Is Chiropractic Safe?

Is Chiropractic Safe?

We care for a large number of people in our Arlington clinic, and Dr. Ernst has helped many people eliminate a range of health challenges. Even so, the primary issue that seems to stop a lot of men and women from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "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 person reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

The authors found that no participants documented any significant undesirable side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

A second study(2), also published in the influential publication, Spine, was done in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors determined the risk of total side effects to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted 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 Adjustments are Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, 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 children, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse 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 studies like these, chiropractic care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic 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.