How Safe is Chiropractic?

We see a large number of patients in our Monroe Township, NJ office, and Dr. Joel Schwartz has helped countless people overcome a wide array of health issues. However, a common concern that seems to stop many men and women from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this question 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 individual was affected by spinal pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits while the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any undesirable reactions were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that no participants reported any significant adverse side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did state that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next research study(2), also released in the prestigious journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to determine 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 cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total side effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some volunteers 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%), and this prompted 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 research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, 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 appointments made for the children, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were questioned, 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 care has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic can do for you, call our Monroe Township, NJ clinic and schedule an appointment today at (732) 698-7151.

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.