How Safe is Chiropractic?

We tend to a large number of patients in our Springfield, MA office, and Dr. Delson has helped countless people overcome a wide array of health challenges. In spite of this, a frequent issue that seems to prevent many folks from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults. Each individual reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any undesirable negative effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that no one reported any serious negative adverse reactions whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic is Safe

The next article(2), also published in the influential publication, Spine, was performed in an attempt to establish 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 patients.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 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 prompted 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 Children

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the 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 children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse side 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 learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Springfield, MA clinic and make an appointment today at (413) 788-4464.

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.