Is spinal manipulation dangerous? And apart from those very impressive sounds after having just been told that your spine is 'out' and then hearing and feeling it being put back 'in,' are there any enduring benefits to be had from these manipulations? If ever you've been asking yourself these sorts of questions, you're probably not going to be surprised to hear that you're not alone.
I personally must have had my spine manipulated hundreds of times by chiropractors and osteopaths during my ten-year battle with back pain during the seventies and eighties, and in that time was I ever really in any danger? Apart from one time when I spent three days immediately following a cervical spinal manipulation done by a trusted and experienced professional that left me in the most intense and almost intolerable pain, I'd have to say that in I probably wasn't in too much danger. Yet during those same ten years of treatment, can I say that I received any discernible benefit from the hundreds of spinal manipulations? Honestly, if I did, it definitely wasn't discernible to me. Allowing for the fact that I was repeatedly told that I should feel better and that I would be feeling a whole lot better due to my apparently misaligned spine being impressively re-aligned by manipulation, and despite spending a sizeable sum of money, I would have to say that I was no better off at all, in fact I felt quite cheated by the whole experience.
Having admitted that although I personally didn't feel at risk, is it conceivable that there is a risk in having the spine forcefully manipulated? To ask that question of a leading political figure in the South Pacific region, you would undoubtedly be on the end of an emphatic response. This person was rushed to hospital in need of urgent attention after the sheath surrounding the spinal cord had been torn during a manipulation that had gone dangerously wrong! If not for corrective surgery, the future as a federal politician would have been in serious doubt, not to mention the prospects of any other career. Having been the recipient of spinal manipulation for a number of years following an auto accident, that person's condition it must be said had not deteriorated in the interim however it had not improved either. The political leader had previously been persuaded that regular manipulation amounted to necessary maintenance in order to avoid degeneration, a conclusion that might have been acceptable until the chiropractor just happened to be having a bad day, or might have been distracted somehow just lone enough to get his practice 'just not quite right'.
Next we might consider the lady who was denied all opportunity to object to an error of judgement following a misfired manipulation; she died twenty-four hours after another 'safe' procedure hadn't gone the way it was intended. She was 28 years of age. Over the last 20 years I have listened to many more horror stories about manipulative therapies that hadn't gone to script, leaving the 'patient' not only no better off but in almost intolerable pain that was 'surprisingly' blamed on other factors. The volume of this article could easily take on monumental proportions if I was to detail more and more of these expensive 'accidents' at the hands of professionals however you possibly don't need any more convincing of the risks after perhaps years of your own costly failures. What is so intriguing though is the comprehensive and persuasive strategies used to convince patients that a lifetime of spinal manipulation is the key to escaping from suffering, even after no discernible progress has been made.
Many times I have heard the almost boastful comment, 'oh, my chiropractor is wonderful, I've been going to him [or her] for years'.Sorry, but is it only me who suddenly wonders after hearing a comment like that, 'well, if he [or she] is so wonderful, then why do you need to keep going back there for years???' Either you are in fact being genuinely helped, or you have become little more than a source of cash-flow for the business. So which is true? 'Ah, but all machinery needs maintenance' they cry out in protest', Hmmm, so why don't you learn to do the maintenance yourself and by doing so avoid remaining dependent upon the ones who charge you every time your dependency suddenly needs an urgent fix? If the rationale was to hold the least bit true, surely the advocates of this line of thinking should be so kind as to assist the ones who have previously paid them considerable amounts of money for their enlightenment to, at some point, empower them to break free from the dependency.
Could it possibly be that I have degenerated into little more than a jaded cynic over these last thirty years, battle-scarred from the disappointments of so many 'professionals' who had promised much yet delivered so little? Or have I simply allowed the painful experiences of countless others who have poured out their heart-wrenching sagas over the way they had been mistreated to influence my thinking? Or, might it be that I deeply object to 'professionals' exploiting the vulnerable at the time of their greatest need with promises that they can never deliver in the vast majority of cases? No, on balanced reflection, it would have to be the last of these 3 possibilities.
It seems evident that with so many chiropractors already in business, and so many more flooding onto the market each and every year, that many of them, no, not all but many, clutch desperately at a slice of market share when people come walking through their doors hoping to find relief from their pain as fuel for their business-bottom line to be milked for all they are worth in the name of 'good health'.
OK, so is spinal manipulation dangerous? It only takes one single error of movement, one split-second of loss of concentration, one fraction of a moment being distracted, or a flinch of involuntary tension on the part of the patient, and yes, the consequences can indeed be catastrophic. Does this happen a lot? Thankfully, no, but let me ask you, are you willing to knowingly play those odds? And are there any, or many, benefits to be had from such manipulations? If I was totally-up all the complaints I've had to listen to over many years relating to failed back and neck treatments, the overwhelming majority would be directed at spinal manipulations. Again, you be the judge.
