Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our Rancho Cucamonga clinic, and Dr. Elizabeth Mojabe has helped many people manage a wide array of health challenges. However, a common issue that seems to stop some people from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each person was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care whereas the other half received two sham chiropractic treatments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that no participants reported any serious unfavorable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did state that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

A second article(2), also released in the important journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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

The third study(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors 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 responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Rancho Cucamonga office and schedule an appointment today at (909) 466-7363.

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.