Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our Holtsville clinic, and Dr. Cohen has helped countless people manage a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, one issue that seems to stop a lot of people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of many on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each participant was affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments while the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant negative effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers found that no one documented any serious negative side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

A second research study(2), also released in the influential journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately 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 Adjustments are Safe for Children

This third study(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. 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 appointments made for the children, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Holtsville office and make an appointment today at (631) 360-7999.

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.