We see a large number of people in our Brandon, FL clinic, and Dr. Richard J. Robinson has helped countless people manage a range of health problems. Even so, the primary concern that seems to stop many women and men from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: “Yes! Chiropractic is safe!”

Chiropractic Is Safe, According To Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each individual reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments while the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic adjustments.

The authors reported that no participants reported any serious undesirable side effects at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports That Chiropractic Adjustments Are Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the important publication, Spine, was conducted in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total side effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this prompted 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 Adjustments Are Safe For Kids

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the researchers analyzed data 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 kids, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were surveyed, 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 these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Brandon, FL office and make an appointment today at (813) 654-3921.
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.
Call Us
Skip to content