Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We tend to a large number of patients in our Juneau office, and Dr. Messerschmidt has helped many people eliminate a variety of health problems. However, one issue that seems to prevent a lot of men and women from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each participant reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

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

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

A second research study(2), also released in the important publication, Spine, was performed in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors computed the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six 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%), 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 Children

This 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, the researchers analyzed data 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 negative 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 has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Juneau office and make an appointment today at (907) 789-1344.

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.