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Writer's pictureJulian Simpson

The Truth Behind the Link Between Chiropractic Adjustments and Stroke

Updated: Jan 16

The Truth Behind the Link Between Chiropractic Adjustments and Stroke



What does the spine look like when it is misaligned?
What is a subluxation?

Debunking the myth that chiropractic adjustments cause a stroke.


What is a stroke? According to the Heart Association (2010), a stroke is a disease that affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when there is a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. Stroke can occur by a clot obstructing the flow of blood to the brain OR by a blood vessel rupturing and preventing blood flow to the brain.


What are the symptoms of stroke ?

Numbness or weakness on one side of the face, sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding, and problems seeing with one or both eyes. Other signs are loss of balance and severe sudden headaches with no cause


How does the chiropractor know if you have neck pain/headaches or a stroke?

Usually, a thrombus or embolism in the vertebral artery can cause neck pain and headaches, your Chiropractor is trained to know the difference between that type of headache versus other types of headaches like migraine.


A 2008 study found that

There was no greater likelihood of a patient experiencing a stroke following a visit to his/her chiropractor than there was after a visit to his/her primary care physician. The results were conclusive; there was no greater association between manipulation (chiropractic adjustments) and ischemic stroke or TIA's (transient ischemic attacks).


Furthermore, The research did conclude that overall, 4% of stroke victims had visited a chiropractor within 30 days of their strokes, while 53% of the stroke cases had visited their medical primary care providers within the same time frame.


The research concluded:

"Because the association between chiropractic visits and [vertebral basilar artery] stroke is not greater than the association between PCP [medical primary care providers] visits and [vertebral basilar] stroke, there is no excess risk of [vertebral basilar] stroke from chiropractic care"

We have been helping our community for over 10+ years with their muscle and spinal problems. Please call Health Wise Chiropractic at 03 9467 7889 or book online to see if one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh could do the same for you!


OR


Chiropractic has moved online. We offer our online programs -STAND CORRECTED- To help you through the day. They contain health advice for your conditions, nutritional advice, and exercises for you to do at home or at the workplace to help you achieve your health goals. We understand that coming to the Chiropractic clinic may be costly and time-consuming. This way if you can't make it into the chiropractic office, you can do any of our 20+ online health programs at your leisure.

Enjoy and we hope they spark a little bit of joy and help you achieve your health goals. Each program contains - Information about the conditions - things to do and things to avoid - nutrition advice - all the stretches that are needed to help The following conditions are now available for online sessions

  • migraine

  • cervicogenic headaches

  • cervical facet neck pain

  • tension headaches

  • cervical radiculopathy (pins and needles in the arm originating from the neck)

  • shoulder impingement relief

  • thoracic outlet syndrome

  • frozen shoulder

  • rotator cuff

  • chronic lumbar (Low Back) disc pain

  • acute Lumbar(low back) disc pain

  • Lumbar facet pain

  • sciatica and piriformis syndrome

  • meniscus (knee pain)

  • Plantar fasciitis (Foot Pain)

  • Shin Splints

  • Tennis Elbow/Golfers elbow

  • Carpal tunnel Syndrome

  • Upper Crossed Syndrome( Poor Posture)

  • Lower Crossed Syndrome ( Poor Posture)

  • Dizziness-Vertigo

  • Arthritis

  • Welcome To Chiropractic

  • TMJ (Jaw Pain)


References: 1. American Heart Association, Inc. (2010). About stroke. Retrieved from http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/AboutStroke/About-stroke_UCM_308529_SubHomePage.jsp 2. American Heart Association, Inc. (2010). Warning signs. Retrieved fromhttp://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/WarningSigns/Warning-Signs_UCM_308528_SubHomePage.jsp 3. American Heart Association, Inc. (2010). Ischemic (clots). Retrieved fromhttp://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/AboutStroke/TypesofStroke/IschemicClots/Ischemic-Clots_UCM_310939_Article.jsp 4. Cassidy, J. D., Boyle, E., Côté, P., He, Y., Hogg-Johnson, S., Silver, F. L., & Bondy, S. J. (2008). Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: Results of a population-based case-control and case-crossover study. Spine, 33(45), S176-S183. 5. Murphy, D. R. (2010). Current understanding of the relationship between cervical manipulation and stroke: What does it mean for the chiropractic profession? Chiorpractic & Osteopathy, 18(22),http://www.chiroandosteo.com/content/18/1/22

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