Chiropractic Care Proven Safe

We care for a large number of patients in our Largo office, and Spinal Health Chiropractic Center has helped countless people eliminate a range of health challenges. In spite of this, one worry that seems to prevent many men and women from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic care while the other half were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that nobody documented any significant adverse adverse reactions in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

A second study(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 -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors determined the risk of total negative effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, 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 determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Treatments are Safe for Kids

This third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, researchers analyzed 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 responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 studies like these, chiropractic care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic treatment can do for you, call our Largo office and make an appointment today at (727) 531-4444.

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.