Can spinal adjustments cause discs to rupture or break in the neck or the lower back?      The scientific research says NO. In order to cause disc damage a doctor would first have to fracture the bony joints of the spine in order to cause enough rotation motion to damage the discs. Chiropractors just do not apply that much pressure when they give spinal adjustments.      Poorly trained people may cause some damage to the bony joints if they try to manipulate the spine. These people may be in the health care field like physiotherapy field or the orthopedic surgeon

fields. They do not have the extensive training that chiropractors do. The risks of some sort of damage is much greater when people other than chiropractors, try to manipulate the spine.      The chiropractic spinal adjustment is a finely tuned, highly skilled procedure. It rarely causes damage. Many people come to chiropractors specifically because they have disc degeneration and arthritis.      In the past it has been well documented that some medical researchers will label a spinal manipulation by a physiotherapist or

an untrained person, as a CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION. This is extremely misleading. One can only guess at the reasons why they would deliberately do this. Hopefully this does not occur any more in the research community.      Keep in mind that most medical specialists have no training in spinal manipulation and certainly no training in chiropractic treatment  techniques. Their opinions on chiropractic care must be viewed with great suspicion. Copyright 1999 Dr. Victor Jean Ouellette All Rights Reserved