Please don't fall prey to a Chiropractor who tries to say they can help you "fix" your Chiari Malformation. They can't. A Chiari Malformation cannot be "fixed" by twisting or bending your neck. A Chiari Malformation CAN however be aggravated by chiropractic manipulation, and in most cases this is what happens.

If anyone tells you otherwise, rest assured they haven't the knowledge or experience to be a credible source of information. It doesn't require a medical degree to understand the dynamics or physics involved. If you have a Chiari Malformation (cerebellar tonsils herniated to a level below the foramen magnum ) and a blockage of cerebral spinal flow, typical chiropractic manipulation (jolting your neck to the right, left, up or down) isn't going to help it. It is far more likely to aggravate it.  

Legitimate Chiropractors who are familiar with Chiari Malformations readily admit that
they can't "fix" you, and in almost all cases, won't risk manipulating your neck. As always, there are those who would like to take your money and will do or say almost anything to get it. Smart consumers will stay away from these types. 

Legitimate Chiropractors will first be knowledgeable about Chiari Malformations in general.  Secondly, they will review your MRI from brain and cervical scans, thorasic and lumbar scans and X-Rays for bone abnormalities such as Scoliosis.  Even at that you MUST make sure that these are very recent scans as the situation may have changed.  You don't want to give the Chiropractor "old" scans and ASSUME they reflect what your current status is.  Cervical Manipulation is still risky.  There are some studies that indicate that stretching of the muscles and proper massage therapy can achieve virtually the same effect as cervical manipulations without the high risk factors.

For more information visit:

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article2624.html   (Conservative Care of Cervical Disorders)

http://www.chirowatch.com/cw-cervical.html 

http://www.pressenter.com/~chip/chiro-nono.htm

http://neurosurgery.wustl.edu/clinprog/spinesurgery.htm 

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html 

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