No one pays closer attention to injury statistics than Malpractice Insurance carriers. Scott Haldeman, M.D., D.C. reviewed malpractice claims records for a 10-year period between 1988 and 1997. In reviewing 134.5 million chiropractic adjustments, there were 23 cases of stroke or vertebral artery dissection. 10 of these had complicating factors such as high blood pressure, use of oral contraceptives, or a history of smoking, all associated with vascular disease. The incidence of stroke or vertebral artery dissection following neck adjustments was one per 5.85 million. On average, a chiropractor would have to work for 1430 years (48 full chiropractic careers) for this to happen once! Driving to the office is probably more dangerous.
Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2001
