Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our Massillon clinic, and Dr. Haycock has helped countless people overcome a variety of health problems. However, one issue that seems to stop a lot of people from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unpleasant reactions were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

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

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second article(2), also released in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be approximately 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, side 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 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

This third study(3) is different from the previous two reports, as it concentrates 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 appointments made for the children, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Massillon clinic and make 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.