Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

We care for a large number of people in our Jenks office, and Dr. Bogan has helped countless people manage a variety of health problems. Even so, one issue that seems to stop many people from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults. Each individual reported suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half were given two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors found that no one reported any significant undesirable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did state that they got a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next study(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was done in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined 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 first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted 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 Is Safe for Your Children

The third study(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers investigated results 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 kids, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Jenks clinic and schedule an appointment today at (918) 832-7880.

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.