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Studies Confirm that Chiropractic is Safe

Redondo Beach Chiropractic for familiesWe care for a large number of patients in our Redondo Beach clinic, and Dr. Vinick has helped many people eliminate a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, one issue that seems to prevent a lot of women and men from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person was suffering from spine-related pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any undesirable reactions were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that no one documented any significant unfavorable adverse reactions at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did state that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic is Safe

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

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious negative side effects. The experts calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) or a headache (4%), 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

The third study(3) is different from the first two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the researchers analyzed 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 ones, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Redondo Beach clinic and make an appointment today at (310) 375-4325.

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.
December 04, 2017
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