Is Chiropractic Safe?

We see a large number of patients in our San Jose, CA office, and Drs. Hung Lam & Loan Tran has helped countless people manage a wide array of health challenges. However, a common concern that seems to stop a lot of women and men from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the other half received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unpleasant reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that no one documented any significant negative side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37%) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next study(2), also published in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total side effects to be about six 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 (about 1.6%) 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

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors investigated results 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 children, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our San Jose, CA clinic and schedule an appointment today at (408) 293-0396.

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.