We tend to a large number of people in our Burton, MI office, and Dr. Elganainy has helped many people manage a wide array of health challenges. However, a frequent concern that seems to prevent some people from pursuing treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Well, according to three different studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"
The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men. Each participant was 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 obtained after each real or fake adjustment to determine if any unfavorable side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic adjustments.
Researchers found that none of the patients reported any significant unfavorable adverse reactions at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did state that they experienced a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (37%) after treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.
A second study(2), also published in the distinguished journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all study participants.
Again, the investigators found no serious negative side effects. The authors determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some people 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 previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this case, the researchers analyzed data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.
Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the kids, chiropractors responding to the survey reported only three cases where there were adverse reactions. 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 studies like these, chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Burton, MI office and make an appointment today at (810) 715-7746.
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