How Safe is Chiropractic?

We care for a large number of people in our Parkland, FL office, and Dr. Scharf has helped many people overcome a variety of health challenges. However, a frequent worry that seems to prevent a lot of people from getting care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate 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 article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men. Each participant was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

Researchers found that no participants reported any significant unfavorable side effects at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

A second study(2), also published in the important medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. 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 investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some people did report non-serious, milder, unwanted 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 determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Care Is Safe for Your Children

This third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors 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 children, chiropractors answering 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. 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Parkland, FL office and make an appointment today at (954) 227-0088.

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.