Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We tend to a large number of people in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Pittman has helped many people manage a wide array of health problems. Even so, one worry that seems to stop a lot of folks from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women. Each individual reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that nobody reported any significant negative side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The next article(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 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 experts determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some participants 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 out of every 100), and this caused the researchers to determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Care Is Safe for Kids

The third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, researchers analyzed 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 documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were surveyed, 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our San Angelo clinic and schedule an appointment today at (325) 223-9355.

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.