Studies Confirm that Chiropractic Care Is Safe

We help a large number of patients in our New York clinic, and Dr. Valente has helped many people manage a variety of health issues. However, one worry that seems to prevent many folks from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the issue), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person was affected by spinal pain, and half of the individuals received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the other half received two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable negative effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers found that none of the patients reported any significant undesirable adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next study(2), also published in the distinguished journal, Spine, was done in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the experts found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) 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 Adjustments are Safe for Kids

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the authors 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 young children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented 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 learn what chiropractic therapy can do for you, call our New York office and make an appointment today at (917) 338-7917.

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.