How Safe is Chiropractic?

We see a large number of people in our Sunnyvale, CA clinic, and Dr. Jamie Stern has helped many people overcome a wide array of health challenges. In spite of this, a common worry that seems to stop some people from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable negative effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors found that nobody documented any serious adverse adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did state that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second article(2), also published in the influential journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be about 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, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this prompted 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 Adjustments are Safe for Your Children

The third research paper(3) is unique from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the authors investigated results 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 care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Sunnyvale, CA clinic and schedule an appointment today at (415) 308-7636.

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.