Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We care for a large number of patients in our Waldorf, MD office, and Dr. Lipsitz has helped countless people manage a variety of health issues. Even so, a frequent issue that seems to stop many people from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women. Each individual reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any unpleasant negative effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors reported that nobody documented any significant adverse adverse reactions whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did report that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

The second study(2), also released in the influential journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The study 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 patients.

Again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 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 (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 Your Children

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the authors investigated data 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 ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were questioned, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, 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 care has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Waldorf, MD office and schedule an appointment today at (301) 645-8898.

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.