I probably understand both sides of the debate over chiropractic better than most, so I'll try to answer.
Chiropractic has become highly controversial for two main reasons.
The first is that it claims its treatments (muscular-skeletal adjustments) can bring about healing of a wide array of illnesses in the body beyond just back pain. The basis of the claim is that by straightening the muscular-skeletal structure, they remove blockages in blood vessels and nerves, and the resulting improvement in blood flow and nerve signalling leads to improvements in organ function, immunity, tissue healing/growth, cognition, etc.
The second is that one of its major treatments, the vigorous "neck-cracking" adjustment of the cervical spine, can occasionally cause a rupture to the main artery to the brain, leading to haemorrhage that can result in severe disability or mortality.
Skeptics will argue that it's impossible that muscular-skeletal adjustments can heal other illnesses in the body. I gather some of them will dispute that muscular-skeletal misalignments can cause significant blockages in nerves and blood vessels, whereas others will deny that removing said blockages can lead to other health improvements. For what its worth, it seems the linked article lends some credence to the notion that muscular-skeletal alignment can influence other aspects of a person's health.
Regarding the neck adjustment risk issue: opponents of chiro will concede that ruptures are very infrequent (estimates vary from once per several hundred thousand adjustments, to once per a few millon), but conclude that given the absence of benefits, it's not a risk worth taking.
My own experience with chiro is mixed. I have used it a lot in the past, and I no longer do. I do believe that in some cases, serious misalignments in the muscular-skeletal system can cause nerve and blood-vessel blockages and lead to other impairments in the body. However I haven't found chiro to be the best way to relieve the pain or misalignments I'd been carrying; I've recently had better success with osteopathy and myotherapy (a form of massage focusing on the myofascial system).
I have found some chiropractors (more than half those I've seen) to be over-confident about the benefits of their treatments. But then a handful of chiropractors (practitioners of a particular mind+body healing technique) have been the most valuable practitioners I've seen, of any kind.
I have had neck adjustments and never had a problem, but I wouldn't encourage others to do it or allow it do be done to my children, and these days I avoid having it done, preferring to focus on relieving muscle tension through myotherapy.
Chiropractic has become highly controversial for two main reasons.
The first is that it claims its treatments (muscular-skeletal adjustments) can bring about healing of a wide array of illnesses in the body beyond just back pain. The basis of the claim is that by straightening the muscular-skeletal structure, they remove blockages in blood vessels and nerves, and the resulting improvement in blood flow and nerve signalling leads to improvements in organ function, immunity, tissue healing/growth, cognition, etc.
The second is that one of its major treatments, the vigorous "neck-cracking" adjustment of the cervical spine, can occasionally cause a rupture to the main artery to the brain, leading to haemorrhage that can result in severe disability or mortality.
Skeptics will argue that it's impossible that muscular-skeletal adjustments can heal other illnesses in the body. I gather some of them will dispute that muscular-skeletal misalignments can cause significant blockages in nerves and blood vessels, whereas others will deny that removing said blockages can lead to other health improvements. For what its worth, it seems the linked article lends some credence to the notion that muscular-skeletal alignment can influence other aspects of a person's health.
Regarding the neck adjustment risk issue: opponents of chiro will concede that ruptures are very infrequent (estimates vary from once per several hundred thousand adjustments, to once per a few millon), but conclude that given the absence of benefits, it's not a risk worth taking.
My own experience with chiro is mixed. I have used it a lot in the past, and I no longer do. I do believe that in some cases, serious misalignments in the muscular-skeletal system can cause nerve and blood-vessel blockages and lead to other impairments in the body. However I haven't found chiro to be the best way to relieve the pain or misalignments I'd been carrying; I've recently had better success with osteopathy and myotherapy (a form of massage focusing on the myofascial system).
I have found some chiropractors (more than half those I've seen) to be over-confident about the benefits of their treatments. But then a handful of chiropractors (practitioners of a particular mind+body healing technique) have been the most valuable practitioners I've seen, of any kind.
I have had neck adjustments and never had a problem, but I wouldn't encourage others to do it or allow it do be done to my children, and these days I avoid having it done, preferring to focus on relieving muscle tension through myotherapy.