Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We tend to a large number of patients in our Parkland, FL office, and Dr. Scharf has helped countless people eliminate a range of health problems. In spite of this, one worry that seems to prevent many women and men from getting care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any undesirable side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

The doctors found that no participants documented any serious negative adverse reactions whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they got a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

A second research study(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the experts found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated 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 first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this prompted the authors 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 research paper(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers investigated 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 reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were surveyed, 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Parkland, FL office and schedule an appointment today at (954) 227-0088.

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.