Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our Mt Sterling office, and Dr. Robert Linton has helped many people manage a variety of health challenges. In spite of this, a common concern that seems to stop many folks from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of many on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover whether or not any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

The doctors found that nobody documented any serious unfavorable side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next article(2), also published in the prestigious medical journal, Spine, was performed in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers discovered no serious negative 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. Plus, just as with the previous study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the authors to determine 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

The third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. 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 children, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. When parents were questioned, 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 care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Mt Sterling clinic and schedule an appointment today at (859) 499-1009.

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.