953 Maple Ave

Noblesville, IN

Today's Hours

(317) 214-7218

Call us now!

Noblesville Chiropractic for familiesWe see a large number of patients in our Noblesville office, and Dr. Dahlager has helped countless people overcome a range of health challenges. Even so, a frequent issue that seems to prevent a lot of folks from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Well, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults. Each participant reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits while the other half received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any undesirable negative effects were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that no one documented any significant unfavorable side effects whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

The next study(2), also released in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was done in an effort to determine 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 experts found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total side effects to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this caused the authors 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

This third research paper(3) is different from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors 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 children, 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. 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 find out what chiropractic 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.