February 18, 2002 Canadian Newspapers report Chiropractic adjustments may cause stroke Last week, a number of newspapers and television news reports again released fallacious reports about Chiropractic adjustments and stroke. One report quoted neurologists as placing the risk of stroke in a Chiropractic adjustment to one in five thousand! If this were true, then in our office alone, we would be causing stroke in one person every seven or eight weeks. With twenty years of combined practice experience, we have not seen any instance where this has happened whatsoever. In fact, the October 2, 2001 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-165/issue-7/0907.asp ) published a paper that confirmed how safe chiropractic adjustments really are- -that the risk of stroke with an adjustment is exceedingly low at 1 in 5.85 million adjustments. The risk is as low as the risk you take when painting a ceiling, turning your head quickly or going to the salon to have your hair washed in a basin with your head backwards in the sink. The troubling aspect of these news reports is that they scare some people into not getting the help that they need to regain and maintain their health. For people who have never been to a Chiropractor and have never experienced the remarkable benefits of adjustments, the court of public opinion especially in light of the untrue negative reports means that they may never know the benefits. Some of you may have even had friends or family members discourage you from receiving care! If interested .. By Dr. Martha Collins sent to above. She has a practice in Canada and sends a e-mail newsletter called Lifeline. To contact her reply to: clc@kingston.net