We care for a large number of patients in our St. Louis, MO clinic, and Dr. Holland has helped many people overcome a wide array of health issues. However, a frequent concern that seems to prevent some men and women from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this concern is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic adjustments while the other half received two sham chiropractic adjustments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to see if any undesirable reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic adjustments.
Researchers found that nobody documented any serious adverse side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.
The next research study(2), also published in the distinguished medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. 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 study participants.
Again, the investigators found no serious adverse side effects. The experts calculated the risk of total side effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the first study, some people did report non-serious, milder, unwanted 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 research paper(3) is different from the previous two reports, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the authors investigated results 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 children, chiropractors answering the survey documented 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 has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our St. Louis, MO clinic and schedule an appointment today at (314) 588-9100.
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We have a long-standing track record or helping people get out of pain with chiropractic care. Whether you were injured last week, or have been suffering from chronic pain for years - It might only take one visit to our office in Downtown Saint Louis, MO to get you back on the path to everyday health.
