Chiropractic Therapy Proven Safe

We care for a large number of patients in our Arlington clinic, and Jefferson Spine & Injury Center has helped many people eliminate a variety of health problems. However, a common concern that seems to prevent a lot of folks from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the issue), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each participant reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any unfavorable negative effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that no participants reported any significant unfavorable adverse reactions in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did state that they got a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

A second study(2), also released in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was done in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors computed the risk of total side effects to be approximately six 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, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), 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 Kids

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers investigated results 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 young ones, chiropractors responding to 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. Additionally, 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic adjustments can do for you, call our Arlington clinic and schedule an appointment today at (703) 933-9000.

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.