Chiropractic Proven Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Decatur office, and Dr. Harrison has helped many people manage a variety of health problems. In spite of this, one concern that seems to prevent many folks from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of many 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 involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see if any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors found that no participants reported any significant undesirable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next article(2), also published in the influential journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The authors computed the risk of total side effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some people did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) 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 Care Is Safe for Your Children

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the researchers investigated 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 answering the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Decatur clinic and make an appointment today at (404) 325-2856.

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.