Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Naperville, IL office, and Frank Bendiks, DC, PC has helped countless people overcome a range of health problems. In spite of this, a frequent worry that seems to prevent a lot of men and women from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), 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 women and men. Each participant reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable side effects were caused by the real chiropractic treatments.

The doctors found that none of the patients reported any serious negative adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did report that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next research study(2), also published in the distinguished publication, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the experts found no serious negative 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 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 caused the researchers to conclude 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 Children

This third study(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the researchers analyzed data 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 documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 Naperville, IL office and schedule an appointment today at (630) 301-0054.

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.