Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We tend to a large number of people in our Alexandria clinic, and Dr. Wagner has helped many people eliminate a variety of health problems. Even so, a common worry that seems to prevent a lot of people from getting care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate 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 article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual was affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care while the other half received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to discover whether or not any unfavorable side effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that nobody documented any serious adverse side effects at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they had a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second study(2), also released in the influential medical journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some people did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the researchers 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

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

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. 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic can do for you, call our Alexandria office and make an appointment today at (859) 448-0056.

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.