Chiropractic Proven Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Arlington clinic, and Dr. Ernst has helped many people eliminate a variety of health issues. Even so, a common issue that seems to stop some men and women from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of many on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any undesirable negative effects were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

The doctors reported that no participants reported any serious negative side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they had a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second research study(2), also released in the important publication, Spine, was done in an attempt to establish 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 cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The authors determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 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, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused the researchers 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 research paper(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the researchers investigated results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the young ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Arlington clinic and make an appointment today at (360) 659-8464.

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.