Chiropractic Proven Safe

We tend to a large number of patients in our Woburn & Chelmsford, MA clinic, and Dr. James Ellis & Dr. Lyndsay Martin has helped countless people eliminate a range of health challenges. However, one concern that seems to prevent a lot of folks from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of many on the topic), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men. Each individual was affected by spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was collected after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The doctors reported that no participants reported any serious adverse adverse reactions whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some individuals did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second study(2), also published in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was done in an effort to determine 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 study participants.

Again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The authors computed the risk of total side effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted the researchers 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 unique from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, researchers investigated 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 effects. 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 studies like these, chiropractic care has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic can do for you, call our Woburn & Chelmsford, MA clinic and make an appointment today at (781) 460-0939.

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.