How Safe is Chiropractic?

We tend to a large number of people in our Henderson, NV clinic, and Dr. Russell and Dr. Janda has helped countless people manage a variety of health problems. However, a common worry that seems to stop some people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the individuals received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that none of the patients reported any serious unfavorable adverse reactions in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next study(2), also published in the prestigious publication, Spine, was performed in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic. 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 study participants.

Again, the experts discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors computed the risk of total side effects to be about 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 caused 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 Your Children

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. 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 appointments made for the young ones, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were surveyed, 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 find out what chiropractic care 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.