Chiropractic: Safe for Everyone

We tend to a large number of patients in our St. Petersburg, FL clinic, and Dr. Kristin Eloshway-Kidgell has helped many people overcome a variety of health issues. Even so, the primary concern that seems to prevent many women and men from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each test subject reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the individuals received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable reactions occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.

The authors found that no one documented any serious negative side effects at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second article(2), also released in the prestigious journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to ascertain 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 patients.

Again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total negative effects to be approximately 6 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 (less than 2%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this prompted 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 Kids

This third study(3) is unique from the previous two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the researchers analyzed data 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 young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic care can do for you, call our St. Petersburg, FL clinic and schedule an appointment today at (727) 637-2957.

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.