Chiropractic Proven Safe

We see a large number of patients in our Landover Hills, District Heights and Rockville, MD office, and Dr. Ashkan Aazami has helped many people overcome a wide array of health issues. However, one concern that seems to prevent many folks from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first study(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each person was affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover whether or not any undesirable reactions were caused by the real chiropractic adjustments.

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

Nationwide Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

The next study(2), also released in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.

Once again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The experts computed the risk of total negative 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 volunteers did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (less than 2%) 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

The third study(3) is unique from the previous two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the authors 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 children, chiropractors responding to 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. 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 care has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Landover Hills, District Heights and Rockville, MD office and make an appointment today at (301) 322-7777.

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.