A long article on chiropractic casts doubt that chiropractic is useful. Here is an abbreviated version of it:
The chemistry and biology graduate from the University of Georgia, 28-year-old Caitlin Jensen, visited a chiropractor to sort out her lower back pain. During the session, the therapist performed an adjustment. It severed four arteries in her neck. She collapsed shortly after, unable to speak or move. The injury had caused her to suffer a series of strokes. Today, she has regained some movement in her head, legs and arms but she is still unable to speak, is partially blind and relies on a wheelchair.
While shocking and extreme, experts say Caitlin’s story is evidence of the risks of chiropractic. And although such cases are rare, they are not unheard of. Yet despite these risks, the treatment has only become more popular recently. Currently it is being driven by a social media craze for videos of chiropractors manipulating spines to make terrifying cracking sounds. The more brutal the crack, the higher the views.
And now chiropractors in the UK are pushing for their services, which are largely private, to be rolled out on the NHS. According to a report commissioned by the British Chiropractic Association, employing chiropractors in the health service could save £1.5 billion and cut physiotherapist waiting lists. Last week The Mail on Sunday’s GP columnist Dr Ellie Cannon expressed concerns over the safety of the scheme, writing that she was worried that the forceful manipulation of the body involved can be dangerous, causing serious injuries. Dr Cannon asked readers for their own experiences – and was flooded with responses. Scores claimed they’d found relief from joint pain and other issues thanks to a chiropractor, when nothing else worked. Yet, disturbingly, among these were accounts from those who’d suffered horrific injuries.
- One 66-year-old grandmother said a visit to a chiropractor to treat her sore shoulder left her covered in bruises, hearing ringing in her ears and with a splitting pain in her jaw. She was later diagnosed by doctors with trigeminal neuralgia – a chronic pain disorder caused by a trapped or irritated nerve in the neck that causes sudden, electric shock-like pain in the face. She believes the condition – which, three years later, still sometimes leaves her unable to open her mouth wide enough to speak to her grandchildren – was triggered by a chiropractic adjustment of her neck.
- A 55-year-old woman was left with chronic neck and shoulder pain after visiting a chiropractor for a sore back. The pain was so bad she once spent 72 hours immobile and unable to sleep despite taking a concoction of painkillers.
- And a 66-year-old man says his back went into spasm as he was leaving his first chiropractor appointment – which left him hospitalised and bedbound for weeks. The intense treatment, he later learned, had pushed one of the discs of his spine out of place, causing him to lose feeling in his right leg for ever.
In the UK, several film and TV shows – including Love Island – have bragged of having a resident chiropractor on set. And the number of British chiropractors has risen by more than 60 per cent in the past four years, according to regulatory board the General Chiropractic Council.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Simon Fleming worries that vulnerable patients are turning to chiropractors without knowing its risks. He says: ‘It’s not that there aren’t safe chiropractors, it’s that there’s such a high risk of potentially doing harm. Adults can make their own choices – but if they want to go down that route, we need to ensure they do it with their eyes open.’
The NHS currently lists neck, back, shoulder and elbow pain as issues that can be treated with chiropractic – adding that there’s little evidence it can help with more serious conditions, or problems that don’t affect the muscles or joints. It warns: ‘There is a risk of more serious problems, such as stroke, from spinal manipulation.’
Chiropractic is not widely available on the health service, other than in exceptional circumstances where no other options, such as physiotherapy, are available. But a report released by the University of York last week called for the practice to be brought under the NHS in order to cut the number of patients with musculoskeletal issues waiting for physiotherapy. And according to Mark Gurden, president of the Royal College of Chiropractors, it will help the NHS more generally by offering up a skilled and competent workforce during a national staffing crisis. ‘It’s a profession just like physiotherapy is a profession, and can offer a range of interventions that include both soft tissue techniques and spinal manipulation,’ he says. ‘Chiropractors are regulated healthcare professionals who undergo four-years training and must be registered with the General Chiropractic Council. It’s an entirely safe procedure when done by competent professionals.’
Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter and author of ‘Chiropractic: Not All That It’s Cracked Up To Be‘, says hundreds of patients have suffered a stroke after getting their necks manipulated – with some dying from the damage. Recent instances include the tragic case of 29-year-old Joanna Kowalczyk, who suffered a fatal tear of her blood vessels after having her neck adjusted by a chiropractor, as well as Playboy model Katie May, 34, who died after getting the treatment for a pinched nerve in her neck sustained during a photoshoot. And Professor Ernst believes even more patients may have sustained injuries than we know of.
____________________________
You might be interested in what I actually wrote in response to the questions posed by the journalist from the ‘Mail-online’. Here are his questions (Q) and my replies (R), both unabbreviated:
Q: Should chiropractic treatment be available on the NHS?
R: The NHS cannot even pay for all effective therapies; as chiropractic is of at best doubtful effectiveness, it should, in my view, not be reimbursed by the public purse.
Q: Are chiropractic therapies dangerous? If so, why?
R: Chiropractors manipulate the spine of virtually every patient. These manipulations often move the spine beyond its physiological range of motion and can thus cause severe structural damage.
Q: Are all chiropratic adjustments risky? Or just those that involve certain areas of the body (ie, neck)?
R: The neck is, of course, particularly vulnerable; but damage can occur along the entire spine.
Q: Equally, is it a case of some chiropractors just not being very good at their jobs?
R: Some chiropractors are surely more dangerous than others. Yet none are risk-free.
Q: I’ve seen stories of awful injuries / deaths at the hands of a chiropractor. But if the practice is so risky why don’t we see more injuries than we do?
R: There is no reporting system of side effects of chiropractic – so, if we don’t look, we don’t see.
Q: Lots of our readers have written in to say it’s helped massively with their pain or other ailment. Can it have any positive effect on our health and wellbeing?
R: True some people swear by chiropractic. But let’s not forget that having your bones cracked is bound to have a considerable placebo response.
Q: Should babies be getting chiropractic adjustments?
R: Most definitely no!
Q: Are some people more prone to injury from these treatments than others?
R: Yes, some people may, for instance, have fragile arteries that then might burst when the neck is being forcefully manipulated.
Q: What do you think needs to happen to reform the chiropractic industry?
R: If it wants to be called a valuable form of healthcare, chiropractic needs to abide by the principles of evidence-based medicine. In other words, it needs to demonstrate through rigorous research that it does more good than harm and for which condition. At present, chiropractic is very far from having achieved this. And that means, I fear, that it should not be part of rational healthcare.
_______________________
I am glad that, these days, I usually insist on doing interviews with journalists via email
13 Responses to UK chiropractors are pushing for their [OFTEN DANGEROUS] services to be paid for by the public purse
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QUOTE from EE’s blog post:
“…now chiropractors in the UK are pushing for their services, which are largely private, to be rolled out on the NHS. According to a report commissioned by the British Chiropractic Association, employing chiropractors in the health service could save £1.5 billion and cut physiotherapist waiting lists…And according to Mark Gurden, president of the Royal College of Chiropractors, it will help the NHS more generally by offering up a skilled and competent workforce during a national staffing crisis.”
The UK chiropractic industry’s gambit to be allied to the NHS seems to be a barely-concealed marketing ploy. The bragging rights that such inclusion would give UK chiropractors would raise their profile hugely and almost certainly see their incomes soar. Fortunately, however, if the following chronology of events is anything to go by (not exhaustive), it looks like they will struggle for acceptance:
2002
An investigation revealed that the vast majority of UK chiropractors were interested in providing their services through the NHS, but only on a part-time basis and in a way that most closely resembled private practice. Interestingly, it concluded that “National health care reform and the statutory self-regulation of chiropractors have brought this closer to a more widespread reality. However, to prosper in this setting, the profession may benefit from a greater understanding of the competing priorities and constraints faced by NHS purchasers, who, for their part, should be prepared to implement policy based on evidence”.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11898015/
2010
The NHS, referring to evidence regarding chiropractic for low back pain, declared that “because of disagreements over the way the trials were carried out and what their results mean, this evidence does not allow us to draw definite conclusions. Some scientists believe that the best fair tests show that chiropractic is not effective for lower back pain. More research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn”.
