How Safe is Chiropractic?

We care for a large number of people in our Depew / Lancaster office, and Dr. William Palmer has helped many people overcome a wide array of health issues. Even so, a common issue that seems to prevent many men and women from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable reactions were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that none of the patients reported any serious negative adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next research study(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the authors to conclude that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, researchers analyzed results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic appointments made for the children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. When parents were questioned, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Furthermore, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on studies like these, chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Depew / Lancaster office and schedule an appointment today at (716) 668-2225.

References

1. Walker BF, Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, Clarke BR, Bowden RS, Losco B, French SD. Outcomes of usual chiropractic. The OUCH randomized controlled trial of adverse events. Spine 2013;38(20):1723-9.
2. Thiel HW1, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: a prospective national survey. Spine 2007;32(21):2375-8.
3. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. Explore NY 2009;5(5): 290-5.