Chiropractic Treatment Proven Safe

We tend to a large number of people in our Holtsville clinic, and Dr. Cohen has helped many people manage a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, a frequent worry that seems to prevent some people from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of many on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable negative effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers found that nobody documented any serious undesirable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

A second study(2), also published in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish 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 cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors 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 volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), and this caused 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

This third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, researchers analyzed data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the kids, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were questioned, 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic adjustments can do for you, call our Holtsville clinic and make an appointment today at (631) 360-7999.

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.