If you answered chiropractic, then you are right. It is recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of back pain, neck pain, joint pain, headaches and other neuromusculoskeletal issues
A study published in “Spine” in the October 2007 issue shows that the risk of any serious side effects to chiropractic care was relatively unknown to them and the medical community. This study looked at the outcomes from 19,722 chiropractic patients who had received some form or another of neck adjustments that they referred to as “chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine.” The results as quoted in the study were that “There were no reports of serious adverse events
A study published in the medical scientific journal “Spine” in February 2008 shows that chiropractic does not increase the risks of stroke or other similar problems. Researchers looked at 818 patients with a specific kind of stroke that some suggested might be the result of neck manipulations. There was no incidence of increased stroke for a visit to the chiropractor than for a visit to the medical doctor. This scientific study shows that past assumptions attempting to relate chiropractic care with certain types of strokes were not due to the care, but rather to the fact that the people who went to chiropractors and medical doctors with certain types of problems were slightly more likely to suffer this type of problem anyway
Chiropractic researchers are involved in studying the benefits and risks of chiropractic care. All available studies, literature and case studies show that chiropractic treatment holds an extremely small risk for many different reasons.
- Education
- Training
- Postgraduate education
- Basic philosophy
The basic philosophy of chiropractic is that the body can heal itself and that it is not the job of a chiropractor to heal.
The job of a chiropractor is to remove subluxations so that the body can operate fully.
Canadian researchers analyzed scientific literature on chiropractic and stated the following:
“Chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction.” 3
Another analysis of the literature in Ontario found that:
“There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low back pain. Some medical treatments are equally safe, but others are unsafe and generate iatrogenic (doctor-induced) complications for low back pain patients. Our reading of the literature suggests that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain.” 4 And the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that:
- Serious complications from spinal manipulation is rare
- Spinal manipulation should be used before considering surgical intervention
Prescription drugs such as oral steroids, antidepressant medications and colchicine are not recommended for acute low back problems