We see a large number of patients in our Oakleigh office, and North Road Chiropractic has helped many people eliminate a range of health problems. However, one issue that seems to stop many people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 adults. Each test subject was affected by spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care while the remaining patients were given two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any undesirable reactions occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic adjustments.
The doctors found that none of the patients reported any significant adverse side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.
The next study(2), also published in the important medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.
Once again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The experts determined 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 first study, some volunteers 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."
The third study(3) is different from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors analyzed results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.
Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the children, chiropractors answering the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse 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 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 Oakleigh office and schedule an appointment today at (03) 9579 2699.
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Since 1987, North Road Chiropractic patients have benefited from the hands-on, low-force, safe and painless chiropractic techniques offered. Utilizing the best and latest in diagnostic techniques, state of the art equipment, setting us apart amongst Oakleigh chiropractors.
