How Safe is Chiropractic?

We see a large number of patients in our Ronkonkoma clinic, and Dr. Priolo has helped many people overcome a wide array of health problems. Even so, a common concern that seems to prevent many men and women from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each person was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see if any undesirable side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that no participants documented any significant adverse adverse reactions in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic is Safe

The next research study(2), also released in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt 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 patients.

Again, the investigators discovered 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. Plus, just as with the previous study, some people did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the authors to conclude 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 Children

The third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, researchers analyzed 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 questioned, 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Ronkonkoma office and make an appointment today at (631) 676-6324.

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.