Studies Confirm that Chiropractic Therapy Is Safe

We help a large number of patients in our Parkland clinic, and Dr. Scharf has helped many people eliminate a variety of health issues. However, a common concern that seems to prevent some men and women from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the issue), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each test subject was affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two sham chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable negative effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that no one documented any serious unfavorable side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The experts determined 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 previous study, some participants 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 Treatments are Safe for Kids

This third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, researchers investigated data 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 answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic therapy can do for you, call our Parkland 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.