We see a large number of patients in our Nashville clinic, and Sweeney Chiropractic has helped many people overcome a range of health challenges. In spite of this, one concern that seems to stop many folks from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three different studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first article(1) was published in Spine and included 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person reported affected by spine-related pain, and half of the patients received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to identify if any undesirable reactions occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic treatments.
Researchers found that no participants reported any significant unfavorable side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.
The next research study(2), also released in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.
Again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated 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 volunteers 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 prompted the researchers to conclude 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 focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, 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 visits made for the young 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. 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 find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Nashville office and make an appointment today at (615) 331-7040.
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Dr. Jim Sweeney & Dr. Jon Sweeney, your Nashville Chiropractors and Palmer College of Chiropractic West graduates, provide quality chiropractic care to patients in Nashville, TN. If you suffer from back pain, neck pain, headache, sciatica or have been in an auto collision, Sweeney Chiropractic can get you back on the road to health.
