Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We tend to a large number of people in our Allen clinic, and Dr. Szeryk has helped many people overcome a range of health problems. However, the primary issue that seems to stop some people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults. Each participant was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any undesirable reactions were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors found that none of the patients documented any serious negative side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the important publication, Spine, was done in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused 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 Care Is Safe for Your Children

The third research paper(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors investigated results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic appointments made for the kids, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Allen office and schedule an appointment today at (972) 390-9191.

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.