We see a large number of people in our Noblesville clinic, and Dr. Dahlager has helped countless people overcome a range of health problems. In spite of this, the primary issue that seems to stop some people from getting care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each participant reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that no participants documented any serious unfavorable side effects at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did state that they experienced a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Large US Survey Reports that Chiropractic Care is Safe

The second study(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was done in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the experts found no serious negative side effects. The experts computed the risk of total side effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused 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 Children

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, researchers analyzed data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the young ones, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were negative side effects. 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 care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Noblesville clinic and schedule an appointment today at (317) 214-7218.

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.