Walkerville Chiropractic – Is Chiropractic Safe?

Chiropractic is safer than back surgery and 250 times safer than taking an anti-inflammatory drug.² All ages from babies to the elderly enjoy safe, effective care. There have been approximately 300 million visits by infants and children to Chiropractors globally and never a case of serious injury. No other health profession can claim such a safety record.³

Chiropractic treatment procedures are modified to suit the needs of each patient, young and elderly especially. Mild adverse reactions to Chiropractic adjustment may involve stiffness and soreness, especially with a patient's first adjustment. One risk arising from manipulation of the cervical spine that may potentially be serious is vertebral artery syndrome (VAS), which may lead to stroke following cervical adjustment in a susceptible patient. However, this is extremely rare.

In fact, the risk of VAS causing serious harm following cervical adjustment is one (1) per million (1,000,000) Chiropractic treatments.4 When compared with other more common or standard medical procedures for similar spinal conditions, Chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine is extremely safe.

Consider the following:

• Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and aspirin are more dangerous than the risk of VAS due to Chiropractic. There is one (1) death for every 1,200 patients taking this type of medications for a period of two months or more.5
• Risks of long term use of paracetamol include liver and kidney failure.6
• Diclofenac, marketed as Voltaren, may pose greater health risks than the arthritis drug Vioxx, which was taken off the market in 2004, including a 40% increased chance of heart attack and stroke.7

Other research has also validated Chiropractic. In 1993 the Manga Report produced at the University of Ottawa cited Chiropractic as a safe, efficient and cost-effective treatment for low back pain. The Manga Report found that:

• There was no clinical or case-control study that could demonstrate or even imply that Chiropractic spinal manipulation was unsafe in the treatment of low-back pain.
• Literature suggested that Chiropractic manipulation was safer than medical management of low-back pain.

From overwhelming evidence, the Manga Report concluded that:

• Chiropractic management of low-back pain was both effective and cost-effective.
• Many [other] current medical therapies were untested, questionable or of a harmful nature.
• Chiropractic care was safe.8

The overwhelming conclusion is that Chiropractic treatment is safe when administered with the appropriate care and caution by a registered Chiropractor.