Is Chiropractic Safe?

We tend to a large number of patients in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Pittman has helped many people eliminate a variety of health problems. However, a common concern that seems to stop some folks from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person was affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half received two sham chiropractic treatments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any undesirable reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that nobody documented any serious unfavorable side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The next study(2), also released in the distinguished journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The test 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 researchers discovered no serious negative side effects. The experts determined 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 first 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 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 Your Children

The third study(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors analyzed data 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 kids, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our San Angelo clinic and make 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.