Should I get my neck cracked?
When considering any medical intervention you should consider the following:
What happens if I do nothing?
What happens if I have treatment?
What are the risks?
Taking neck pain as an example:
What happens if I do nothing?
Most cases of neck pain resolve on it’s own in approximately 6 weeks.
What happens if I have treatment?
With treatment we can expedite your recovery, aid recovery in cases that have gone on for more than 6 weeks, and educate you on how to prevent reoccurrence.
What are the risks?
The risks of treatment such as massage, joint mobilisation, (gentle) traction, and rehab are very low. For example, feeling sore for a couple of days afterwards. For neck manipulation, there may be a risk of stroke, however the literature is unclear on whether manipulation causes stroke, or if people with neck pain are in the process of having a stroke, and the manipulation exacerbates it. You are not more likely to have a stroke from seeing a chiropractor, than seeing your GP. The risk is thought to be somewhere between 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 1,000,000. This risk changes depending on your medical history - for example, you are more at risk if you have other conditions that increase the possibility of a stroke such as diabetes or heart problems.
What do I think?
I have moved away from neck manipulation somewhat these days. I tend to start with other treatment modalities first, and if they aren’t helping as much as I would like, I then consider manipulation. Or if I have patients that have had good results from manipulation in the past, I will consider using it. I still have my own neck manipulated (and I’m quite a risk averse person!), but no way near as often as I used to.