Chiropractic Proven Safe

We tend to a large number of people in our Stacy, MN clinic, and Dr. Andrew Ulvin has helped countless people eliminate a variety of health issues. Even so, a frequent issue that seems to prevent a lot of folks from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the other half received two sham chiropractic treatments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant negative effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.

The doctors reported that no participants documented any significant negative side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The next research study(2), also released in the prestigious publication, Spine, was conducted in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total negative effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused the authors 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 previous two reports, as it focuses 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 treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic appointments made for the young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were questioned, 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 find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Stacy, MN clinic and make an appointment today at (651) 462-3243.

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.