How Safe is Chiropractic?

We tend to a large number of patients in our Prescott clinic, and Weary Chiropractic Clinic has helped many people eliminate a range of health problems. However, one worry that seems to stop a lot of people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each person was affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see if any undesirable negative effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that no one documented any serious undesirable adverse reactions whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did report that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

A second study(2), also released in the prestigious publication, Spine, was done in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The test 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 study participants.

Again, the investigators discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total side effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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

The 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, the authors investigated 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 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. 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Prescott clinic and make an appointment today at (928) 778-2227.

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.