Chiropractic Proven Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Great Falls clinic, and Dr. Six has helped countless people manage a range of health problems. In spite of this, a common issue that seems to stop some people from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of quite a few on the issue), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults. Each test subject was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any unfavorable side effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic treatments.

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

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the distinguished publication, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. 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 experts discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some individuals 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 prompted 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."

Chiropractic Is Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers analyzed data 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 children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic can do for you, call our Great Falls office and make an appointment today at (406) 452-6929.

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.