Some common misconceptions people have about Chiropractic is that it hurts, once you start going you can't stop, you can be paralyzed or it can cause a stroke. Chiropractic Adjustments are comfortable and can be performed as gently (with babies and medicare patients) or as actively as needed, and they don't hurt. Most people who see Chiropractors choose to continue getting checkups after their original health issues have healed, resolved and/or stabilized because they feel better and understand the lifetime benefits of Chiropractic care. For example, if going to the gym three days a week keeps you fit, healthy and feeling good about yourself and your life would you completely stop doing it..., probably not, and that's why Chiropractic patients often continue with wellness care, of course it's always up to you to continue or not!
On a more serious note, a Chiropractic Adjustment cannot paralyze you. We take the medical oath to "first do no harm" and that means our adjustments are designed and practiced to facilitate neurological communication, function and order, improve proper mechanical range of motion and heal connective tissues and myo-fascia. All this is done to boost and maintain the body's optimal innate healing, performance and adaptation functions as a self-healing and self-replicating organism... that's literally what we're designed to do, and Chiropractic care facilitates that with specificity and skill (that being said not all Chiropractors are equal, Dr Reuben Montemagni of The Art of Chiropractic NYC is a Master Chiropractor seeing patients who are only days old, patients into their 90's and beyond, as well as training and taking care of other Chiropractors. Come in and meet the Doctor, then you can decide).Finally, there is an unfortunate misconception that Chiropractic adjustments cause strokes. First, there is no clinical data, peer reviewed studies or any other scientific or evidence based information which backs that claim. Second, a stroke begins 72 hours before the actual event, the most common symptom is severe neck pain, people who see Chiropractors ill of course rush to their Chiropractor for relief from the serious and acute neck pain, the patient gets adjusted, they go home and the stroke process runs its course. Without understanding that the Chiropractor did nothing but alleviate their pain the Chiropractor is incorrectly accused of causing the stroke which is completely untrue. A good Chiropractor will notice the severe and uncharacteristic symptoms and recommend the patient gets checked by their MD to prevent a possible stroke-in-progess (this actually happens frequently in Chiropractic offices, but interestingly we don't hear about that on the gossip lines!).
Finally, to anyone concerned with the safety of Chiropractic Healthcare I will impart the following set of facts: Malpractice Insurance premiums paid by all doctors are based on the likelihood of injury and death of a patient when cared for under the scope of the practitioner (the more you pay, the higher the likelihood you will injure or cause the death of a patient). Here is a generalized list of malpractice premiums per field: Chiropractor 1500 per year, General practitioner MD 20,000/year, Obstetrics/Gynecology/Surgery MD 160,000/year, Anesthesiologist 250,000 per year. Clearly your best bet for conservative healthcare with almost no risk is Chiropractic!