Is Chiropractic Safe?

We care for a large number of people in our Massillon, OH clinic, and Drs. Ken Haycock & Tim Vierheller has helped many people manage a wide array of health problems. However, one worry that seems to prevent a lot of folks from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this concern is a clear: "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 test subject reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic treatments.

Researchers reported that none of the patients documented any serious undesirable adverse reactions in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the important publication, Spine, was done in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the investigators discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects 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 (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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 Children

This third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, researchers analyzed results 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 answering the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Massillon, OH office and schedule an appointment today at (330) 833-2085.

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.