian chiropractors during that time
period, he concluded that a reasonable estimate of risk was one
serious neurological complications per 3 million neck adjustments.
("A report on the occurrence of cervical cerebral vascular
accidents in chiropractic practice." Journal of the
Canadian Chiropractic Association, 1993; 37 (2): 104-6.
Researchers in Holland concluded that the
overall rate of complications from chiropractic adjustments was
one in 518,886. ("Complications in Manual Medicine: A Review
of the Literature," Journal of Manual Medicine, 1991;
6: 89-92.)
No strokes or any other significant
complications were found during an examination of 168,000 cervical
adjustments during a 28-year period. ("Chiropractic therapy:
diagnosis and treatment," Aspen Publishers, 1990: 61.)
A review of more than a half-million treatments
over a nine-year period at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic
College outpatient clinic found no incidents of strokes or serious
incident. ("Vertebral Artery syndrome," published in the
book "Upper cervical syndrome: chiropractic diagnosis and
treatment.," Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1988: 195-222.)
A survey which included 203 Swiss practitioners
and an estimated 1.5 million cervical manipulations, found a rate
of one serious complication per 400,000 cervical manipulations,
without any reported deaths. ("How dangerous is manipulation
to the cervical spine?" Manual Medicine 1985; 2: 1-4.)
Not a single case of vertebral artery stroke or
serious injury was found during a study which involved
approximately 5 million cervical manipulations from 1965 to 1980
at The National College of Chiropractic Clinic in Chicago.
("Complications arising from manipulation of the cervical
spine," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics 1980; 3: 213-19.)
