What Are Our Responsibilities?

Over past few decades there have been looming critiques of chiropractors possibly causing strokes due to cervical manipulation and/or adjusting. As physicians we have had profound concerns a therapeutic intervention we could render may have iatrogenic implications for a patient. Recent research has illustrated that chiropractic cervical treatment has not been implicated in causing strokes. Apparently any relationship is more coincidental since incidental movements of the neck, such as just turning to look in a car, might be sufficient to cause a stroke in a susceptible patient. But, before we can breathe a sigh of relief we now have the responsibility to be aware of a stroke in progress or possible warning signs that might pre-stage a stroke. Since many times the same signs of an impending stroke (head or neck pain) are the same signs that lead a patient to seek chiropractic care. Therefore, this makes the chiropractic clinical encounter important not just from a treatment point of view but also a history taking and diagnostic opportunity to save our patient’s life