I personally must have had my spine manipulated hundreds of times by chiropractors and osteopaths during my ten-year battle with back pain during the seventies and eighties, and in that time was I ever really in any danger? Apart from one time when I spent three days immediately following a cervical spinal manipulation done by a trusted and experienced professional that left me in the most intense and almost intolerable pain, I'd have to say that in I probably wasn't in too much danger. Yet during those same ten years of treatment, can I say that I received any discernible benefit from the hundreds of spinal manipulations? Honestly, if I did, it definitely wasn't discernible to me. Allowing for the fact that I was repeatedly told that I should feel better and that I would be feeling a whole lot better due to my apparently misaligned spine being impressively re-aligned by manipulation, and despite spending a sizeable sum of money, I would have to say that I was no better off at all, in fact I felt quite cheated by the whole experience.
Having admitted that although I personally didn't feel at risk, is it conceivable that there is a risk in having the spine forcefully manipulated? To ask that question of a leading political figure in the South Pacific region, you would undoubtedly be on the end of an emphatic response. This person was rushed to hospital in need of urgent attention after the sheath surrounding the spinal cord had been torn during a manipulation that had gone dangerously wrong! If not for corrective surgery, the future as a federal politician would have been in serious doubt, not to mention the prospects of any other career. Having been the recipient of spinal manipulation for a number of years following an auto accident, that person's condition it must be said had not deteriorated in the interim however it had not improved either. The political leader had previously been persuaded that regular manipulation amounted to necessary maintenance in order to avoid degeneration, a conclusion that might have been acceptable until the chiropractor just happened to be having a bad day, or might have been distracted somehow just lone enough to get his practice 'just not quite right'.
Next we might consider the lady who was denied all opportunity to object to an error of judgement following a misfired manipulation; she died twenty-four hours after another 'safe' procedure hadn't gone the way it was intended. She was 28 years of age. Over the last 20 years I have listened to many more horror stories about manipulative therapies that hadn't gone to script, leaving the 'patient' not only no better off but in almost intolerable pain that was 'surprisingly' blamed on other factors. The volume of this article could easily take on monumental proportions if I was to detail more and more of these expensive 'accidents' at the hands of professionals however you possibly don't need any more convincing of the risks after perhaps years of your own costly failures. What is so intriguing though is the comprehensive and persuasive strategies used to convince patients that a lifetime of spinal manipulation is the key to escaping from suffering, even after no discernible progress has been made.
Many times I have heard the almost boastful comment, 'oh, my chiropractor is wonderful, I've been going to him [or her] for years'.Sorry, but is it only me who suddenly wonders after hearing a comment like that, 'well, if he [or she] is so wonderful, then why do you need to keep going back there for years???' Either you are in fact being genuinely helped, or you have become little more than a source of cash-flow for the business. So which is true? 'Ah, but all machinery needs maintenance' they cry out in protest', Hmmm, so why don't you learn to do the maintenance yourself and by doing so avoid remaining dependent upon the ones who charge you every time your dependency suddenly needs an urgent fix? If the rationale was to hold the least bit true, surely the advocates of this line of thinking should be so kind as to assist the ones who have previously paid them considerable amounts of money for their enlightenment to, at some point, empower them to break free from the dependency.
Could it possibly be that I have degenerated into little more than a jaded cynic over these last thirty years, battle-scarred from the disappointments of so many 'professionals' who had promised much yet delivered so little? Or have I simply allowed the painful experiences of countless others who have poured out their heart-wrenching sagas over the way they had been mistreated to influence my thinking? Or, might it be that I deeply object to 'professionals' exploiting the vulnerable at the time of their greatest need with promises that they can never deliver in the vast majority of cases? No, on balanced reflection, it would have to be the last of these 3 possibilities.
It seems evident that with so many chiropractors already in business, and so many more flooding onto the market each and every year, that many of them, no, not all but many, clutch desperately at a slice of market share when people come walking through their doors hoping to find relief from their pain as fuel for their business-bottom line to be milked for all they are worth in the name of 'good health'.
OK, so is spinal manipulation dangerous? It only takes one single error of movement, one split-second of loss of concentration, one fraction of a moment being distracted, or a flinch of involuntary tension on the part of the patient, and yes, the consequences can indeed be catastrophic. Does this happen a lot? Thankfully, no, but let me ask you, are you willing to knowingly play those odds? And are there any, or many, benefits to be had from such manipulations? If I was totally-up all the complaints I've had to listen to over many years relating to failed back and neck treatments, the overwhelming majority would be directed at spinal manipulations. Again, you be the judge.
About the Author:
Richard A. Convery is an expert on neck and back pain relief. Over many years he has been helping many thousands of people to alleviate their pain; shoulder neck, upper back pain and back pain lower back you can visit his back pain site at lower back pain exercise to learn more.
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