Oval Osteopathy and Vauxhall Village Osteopathy
  • Vauxhall Village Osteopathy
  • Oval Osteopathy
  • Your osteopaths
  • Your treatment
    • Headaches
    • Neck problems
    • Shoulder problems
    • Arm and Elbow problems
    • Wrist and Hand problems
    • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
    • Back problems
    • Hip problems
    • Sciatica
    • Knee and leg problems
    • Foot and ankle problems
  • Your appointment
  • Blog
  • Reviews
  • Exercises and stretches
  • Privacy policy
  • Portugues
Vauxhall Oval Nine Elms Osteopath
Blog

​Call 07361805089
or email click here

Neck  manipulations and neck artery dissection

2/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Osteopathy is not a risky business, whatever some professional sceptics may have you believe.   A comprehensive study of available literature, conducted in 2009 found that serious adverse events did occur that were associated with osteopathic treatment but they were very rare.  The most serious of these were strokes associated with damage to the arteries of the neck following an upper neck manipulation.  

Risks of major adverse events, such as stroke with neck manipulation, are very low. Estimates suggest around 1 per 100,000 to 1,000,000 manipulations or 1 per 50,000 to 100,000 patients. To put this in perspective, the risk of having a stroke without a manipulation is around 100 strokes per 100,000 (or 1 per 1,000 people) in the general population in the UK over a one year period.  you can read the study here if you wish.

But that doesn't tell the full story.  Those are serious adverse events associated with neck manipulations but that could be like saying going to the shops makes you fat because you notice that the more often you go to the shops the fatter you get.  Of course it is not shopping that makes you fat, it is eating the chocolate bars you buy at the shop that makes you fat but there is a correlation because if you go out to buy chocolate bars more often and then eat them you both visit the shop more often and get fatter.  

So appears to be the case with neck manipulations and artery damage leading to stroke.  A new review of the literature, read it here finds evidence that the linking variable is likely to be neck pain or headache and that some patients with a dissecting artery present at the therapist with neck pain or headache and are treated but that the neck pain/headache is the true symptom of the dissecting artery and the manipulation has no effect on it.    There is a lovely table at the end of the paper showing Hills criteria for causality which clearly shows on how many counts cervical manipulations fail to qualify as causal for dissecting arteries.

This is good news but is unlikely to change how I practice in the short term.  I will still take a detailed case history so I am aware of the likelihood of any conditions pertinent to my treatment of you and I will still exercise caution in the treatment of anyone at risk of cardiovascular disease or connective tissue disorders or indeed with any anticipated bone weakness.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    February 2024
    October 2022
    September 2022
    February 2021
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014

    Author

    Damian is the principal osteopath at Vauxhall Village Osteopathy and Oval Osteopathy

    Categories

    All
    Ankylosing Spondylitis
    Balanced Ligamentous Tension
    Bursitis
    Functional Technique
    Hip
    HVT
    Indirect Techniques
    Joints
    Knee
    Manipulation
    Mice
    Neck
    Osteoarthritis
    Osteochondritis Dessicans
    Osteopathic Principles
    Preventative Care
    Remit Of Osteopathy

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    RSS Feed

Picture
  • Vauxhall Village Osteopathy
  • Oval Osteopathy
  • Your osteopaths
  • Your treatment
    • Headaches
    • Neck problems
    • Shoulder problems
    • Arm and Elbow problems
    • Wrist and Hand problems
    • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
    • Back problems
    • Hip problems
    • Sciatica
    • Knee and leg problems
    • Foot and ankle problems
  • Your appointment
  • Blog
  • Reviews
  • Exercises and stretches
  • Privacy policy
  • Portugues