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Chiropractor's perspective: "Queen of Snapchat," Katie May, dies from a stroke after chiropractic adjustment




Source: youcaring.com


L.A. County Coroner recently ruled that model, Katie May, died as a result of a “neck manipulation by chiropractor" due to a brain infarction or stroke. It was deem an accident as result of a carotid artery blockage. Chiropractic adjustments to the upper cervical can move the vertebral artery so I am not sure how the carotid artery was affected. I am guessing the news articles are reporting the wrong artery being dissected. Ms. May fell during a photoshoot hurting her neck resulting in her seeking help from a LA chiropractor. She had more than one chiropractic adjustment before going to the hospital with symptoms of a stroke before dying. Is the fall to blame for the stroke or only the neck adjustment? Did they both contribute to the stoke? 



Our sympathy goes out to the family of Katie May. With respect to the safety of neck manipulation, it’s important to understand there are risks and benefits to all treatments; however, the best available evidence indicates there is no causal relationship between neck manipulation and stroke. Millions of neck manipulations are performed safely in the U.S. every year, providing patients relief from common forms of neck pain and headache, and helping them to get back to their normal activities. 
 




As a chiropractor myself, I cannot say for sure whether a chiropractic neck adjustment can initiate a tear in the vertebral artery or there may already be a blood clot blockage which becomes agitated and dislodged with neck movement. I personally have not done any "cracking" of any necks in my office for years now as more study needs to be done on this subject. I would also like to add that strokes happen seemingly "spontaneously" from getting your hair washed in a beauty salon, painters looking up to paint ceilings or blood clots accumulate in the calves of lower legs especially with lack of activity. There is no reliable orthopedic test for patients prone to strokes. The only possible connection is homocysteine. Elevated levels  of homocysteine in the blood seems to be a factor in getting strokes from research. Here is a WebMD article about homocysteine and strokes.

How safe are the vigorous neck manipulations done by chiropractors? Washington Post
People Are Having Strokes At Hair Salons And This Is Why BuzzFeed








ChiroWorks Care Center
Anthony Tsai, D.C.
Chiropractor in San Jose, CA
Graston Technique Certified
FAKTR Certified

Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for specific individualized circumstances. It is not a prescription for therapy or diagnosis for you. All opinions expressed and any referenced articles are solely those of the particular author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Anthony Tsai, Graston Technique®, its employees, providers or affiliates. Any opinions of the author on the site are or have been rendered based on scientific facts and/or anecdotal evidence, under certain conditions, and subject to certain assumptions, and may not and should not be used or relied upon for any other purpose, including but not limited to for use in or in connection with any legal proceeding. If there is any issue with the content or images on this blog, contact us an we will remove it immediately. Please refer to http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/ for more information.


References:
http://www.mskatiemay.com/
https://www.youcaring.com/mia-may-maimon-522951
https://www.acatoday.org/News-Publications/News/ACA-Responds-to-New-Inquiries-About-Katie-May
http://www.tmz.com/2016/10/19/model-katie-may-chiropractor-cause-of-death/
http://www.tmz.com/2016/02/05/model-katie-may-stroke-fall-photo-shoot/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/katie-may-cause-of-death_us_580783cfe4b0dd54ce36923b
http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20030220/high-homocysteine-linked-to-stroke
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11176224
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/how-safe-are-the-vigorous-neck-manipulations-done-by-chiropractors/2014/01/06/26870726-5cf7-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html
https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrissymahlmeister/beauty-parlor-stroke?utm_term=.dxGDMmnMq#.qyNDKqoKP


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