Chiropractic Proven Safe

We see a large number of people in our Parma office, and Baker Chiropractic Wellness Center has helped many people eliminate a range of health issues. In spite of this, a frequent issue that seems to prevent many women and men from getting care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults. Each participant reported suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments while the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any unfavorable reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic treatments.

The doctors reported that nobody documented any serious undesirable side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next research study(2), also published in the influential journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study 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.

Once again, the experts discovered 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 volunteers did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) 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 Adjustments are Safe for Your Children

This third study(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the 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 appointments made for the young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Parma office and schedule an appointment today at (440) 888-6979.

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.