Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our Amite office, and The Culminating Experience Chiropractic Clinic has helped countless people manage a wide array of health challenges. In spite of this, one concern that seems to prevent some men and women from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of many on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received actual chiropractic care visits while the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any undesirable side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that none of the patients documented any serious unfavorable side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Large US Survey Reports that Chiropractic is Safe

A second article(2), also released in the prestigious journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers discovered no serious negative side effects. The experts computed 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 previous study, some people did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) 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 Care Is Safe for Your Children

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

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse side effects. When parents were questioned, 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 has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Amite office and schedule an appointment today at (985) 517-4417.

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.