We tend to a large number of people in our Downtown St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Holland has helped many people manage a variety of health issues. Even so, the primary worry that seems to stop some 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 concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first study(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each test subject was affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to determine whether or not any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.
The doctors found that no one reported any serious adverse side effects in any way after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did report that they experienced a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) post-treatment, but the results were not of a serious nature.
The next research study(2), also published in the prestigious publication, Spine, was performed in an attempt to ascertain the safety of chiropractic care. The test 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 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 previous study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused 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."
This third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, researchers analyzed data 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 responding to 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. 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 deemed safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic treatment can do for you, call our Downtown St. Louis, MO office and make 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.
