About every five years the conversation resurfaces about chiropractic adjustments and strokes. There have been many anti-chiropractor folks out there that have pushed this topic a lot. The typical signs of a pending stroke are neck pain and headache. These conditions would lead patients to follow up care with their chiropractor or family doctor. In the research article below it shows that patients with these conditions had the same risk outcome of having a stroke with either provider. Meaning you are no more likely to have a stroke from seeing a chiropractor, family doctor or just walking down the street.
There are of course high risk patients when it comes to stroke. Previous stroke, plaguing of arteries, high cholesterol and high blood pressure all play a roll. With patient that are at high risk Dr. Myers uses an instrument to adjust the cervical and upper thoracic spine. This puts a quick gentle force into the neck with no rotation of the head and has been proven to never cause a stroke.
It is also important to remember that a stroke from a vertebral artery dissection is a rare event in the medical world. What happens with this type of stroke is the artery that travels through your cervical spine gets a tear in it, therefore causing blood to leak and a resulting stroke. Dr. Myers performs a detailed history of every patient, which is a critical part in diagnosing possible signs of these conditions early. He also works closely with all family doctors and Borgess Hosptial system to help patient receive the care they need.
Instrument adjustments are safe and effective.