Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We see a large number of people in our Henderson, NV clinic, and Dr. Russell and Dr. Janda has helped many people manage a range of health challenges. In spite of this, one issue that seems to prevent a lot of men and women from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each person was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half were given two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see if any unpleasant side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors found that nobody documented any serious unfavorable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next study(2), also released in the influential publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated 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 previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the authors to conclude 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

This third study(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, 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 young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey reported 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 studies like these, chiropractic care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Henderson, NV clinic and schedule an appointment today at (702) 990-2225.

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.