Lumbar disc herniation and cauda equina syndrome following spinal manipulative therapy: A review of six court decisions in Canada

The purpose of this review is to expand practitioners' knowledge on areas of liability when treating low back pain patients. Six cases where chiropractors in Canada were sued for allegedly causing or aggravating lumbar disc herniation after spinal manipulative therapy were retrieved using the CANLII search database. The case series involves 4 men and 2 women with an average age of 37.3 years (range, 31–48 years). Trial courts' decisions were rendered between 2000 and 2011. This study highlights the following conclusions from Canadian courts: 1) informed consent is an ongoing process that cannot be entirely delegated to office personnel; 2) when the patient's history reveals risk factors for lumbar disc herniation the chiropractor has the duty to rule out disc pathology as an etiology for the symptoms presented by the patients before beginning anything but conservative palliative treatment; 3) lumbar disc herniation may be triggered by spinal manipulative therapy on vertebral segments distant from the involved herniated disc such as the thoracic spine.