How Safe is Chiropractic?

We see a large number of patients in our Midtown, New York, NY clinic, and Dr. Vinh Tran, DC, CCSP has helped countless people overcome a range of health problems. Even so, a frequent issue that seems to stop some people from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each test subject was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover whether or not any unpleasant negative effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that no participants documented any serious negative adverse reactions in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next study(2), also published in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test 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 study participants.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total side effects to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side 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 researchers to determine 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 Your Children

The third study(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, 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 responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Midtown, New York, NY clinic and schedule an appointment today at (212) 729-0856.

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.