Samantha Slaven was just following the advice of her pilates instructor when she walked into a chiropractor’s office. The instructor noticed that Slaven’s back appeared misaligned and thought she could use an “adjustment.”
Three months later, the 46-year-old found herself in excruciating pain, and going to the hospital for an emergency cortisone shot in her neck, dangerously close to her spinal chord. The chiropractor had exacerbated an underlying condition of an undiagnosed degenerative disc disease.
“I could have been completely paralyzed,” says Slaven, who owns a p.r. firm in Los Angeles and now sees a sports therapist if she feels pain.
“I will never go to a chiropractor again,” she says.
Chiropractors — who treat neuromuscular disorders through manual adjustment or manipulation of the spine — are controversial. Some patients praise them for alleviating pain without addictive medication or expensive surgery; others call them quacks. In October, an autopsy report revealed that Playboy model Katie May died in February after a chiropractor adjusted her back, leaving the 34-year-old with a torn artery that stopped blood flow to her brain. May’s estate is asking for a seven-figure settlement from the medical professional, citing negligence.
“There are a lot of negative stereotypes associated with chiropractors,” says Noel Lozares, a physical therapist based in Brooklyn. “I’ve had chiropractor colleagues who have worked on me who are good and judicious. But, unfortunately, there are those who are cavalier.”
According to the American Chiropractic Association, “doctors of chiropractic” (DCs) must complete a four-year program with more than 4,620 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical internship experience, though many don’t require a bachelor’s degree to enroll. Education and clinical work focuses on anatomy, as opposed to physiology, which is the focus of medical doctors. Still, DCs must learn how to do blood and lab work, neurological testing, and diagnostic imaging — which is why a patient can see a chiropractor without a medical referral, unlike a physical therapist, who does not necessarily have a background in these skills.
Reenie-Valeri, a 40-year-old Upper East Side resident, went to a chiropractor in September after experiencing back pain. The chiropractor said she didn’t need an X-ray, hooked her up to an ultrasound machine and did manual adjustments to her back.
“I couldn’t walk for a few days,” says Reenie-Valeri, who works in real estate and asked not to use her last name for privacy reasons. “I couldn’t lie down. I thought it was maybe just muscle pain, but it didn’t go away.”
When she finally went to a doctor a few weeks later, she discovered she had a herniation of the spine, which the chiropractor had exacerbated and failed to diagnose.
“I’ve had chiropractor colleagues who have worked on me who are good and judicious. But, unfortunately, there are those who are cavalier”
- Noel LozaresLawyer Katya Sverdlov found herself in a similar situation after she hurt her back carrying books during law school a few years ago.
“After the first session, I got better for a day, and then the pain came back with a vengeance,” says the 41-year-old Kensington resident. When she finally went to the hospital and got an MRI, she discovered she had a herniated disc.
Still, proponents say such cases are rare. “A chiropractor should order an MRI, X-rays and even blood tests for a new patient,” says Keith Overland, a representative at the American Chiropractic Association who has a practice in Norwalk, Conn.
He recommends chiropractors who take a holistic approach to their practice — but to avoid ones who claim to treat other kinds of ailments, such as thyroid problems.
“That’s why my wife went to see a chiropractor,” says David, a 37-year-old arts professional who didn’t want to use his last name for privacy reasons. But the Bedford-Stuyvesant resident grew suspicious when his wife came home from her visits with supplements.
“He would recommend that you buy these supplements and then keep coming back for appointments saying you were almost cured,” he says of the chiropractor. “It was a classic scam.”
To avoid such unscrupulous practitioners, Overland recommends finding a doctor through the American Chiropractic Association’s Web site, and says to ask lots of questions before starting any kind of treatment: “Do they take health insurance? Do they have a conservative approach? Do they work with other doctors and physical therapists?”
As for chiropractors’ slippery reputation, Overland says it’s overblown. “We can look at every single medical-provider group where a particular doctor did not properly diagnose a patient. That is not unique to chiropractors.”
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