For once, the medical profession has to be commended for its vigilance and responsibility for public safety.

After extensive research they have finally exposed one of the most serious health hazards facing us today: potentially deadly shampoo sinks.

Yes, I know it comes as a shock to many, but it's true. Thanks to the watchful eyes of the medical profession, we now know for a certainty that having our hair washed in a barber shop or hair salon sink may be dangerous to our health.

In an article published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Dr. Todd Stitik, a New Jersey physiatrist, concluded that bending your head backwards over a shampoo sink could aggravate cervical radiculopathy.

Since this is such a major threat to the public safety and welfare, the research journal had no qualms about publishing this report, even though it published another paper on the same topic, by the same lead researcher, in its July/August 1999 issue.

(Either there is no research being conducted on why more than 100,000 people die from medical errors each year in the U.S., or that research isn't considered important enough to make it into print.)

In this particular report, Stitik didn't go so far as to link the shampoo action with strokes, as the medical profession has done in the past but he was grave in reporting the dangers.

In addition, Stitik emphasized that leaning back over the sink (which will no doubt be dubbed 'shampoo sink syndrome' or SSS for short) doesn't necessarily cause the cervical radiculopathy, but merely aggravates it.

"In the office, we do a procedure called the Spurling Maneuver, which is the act of tilting the head back and slightly to the side, putting pressure on the side of the head," Stitik said.

I wonder if Stitik will next do a research project on how many patients have aggravated cervical radiculopathy, or even strokes, after being subjected to the Spurling Maneuver. I doubt it. It's so much more vital that the medical profession go after the really big offenders like hair salon operators and barbers.

Of course, as doctors of chiropractic, we should have a lot of sympathy with the hair cutters. After all, the medical profession has filled many pages of its research papers with dire warnings about how chiropractic can cause strokes.

I'm not sure if the hair stylists have ever determined the risk rate for their patrons, but it probably wouldn't matter. The fact that every legitimate study has shown that the risk of having a stroke after receiving a chiropractic adjustment is somewhere in the million-to-one area hasn't kept the medical industry from running around screaming that chiropractic is linked to strokes.

But the hair cutters and barber association (they must have one) has reason to worry. If the medical profession continues to find such damning evidence about SSS, they may end up trying to regulate the industry. I was talking with Dr. Christopher Kent about this issue recently and he said he could visualize the legislation which would be passed stating that, at an absolute minimum, hair stylists and barbers:

1) should be required to perform a comprehensive orthopedic and neurological examination on each client ...

2) should not be permitted to render services to children ...

3) should provide an informed consent form, explaining that the haircut or shampoo could result in paralysis or death, from anyone seeking a haircut or shampoo ...

4) must, as primary, portal of entry hair care providers, have a minimum four academic year professional curriculum. Until they all upgrade to this level, haircuts should be by medical referral only ...

5) cannot be included in any government health programs, or provide services to government employees, including military personnel, until a mechanism for proper medical supervision is implemented. For example, Marine Corp recruits could not get their buzz cuts until a qualified specialist in orthopedics, and a qualified specialist in neurology examined them.

After reading all this, I'm almost tempted to shave my head altogether so I won't have to face the dreaded shampoo sink. But then I think about the risk of nicking myself with a razor and getting infected with the new breed of "super bacteria."

It's a dangerous world we live in. I think I'll just go home and sip a cup of chamomile tea to sooth my nerves. Although didn't I read that the FDA was going to declare that herb a dangerous substance?