Is Chiropractic Safe?

We care for a large number of people in our Moon Township clinic, and Dr. Spiropoulos has helped many people eliminate a variety of health challenges. In spite of this, a common worry that seems to stop many women and men from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any unpleasant negative effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that nobody documented any serious unfavorable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

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

Again, the experts found no serious negative side effects. The experts computed the risk of total side effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) or a headache (4%), 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 Kids

This third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers investigated data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the kids, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic care has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Moon Township office and make an appointment today at (724) 513-0521.

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.