Chiropractic Proven Safe

We care for a large number of people in our Humble office, and Dr. Groneck has helped countless people eliminate a variety of health problems. In spite of this, a frequent worry that seems to stop a lot of folks from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men. Each person reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any unpleasant side effects were caused by the genuine chiropractic treatments.

Researchers found that no one documented any serious adverse adverse reactions whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did report that they had a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.

Nationwide Survey Reports that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The second article(2), also released in the distinguished journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts 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 first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) or a headache (4 out of every 100), 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 Care Is Safe for Children

The third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the researchers investigated 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 children, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were surveyed, 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Humble clinic and make an appointment today at (281) 540-7201.

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.