Is Chiropractic Safe?

We tend to a large number of patients in our Anchorage office, and Dr. Matthisen has helped many people overcome a variety of health problems. However, a common concern that seems to prevent many men and women from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women. Each test subject was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unfavorable reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers found that no participants reported any significant undesirable adverse reactions in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the prestigious journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors computed the risk of total side effects to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted 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 Children

This third study(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the researchers analyzed results 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 young children, 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Anchorage office and schedule an appointment today at (907) 349-4212.

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.