We see a large number of people in our State College clinic, and Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes has helped countless people eliminate a range of health problems. However, a frequent worry that seems to prevent some folks from getting care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a clear: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 adults between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic treatments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to see whether or not any undesirable reactions were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.
The authors reported that nobody documented any serious undesirable side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some people did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.
A second research study(2), also published in the influential medical journal, Spine, was performed in an attempt to determine 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 patients.
Once 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. Plus, just as with the first study, some people 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 prompted 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 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 answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse reactions. When parents were questioned, 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 can do for you, call our State College office and make an appointment today at (814) 308-9352.
References
Dr. Matt Reyes was born and raised in Apalachin, a small town in Upstate New York. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Fitness Development from the State University at New York College at Cortland. He then fulfilled his ambition to become a Doctor of Chiropractic when he graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 2013.
