Objective/hypothesis: Either licensed American chiropractors or traditional Chinese herbalists may produce vertiginous attack in a patient after cervical manipulation. The purpose of the study was to present our experience in treating these patients to determine the risk of this procedure.
Study design: A retrospective study from May 1999 to April 2002.
Methods: Nine patients (one man and eight women) with acute vertigo after cervical manipulation were admitted and underwent a battery of audiometric and vestibular tests, accompanied by magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography examination.
Results: The mean interval for the onset of acute vertigo after cervical manipulation was within 1 day (17 h). Electronystagmography revealed multiple central signs. Magnetic resonance angiography scan also disclosed abnormality in the vertebral artery such as occlusion, stenosis, or slow blood flow in three patients. After treatment with dextran, relief of vertigo without neurological deficits was experienced in all nine patients.
Conclusions: When there are multiple central signs in electronystagmography results or slow blood flow of the vertebral artery is displayed in neck on Doppler sonography or magnetic resonance angiography scan, the therapeutic benefits of cervical manipulation cannot be expected to outweigh its potential risk for the morbidity of cervical vessels.