Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We tend to a large number of people in our Hazleton, Conyngham office, and Dr. Terrance Eyerly has helped countless people eliminate a variety of health issues. Even so, one worry that seems to stop a lot of folks from getting care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question 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 participant reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any unfavorable negative effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that none of the patients reported any significant undesirable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

A second article(2), also published in the prestigious publication, Spine, was conducted in an effort to ascertain 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 study participants.

Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some individuals 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%), 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 Is Safe for Kids

This third study(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. 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 appointments made for the young children, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Hazleton, Conyngham office and schedule an appointment today at (570) 455-5822.

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.