Waldorf, MD Chiropractic for familiesWe care for a large number of patients in our Waldorf, MD clinic, and Dr. Lipsitz has helped countless people eliminate a variety of health challenges. In spite of this, one issue that seems to stop some women and men from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three different studies (out of quite a few 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. Each individual was suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any unfavorable reactions were caused by the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

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

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The next article (2), also published in the influential publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious negative side effects. The authors computed the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six 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, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this caused 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 Adjustments are Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the researchers analyzed 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 young ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. When parents were questioned, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, 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 found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Waldorf, MD office and make an appointment today at (301) 645-8898.

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.
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