How Safe is Chiropractic?

How Safe is Chiropractic?

We care for a large number of patients in our Prescott clinic, and Weary Chiropractic Clinic has helped many people eliminate a variety of health issues. Even so, the primary concern that seems to stop a lot of people from getting care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any unpleasant reactions were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

Researchers reported that no one documented any serious adverse adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

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

Again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), 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 Kids

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the authors analyzed data 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 documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. When parents were surveyed, 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Prescott office and schedule an appointment today at (928) 778-2227.

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.