Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We see a large number of patients in our Rutland office, and Dr. Cyr has helped many people overcome a range of health issues. In spite of this, the primary issue that seems to prevent a lot of folks from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), 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 included 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the other half received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any undesirable side effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that no one documented any significant undesirable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second study(2), also released in the influential journal, Spine, was performed 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 adverse side effects. The authors computed the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the authors to determine 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 Kids

The third study(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors analyzed 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 children, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Rutland clinic and make an appointment today at (802) 775-6961.

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.