https://tinyurl.com/ypb3z4kd
2013
The Ministry of Defence stated that: “As chiropractic care has not been endorsed by the NHS, [it] considered that it was not appropriate for it to raise awareness of ‘Hands for Heroes’ amongst Serving and ex-Service personnel.”
https://tinyurl.com/j2v7bwkm
2014
Things appeared to be getting desperate for chiropractors when one of its groups published an article on ‘Roadmap to Overcoming NHS Criticism of Chiropractic’
http://chiropractic.prosepoint.net/90568
2016
NHS funding in Hereford and Malvern for chiropractic treatment was stopped.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/malvern-chiropractic-clinic
2017
The Spanish health service listed chiropractic as pseudoscience and asserted that it was excluded from the UK NHS
https://tinyurl.com/2fmfwdn5
2019
In a slide show at its 2019 AGM, the British Chiropractic Association is on record saying that the remedy to ‘increase numbers’ was through more chiropractic programmes, integration into NHS, better marketing, unity, and reduced fees. (Note there was no mention of evidence) . See slide 79 via the 16th July date here:
https://tinyurl.com/2pj8f8wx
2019
The UK Chiropractic Research Council says it hopes to exploit the decline of GPs in the UK and is currently funding ‘an important’ PhD study into the implementation of chiropractic care into existing NHS care.
https://tinyurl.com/9pyt9vtp
January 2021
A second generation UK chiropractor hopes his PhD will “inform the UK-based integration of chiropractic into the NHS”
https://tinyurl.com/yntyyy97 (scroll down)
Autumn 2021
In a survey conducted by the British Chiropractic Association for its ‘Strategic Repositioning Project’, most UK chiros who responded didn’t want to lose their ‘strong private practice identity and be focused on the NHS system’. One even said “Our profession is not respected because of unethical practices and division within the profession.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5mc9564
DECEMBER 2024
The General Chiropractic Council noted in its Council meeting minutes: “The NHS website uses very negative wording about chiropractic, whereas with physio it’s very positive…The GCC successfully asked the NHS to adjust the wording to highlight registration and the ‘I’m Registered’ mark”
https://www.gcc-uk.org/assets/council/CO241205-00_Combined_Council_meeting_pack.pdf (p.55)
Here’s why that hardly offers any reassurance:
https://edzardernst.com/?s=General+Chiropractic+Council
FEBRUARY 2025
On 26th February, the role of chiropractors in UK musculoskeletal (MSK) health prevention strategies was discussed in the House of Lords when Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick asked His Majesty’s Government whether they planned to incorporate a role for chiropractors in national musculoskeletal health prevention strategies. It was met with responses that included “clinical evidence from systemic reviews does not support national commissioning of chiropractic treatment”.
https://tinyurl.com/mrv7hwvj (specific Hansard link)
MARCH 2025
Despite the paucity of favourable evidence for chiropractic interventions and the danger to patients of being ensnared by ongoing chiropractic quackery and harms, over 30 UK MPs and Peers gathered to discuss the ‘crucial’ role of chiropractic care in supporting the NHS:
https://tinyurl.com/3v6n88vk
Given the above, it would be absurd if chiropractic was widely accepted by the NHS, but at least it would necessitate chiropractors in England (where the majority practice) adhering to this:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/
Finally, does anyone have the report released by the University of York that they can post here?
the report sounds as ridiculous as was the ‘SMALLWOOD REPORT’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallwood_Report
Edzard on Tuesday 01 April 2025 at 14:28
How do these 3 errors compare with the outcome in “scientific medical system”? You seem to gloat over “real medicine” data when writing such messages. This statement “if you make a claim in a comment, support it with evidence” is not supposed to apply to you?
For those interested, the full University of York report can be read here:
https://tinyurl.com/4zfafhbz
is the link wrong? it now links to a study of 2020 [but initially it linked to the correct report]!
