How Safe is Chiropractic?

We tend to a large number of people in our Jacksonville and Fleming Island office, and Dr. Fritz has helped many people eliminate a wide array of health issues. Even so, the primary worry that seems to stop a lot of people from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the other half received two sham chiropractic treatments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any unpleasant reactions were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

The doctors found that no participants reported any significant undesirable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic is Safe

A second article(2), also published in the distinguished publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The experts computed 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 individuals 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%), 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

The third study(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the 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 kids, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse side effects. 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Jacksonville and Fleming Island clinic and make an appointment today at (904) 425-9060.

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.