We care for a large number of patients in our Otown clinic, and TJ Delorie has helped many people overcome a wide array of health challenges. Even so, a common worry that seems to stop many men and women from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of many on the issue), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study
The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic adjustments.
The doctors found that no participants reported any significant negative adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.
Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe
A second study(2), also released in the influential publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.
Once again, the investigators discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors computed the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some people did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this caused 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 Your Children
The third research paper(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the researchers investigated results 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 reported only three cases where there were adverse effects. 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 care has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Otown office and make an appointment today at 724-123-1234.
References
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.