I’ve checked the link and it works fine for me, but you can also find it at the very end of this page:
https://chiropractic-uk.co.uk/news/recognising-chiropractors-nhs-could-save-uk-economy-ps15-billion-new-bca-report-finds
am I daft?
both lead me only to this:
https://chiropractic-uk.co.uk/sites/default/files/2025-03/Chiropractors%20in%20NHS%20MSK%20pathways%20-%20Technical%20Report%20FINAL%20120225.pdf
Try this https://archive.ph/iXjvT
thanks very much – I plan to blog about it tomorrow.
“According to Mark Gurden, president of the Royal College of Chiropractors, it will help the NHS more generally by offering up a skilled and competent workforce during a national staffing crisis. ‘It’s a profession just like physiotherapy is a profession, and can offer a range of interventions that include both soft tissue techniques and spinal manipulation,’ he says.”
But chiropractic is NOT “just like physiotherapy” – and that’s the problem.
Chiropractic was founded by D D Palmer who opened his ‘Palmer School for Magnetic Cure’ in 1886 , claiming he was guided by the spirit of Dr Jim Atkinson, a dead physician.
Palmer expressly denounced orthodox, regular medicine (and physiotherapy) as was then developing.”Chiropractic is founded on different principles from those of medicine.”
Palmer claimed he occupied in chiropractic a similar position as did Mrs Mary Baker Eddy in Christian Science – “Mrs Eddy claimed to receive her ideas from the other world, and so do I. She founded a religion thereon and so may I.”
Chiropractors believe the spinal column can have ‘subluxations’ which benefit from ‘adjustment’, releasing ‘innate intelligence’ as Palmer had it. But no ‘subluxation’ has ever been found by reputable investigators, and the benefits of ‘adjustment’ is, as the professor says, unproven.
Which means that chiropractic relies on a belief in an entity for which there is no reproducible plausible evidence and is a variety of faith healing, Which has no place in the NHS, based as it is on EBM.
All chiropractors should be asked: “Why did you study, train and qualify as a chiropractor, and not as an osteopath, physiotherapist, or medical doctor?”
Just as harmful as the physical injuries which may be caused by misapplied manipulation, are the misleading claims to be able to ‘adjust’ and release ‘innate’.
If students want to care for the musculo-skeletal system, and for any reason do not become doctors, why do they not become physiotherapists which are widely held in regard throughout the NHS?
Our dear Doctor Edzard Ernst,
Thank you for your common sense and for enduring the marathon of reason amongst such chiropractic nonsense.
We applaud you , we thank you and we pray and hope for a brighter future.
Unfortunately as long as there are shopping malls in Canada I fear there will always be chiros soliciting the vulnerable but word continues to spread on this continent , that people need to think twice about having their necks twisted.
Not a day goes by, when we stop thinking about how different our lives would have been , had Sandy chosen not to visit the chiropractor.
you are too kind; all the best to Sandy and you.
David Nette
I also am a victim of neck twisting. I completely sympathize with you for the damage sustained by your wife, and so indirectly to you. Fortunately, my injury is not as severe as Sandy. Yet, the pain has persisted now for about 35 years and has my neck has deteriorated more rapidly for the past ten years.
Necks and chiropractors aside. MDs can cause damage also, and pharmaceuticals also. I was prescribed high doses of Ibuprofen for many years. My doctor never warned me of the toxic effects of the med until one day he decided to test my blood to see if I might in fact be affected in a negative way. Well, after analyzing my blood, he told me there was a newer drug on the market and changed my medication to Vioxx. He told me that it was more effective and had less serious side effects.
Well, so I ended the Ibuprofen use and used the Vioxx for about five weeks. After about the third week, I was noticing some heart pain, but did not consider the medication might be the reason. After the fourth week, I did experience a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. Again, I never connected the dots.
After the fifth week, I decided that the Vioxx was not as effective for my back pain and ended the Vioxx use and resumed with Ibuprofen.
If you know anything about the Merck/Vioxx story, you know that thousands of patients died from heart issues, and Merck knew all along that the med was dangerous but never notified the public. Furthermore, after many deaths with the finger pointed at Vioxx… Merck continued selling the med and killing more patients.
It is estimated that at a minimum…Vioxx/Merck killed more US citizens than died in the Vietnam war. The estimated go much higher.
https://theweek.com/us/46535/when-half-million-americans-died-and-nobody-noticed