Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We tend to a large number of patients in our Depew clinic, and Dr. Palmer has helped countless people overcome a wide array of health problems. However, one concern that seems to stop a lot of folks from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men. Each person reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care while the other half received two fake chiropractic treatments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to see if any unfavorable reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors found that nobody documented any serious unfavorable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next research study(2), also released in the prestigious journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total side effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused 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 Is Safe for Children

The third study(3) is different from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the authors investigated data 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 kids, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were surveyed, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Depew 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.