Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We see a large number of patients in our West Palm Beach clinic, and Dr. Dennis has helped many people eliminate a range of health issues. In spite of this, a common concern that seems to stop many women and men from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the other half were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors reported that nobody documented any serious negative side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

A second research study(2), also published in the prestigious journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the investigators discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed 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 previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side 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 Children

This third study(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, 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 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic can do for you, call our West Palm Beach clinic and make an appointment today at (561) 966-6171.

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.