How Safe Is Chiropractic Treatment?

We treat a large number of people in our Jonesboro office, and Dr. Alpert has helped many people manage a wide array of health problems. Even so, one concern that seems to prevent some folks from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any unpleasant negative effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that nobody documented any serious unfavorable adverse reactions at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they had a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The next article(2), also published in the prestigious publication, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total negative effects to be about six 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 (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) 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 Is Safe for Children

This third study(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, 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 kids, 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. Furthermore, 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 treatment can do for you, call our Jonesboro office and schedule an appointment today at (770) 472-8989.

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.