We tend to a large number of patients in our Gresham, OR office, and Dr. Ramsey has helped many people manage a range of health challenges. However, the primary worry that seems to prevent some women and men from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic adjustments are safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few 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 women and men. Each participant reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients were given two fake chiropractic treatments. Information was obtained after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.
Researchers found that none of the patients reported any serious negative side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. 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 of a serious nature.
A second study(2), also released in the important journal, Spine, was done in an attempt to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The test group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.
Again, the investigators found 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. Plus, 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 authors to determine 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 pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this case, the researchers analyzed results 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 answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were questioned, 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 judged safe and effective for everyone. To discover what chiropractic can do for you, call our Gresham, OR clinic and schedule an appointment today at (503) 667-6744.
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Dr. Robert Ramsey and the talented team at Gresham Family Chiropractic have been providing the best chiropractic care available to patients in Gresham, OR since 1997. We treat many conditions related to back pain, neck pain, headaches, and sciatica. Dr. Ramsey also specializes in the treatment of auto accident injuries and work injuries sustained on the job.
