OVERLAND PARK, Kan. The American Heart and Stroke Associations have issued a new statement about neck manipulation, a treatment done by chiropractors and some other health care providers. The groups say manipulation may be associated with stroke.
Earlier this year, FOX 4 introduced you to Genny Hale who had a stroke a day after having her neck adjusted. She went to the emergency room with sudden arm numbness and dizziness.
Thats one of the first questions they ask, if I had ever seen a chiropractor, said Hale.
Dr. Karin Olds is a neurologist at Saint Lukes Neuroscience Institute.
Yes, chiropractic manipulation of the neck can cause a stroke, said Dr. Olds.
She told us that when the neck is torqued in any way, it can cause a tear or dissection in an artery wall. A clot forms which causes the stroke.
Now the American Heart and Stroke Associations are weighing in, saying that neck manipulation may be associated with stroke although it cannot be said with certainty that it causes strokes.
Theres no cause and effect thats with the chiropractic adjustment and stroke, said Dr. Kendall Payne, a chiropractor who is president of the Kansas Chiropractic Association.
Dr. Payne said people who are already having a dissection may visit a chiropractor for treatment.
Theyre having headache or neck pain which are symptoms which can be symptoms of a stroke, but those are also biomechanical symptoms that are caused by dysfunction of the cervical spine, he said.
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Neck manipulation linked to stroke