​DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSES A STROKE?

                When the arteries of the brain or neck have become hardened or blocked, a person is at risk of a stroke. In other cases, a severe injury to the neck could sever arteries causing a stroke or a blood clot from another part of the body may travel to the neck or brain and cause a stroke. A person’s daily habits, however, are the main culprit of arteries hardening: smoking, drinking alcohol excessively, eating dairy, eating meat and vitamin B deficiency. The largest percentage of strokes are caused by these lifestyle choices. Here at Soft Touch Chiropractic in Northridge, CA, I have treated my fair share of patients who show up with the signs of being at risk for stroke.
You may or may not have heard of cases where a patient has been treated by a chiropractor and had a stroke following treatment. In turn, the chiropractor who adjusted the patient gets the blame for the unfortunate outcome. The mainstream media sees this as an opportunity to make headlines by bashing the chiropractic profession and defame the character of the chiropractor. The medical industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industry and any other opponent of chiropractic stands to gain credibility when the media emphasizes the “dangers” of chiropractic as they relate to a stroke.
In reality, chiropractic adjustments are one of the safest approaches to health. Our profession has one of the lowest cost for malpractice insurance compared to other health professions (i.e. medical doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists, nurses and osteopaths). Thousands of chiropractors throughout the world safely perform millions of adjustments everyday.  But this proof doesn’t matter when the media singles out a case, blows it out of proportion and portrays chiropractic is dangerous.
Twice in the past, I have been close to being in this situation. In one case, my acupuncturist referred a patient to me for headaches and upper back pain. Due to time restraint, the patient could not stay for a chiropractic exam so she left my office, paper work in hand. I didn’t perform an exam or give her treatment. That same day, while the patient was driving out of the parking lot of my office, she had a stroke and hit a pole. Had I done an exam or treated her in any way, the media would have been happy to pin that stroke on me. Five years later, almost the same scenario happened. The person was referred by another patient of mine and she had a stroke the night before her appointment with me. If her chiropractic appointment had been a day earlier, I would have been blamed for her misfortune.
The reason I am sharing these stories is because these potential patients would have had a stroke regardless of whether or not they would have been treated by me.  Unfortunately, in recorded cases, when a chiropractor is exonerated of any wrongdoing, it’s not covered by the media. Cases like these take a long time to investigate and by the time a chiropractor is declared not-guilty, the damage to his reputation and the profession has been done.
Chiropractic is helpful for more than just relieving back pain; it lowers blood pressure as well as stress.  Please don’t let false propaganda stop you from seeking chiropractic help. Call your chiropractor today.
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