How Safe Is Chiropractic Care?

We see a large number of patients in our St. Petersburg clinic, and KK Health has helped many people overcome a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, a frequent concern that seems to stop many women and men from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, 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 included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the individuals received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the other half were given two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors found that nobody reported any serious undesirable adverse reactions at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Treatments are Safe

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

Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total negative effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous 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 Treatments are Safe for Children

This third study(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the researchers analyzed data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic appointments made for the children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our St. Petersburg office and make an appointment today at (727) 490-8366.

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.