Chiropractic Care Proven Safe

Depew Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We care for a large number of people in our Depew clinic, and Dr. Palmer has helped countless people eliminate a range of health problems. In spite of this, a frequent worry that seems to prevent a lot of women and men from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the issue), 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 affected by spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was gathered 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 reported that none of the patients reported any serious negative side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

A second article(2), also released in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to ascertain 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 study participants.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some people 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 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 Treatments are Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, researchers investigated results 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 young ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported 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. 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 care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic therapy can do for you, call our Depew clinic and schedule an appointment today at (716) 668-2225.

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.