Chiropractic care realigns the bones of the spine and other parts of the body to treat problems such as headaches and back pain. However, some of these practices can produce side effects, and according to a new report published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports , they include vision problems.
The work analyzed the case of a 59-year-old woman with irregular vision after receiving chiropractic intervention. She noticed a “tadpole-shaped” spot in her vision shortly after undergoing manipulation of her cervical spine to relieve severe headaches. The next day, the woman’s eyesight worsened.
Yannis Paulus, a retina specialist at the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (USA), discussed the woman’s case with Dr. Nicolas Belil, her optometrist, who referred her to the Kellogg Eye Center .
Both experts explain that although the likelihood of something like this happening is low, sometimes the particularly strong movements made in high-speed manipulation in chiropractic treatments can damage the blood vessels in the retina.
If there is bleeding within the retina, vision loss can occur. In the case of the woman under study, her normal vision returned in approximately 2 months without requiring any treatment.
Side effects
Specialists found that chiropractic treatment can bring serious risks to cardiovascular health; It can damage important blood vessels in the body. One of the most notable risks is cervical artery dissection, which can lead to stroke.
Forceful manipulation of the bones in the neck can cause the walls of the arteries to break and cause bleeding. If a blood clot forms in that area and then travels, it can end up blocking a blood vessel in the brain and causing a stroke.
This can also lead to vision problems, such as double vision or occlusion of the central retinal artery, which is the main blood vessel that carries oxygen to nerve cells in the retina.
Following this new case study reviewed, experts suggest that high-speed neck manipulation movement may actually cause more direct damage to the eye. For example, such movements can lead to a preretinal hemorrhage, bleeding into the vitreous humor , the transparent tissue that fills the eye between the lens in the front and the retina in the back.
The high-speed technique can also lead to what is known as “posterior vitreous detachment,” which occurs when the vitreous humor moves away from the retina. Although posterior vitreous detachment does not require special treatment and the vision problems it causes tend to improve on their own within 3 months, the event can sometimes cause serious complications. In those cases, laser treatment or surgery must be performed to repair the tear.
For this reason, experts urge people seeking chiropractic care to alert their doctors to their options.
Referencia: Preretinal hemorrhages following chiropractor neck manipulation. Yannis M.Paulusa , Nicholas Belil. American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports. 2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoc.2018.04.017
