We tend to a large number of patients in our Tulsa clinic, and Alliance Chiropractic has helped countless people overcome a variety of health problems. Even so, one worry that seems to prevent many people from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the other half received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic adjustments.
Researchers found that no one reported any serious unfavorable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did state that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.
The next study(2), also released in the influential journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.
Again, the investigators found no serious negative 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 volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side 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 caused the researchers to determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."
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 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 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. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."
Based on studies like these, chiropractic care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Tulsa office and schedule an appointment today at (918) 832-7880.
References
Dr. Fred Bogan provides quality chiropractic care to patients in Jenks, OK. Whether you're searching for effective pain relief or a way to boost whole body wellness, Alliance Chiropractic can help.
