Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We tend to a large number of people in our Stacy office, and Dr. Ulvin has helped countless people overcome a wide array of health issues. However, a common worry that seems to stop a lot of people from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless 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 between the ages of 20 and 85. Each participant reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care whereas the other half received two fake chiropractic treatments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable negative effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that no participants documented any significant unfavorable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the prestigious medical journal, Spine, was done in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the experts found no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total negative effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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 Care Is Safe for Children

This third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors analyzed results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the young ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Stacy clinic and make an appointment today at (651) 462-3243.

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.