We tend to a large number of people in our North St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Holland has helped countless people eliminate a wide array of health challenges. However, the primary worry that seems to stop a lot of folks from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each participant reported affected by spinal pain, and half of the individuals received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two fake chiropractic adjustments. Data was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to identify whether or not any undesirable reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.
The doctors reported that no one reported any serious negative adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they got a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.
The second research study(2), also released in the prestigious journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. 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.
Once again, the investigators discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors determined the risk of total side effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted 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."
This third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, researchers 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 ones, chiropractors responding to the survey reported 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 has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our North St. Louis, MO clinic and make an appointment today at (314) 588-9100.
References
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.
