Studies Confirm that Chiropractic Treatment Is Safe

We treat a large number of people in our Cary clinic, and Swiss Spine Clinic has helped many people overcome a variety of health problems. However, a common issue that seems to stop a lot of folks from getting care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each participant reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

Researchers found that nobody reported any serious adverse adverse reactions in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they experienced 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 Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

A second article(2), also published in the prestigious publication, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The experts determined the risk of total negative effects to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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 Care Is Safe for Your Children

This third study(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the authors analyzed results 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 answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic adjustments can do for you, call our Cary clinic and make an appointment today at (919) 589-0909.

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.