NEW YORK, NY – September 21, 2026 – There is a question patients ask chiropractors more often than almost any other. It is usually asked quietly, sometimes at the end of a first visit, sometimes only after the hands have already been placed on the neck. It is this: what are the chances this goes wrong?
Search for an answer online and you will find an enormous amount of material. Pages describing benefits. Testimonials describing relief. Before-and-after photographs. What is remarkably difficult to find — from a chiropractor, in their own words, before you have booked anything — is a plain account of what can go wrong.
One Midtown Manhattan practice has now published exactly that, in full, where anyone can read it without an appointment.
The Document That Answers the Uncomfortable Question
Rashad Trabulsi, D.C., a New York State licensed Doctor of Chiropractic with more than 20 years of clinical experience and founder of Manhattan Wellness Group, has published a patient-education booklet titled Is Chiropractic Safe? What They’re Not Telling You — alongside a public web page, Is Chiropractic Safe?, that sets out the safety conversation in writing, before any booking.
The booklet names the most serious risk directly rather than burying it: cervical artery dissection, a tear in one of the arteries running up through the neck, which can in rare cases lead to a stroke. It reports the published case counts over several decades as numbering in the hundreds against a procedure performed millions of times a year worldwide — and then declines to use that rarity as reassurance.
It also states, plainly, what most marketing material leaves out: that the relationship between manipulation and dissection is not fully settled. People can develop a dissection spontaneously, and the severe neck pain it causes is itself a reason someone might seek care — which means a dissection may occasionally be present before the appointment rather than caused by it. Distinguishing those two possibilities remains an open scientific question.
“If you only ever tell people the upside, you have not given them information — you have given them marketing,” said Dr. Trabulsi. “Every treatment that moves a joint carries some possibility of harm alongside its possibility of benefit. That is as true of manipulation as it is of medication, injections and surgery. The difference is that most of us will not say so in print. I think patients can handle the truth, and I think they make better decisions when they have it.”
What the Booklet Covers
What an adjustment actually is — including what the audible release is, and why “your spine was out of alignment” is not a supportable description
Serious complications, and how the evidence around them is genuinely contested
How to read the statistics that get quoted confidently in both directions — including why the frequently cited Manga report is a health-economics review, not a clinical trial, and why Wilk v. AMA was an antitrust case, not a finding on effectiveness
Who should not be adjusted, and the conditions that require a different approach or a referral instead
The training and licensing behind the hands — the four-part national board examination and continuing education requirements
What to tell a practitioner before treatment, what aftercare looks like, and the red flags that mean seeking urgent medical care instead
Informed consent, and the alternatives to manipulation
Every source cited at the back, so a reader can check the claims themselves
Images Available for Publication
Front cover: Is Chiropractic Safe? What They’re Not Telling You.
Rashad Trabulsi, D.C., New York State licensed Doctor of Chiropractic, founder of Manhattan Wellness Group.
Licensed anatomical illustration of the cervical spine showing the vertebral arteries rising through the transverse foramina — the anatomy behind the rare serious complication discussed in the booklet.
Availability and Pricing
The full booklet is available as a digital download at manhattanwellnessgroup.com for $7.99, reduced from a list price of $9.99 during the launch period. The summary page is free to read at Is Chiropractic Safe?. Both are general educational material and do not provide individualized medical advice.
About Rashad Trabulsi, D.C.
Rashad Trabulsi, D.C. is a New York State licensed Doctor of Chiropractic and the author of Today’s Chiropractic Approach to Integrative Care. He has more than 20 years of clinical experience and is the founder and director of Manhattan Wellness Group. His areas of focus include the conservative management of back pain, neck pain, disc and nerve-related complaints, sports injuries and joint pain. He speaks English, Arabic and Spanish. rashadtrabulsi.com
About Manhattan Wellness Group
Manhattan Wellness Group is a multidisciplinary practice in Midtown Manhattan providing chiropractic care, acupuncture, physical therapy and medical massage under one roof. Founded and directed by Rashad Trabulsi, D.C., the practice is located at 11 E 47th St, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017, and is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm. No referral is required to book an assessment. manhattanwellnessgroup.com
Disclaimer: The booklet is general patient education, not individualized medical or chiropractic advice, and does not create a practitioner-patient relationship. No specific clinical outcome is claimed or promised. Dr. Trabulsi is available for an interview and can discuss the evidence base, screening practice, and informed consent in detail. Images supplied above are cleared for editorial use in coverage of this release; the anatomical illustration is a licensed stock image.
Media ContactCompany Name: Manhattan Wellness GroupContact Person: LucyEmail: Send EmailPhone: (212) 355-3377Address:11 E 47th St, 2nd Floor City: New YorkState: NY 10017Country: United StatesWebsite: https://manhattanwellnessgroup.com/is-chiropractic-safe/
