MYTH: Cervical manipulation can cause a stroke.

FACT: A 2003 study published in the journal Neurology asserted that chiropractic treatments were the culprit in a patient's stroke, claiming that a cervical adjustment led to a vertebral artery dissection (VAD). According to the American Chiropractic Association, the study is fraught with design flaws and needlessly alarms the public about a safe and effective form of treatment for neck pain and headaches. The ACA claims that VAD is a rare type of stroke associated with many other commonplace activities such as talking on the telephone, swimming, stargazing, overhead work, hair shampooing, and even sleeping. In fact, according to the ACA, a recent biomechanical study found that the forces transmitted to the artery during cervical manipulation are less than one-ninth the force necessary to stretch or otherwise damage a normal vertebral artery. "Based upon this study and other recent evidence, many experts now believe that it is physically impossible for a competently performed neck manipulation or adjustment, as provided by a trained doctor of chiropractic, to cause a vertebral artery dissection unless the artery already has a significant pre-existing weakness," according to the ACA. More Myths...