Midland (432) 262-3219 • Odessa (432) 580-3700

EnglishFrenchGermanItalianPortugueseRussianSpanish

Is Chiropractic Safe?

Midland, Odessa Chiropractic for familiesWe care for a large number of patients in our Midland, Odessa office, and Permian Basin Accident & Injury Centers has helped countless people eliminate a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, a common concern that seems to prevent many folks from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a clear: "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 participant was affected by spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

Researchers reported that none of the patients reported any serious undesirable side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

A second study(2), also released in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The experts calculated the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 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 (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this prompted the researchers 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 Kids

This third study(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the 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 kids, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Midland, Odessa clinic and schedule an appointment today at (432) 262-3219.

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.
Post on