Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Arlington clinic, and Dr. Ernst has helped many people manage a variety of health issues. In spite of this, a frequent issue that seems to prevent a lot of men and women from getting care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each participant reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any unpleasant negative effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that none of the patients documented any serious adverse adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they got a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

A second article(2), also released in the distinguished 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 cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the investigators discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six 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 caused the researchers to determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Is Safe for Children

The third study(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors 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 children, 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. 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 care can do for you, call our Arlington office and schedule an appointment today at (360) 659-8464.

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.