Article in French journal needed
Quote:
>For a number of years now, my wife has requested for me to "crack" her
>back after she comes home from work. What this means is that basically
>I give her a bear hug until we hear a popping sound come from her back
>area. It sounds similar to what I have heard (on TV) from
>demonstrations of chiropractic back manipulations. She swears it makes
>her feel *much* better and to date, it has seemed to cause no harm.
>However, I've always had reservations about doing this. The stroke
>danger from neck manipulations raises my concern further. I try to
>exert a steady, non-traumatic pressure when I do this so that I'm not
>repeatedly shocking her back with a large jolt. Am I fooling myself
>that this is probably safe? She is 38 years old with no history of back
>or cardiovascular problems.
There are no published studies that I know of suggesting that this
carries the risk that cracking the neck does. My general recommendation
to patients asking me about chiropractic is that it is O.K. providing
the neck is not cracked, it helps right afterward and doesn't make the
patient hurt worse, and I have ruled out something like a herniated disc
with radiculopathy which may be worsened by chiropractic manipulation.
Before anyone asks, I can't cite a study indicating that chiropractic
manipulation can worsen a disc herniation, although I suspect there may
be one. My information comes from several of the better chiropracters
in my area who tell me they will not manipulate a patient whom they
suspect of having a radiculopathy for this reason.
David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
One out of four American children under the age of six now lives in
poverty. Nearly 1.5 million of them are malnourished -- Census Bureau
