SEVEN DIED AFTER TREATMENT

Brad Evenson - National Post
April 30, 2004 - page A2

"In our cases, the result was death," said a statement released by the families. "In many hundreds of others, it is the lifelong effect of stroke."

The families have sent 400 politicians across Canada a booklet and videotape with information from doctors and patients, including a plea from Diane Rodrigue, an Ontario woman who won a $1-million settlement when she was paralyzed after a chiropractic neck manipulation.

The Canadian Chiropractic Association says such cases are not common. "There is a risk of complications associated with neck adjustment, however, the published research indicates that serious complications are very rare," said Grayden Bridge, president of the Canadian Chiropractic Association.

"This must be balanced by the fact that neck adjustment provides benefits for patients with neck pain, headaches and whiplash."

The families' campaign is the latest salvo in a running battle between chiropractors and the medical profession. Several years ago, more than 60 leading Canadian neurologists warned about the dangers of neck manipulation. Almost all of them have since received intimidating phone calls and e-mails.

In January, a Toronto coroner's jury found the death of Lana Dale Lewis, 45, was the accidental result of an upper-neck adjustment by chiropractor Phillip Emanuele. The inquest was a fierce struggle, as witnesses were discredited, stolen information appeared in brown envelopes and Ms. Lewis's personal character and health were assailed.

"If we had known what we were going to incur, I don't think we would have tackled it," says Ms. Lewis's sister, Wendy Abrams. "We expected a fact-finding mission; instead, the chiropractors circled the wagons."

Another of Ms. Lewis's sisters, Judy Anne Ford, and her husband, Mike, also are involved in the campaign. "For the chiropractors, this seemed to be a Gettysburg kind of thing," Mr. Ford says, referring to a U.S. Civil War battle. "While we were interested in getting at the truth, they were interested in victory."

Opponents of neck manipulation say X-rays and other evidence prove the technique can weaken or tear the artery at the bony protuberance where the neck bones join the skull. In 2001, a Canadian study of 582 patients younger than 45, published in the journal Stroke, found they were five times more likely to have had a neck manipulation within a week of their strokes. This is what happened to Laurie Mathiason, 20, who died after chiropractic treatment for pain in her tailbone. In 1998, a coroner's jury concluded her death resulted from traumatic rupture of the left vertebral artery.

"I vowed to my dying daughter that I was going to get to the bottom of what killed her," says her mother, Sharon Mathiason, who is part of the campaign.

"And I screamed and yelled and ranted and raved at all kinds of people across this country ..."

Ms. Mathiason is also angry at the efforts of chiropractors to treat infants, an increasingly common practice.

Chiropractors say upper-neck manipulation helps to release points of tension they call "subluxations." However, there is little medical proof such points exist, or that twisting the upper vertebrae can relieve tension. That could change. After the Lewis inquest, the Canadian Chiropractic Association announced it is participating in three studies. These include research by Michael Hill, a University of Calgary neurologist and epidemiologist, and Walter Herzog, the university's associate dean of research in kinesiology.

In the meantime, the industry is defending itself against all comers, including families. For example, in 2001, Ron Grainger, a retired Alberta doctor who suffered a massive stroke and died within days of a neck manipulation. At first, the family stayed quiet about the incident. "But then, through my practice, a patient of mine came in and said her cousin had just had a massive stroke on the table while seeing a chiropractor, and she was only 21 years old," says Mark Grainger, a medical doctor like his late father. Dr. Grainger said the College of Chiropractors does not investigate such incidents. "They're mostly denying they exist," he said.

So the Graingers have joined the campaign.

But Maureen McCandless, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Chiropractic Association, says the family has no proof the manipulation killed Ron Grainger. "When asked quite pointedly what physical, physiological evidence there was to make that association ... Dr. Grainger said no, they did not have that evidence," she said.

Even so, Ms. McCandless said, the family is stepping forward yet again with unsubstantiated claims. And she said the association would not ask members to stop doing neck manipulations.

"There is no evidence that would indicate that that is a necessary step."

E-mail Brad Evenson bevenson@nationalpost.com

KEVIN VAN PAASSEN / NATIONAL POST
Caption of picture: Judy Anne Ford's sister died after receiving a chiropractic neck manipulation. A coroner's jury ruled the death an accidental result of the procedure, a conclusion the chiropractic association disputed.