Chiropractic is Safe
Compared to Drugs and Surgery
By avoiding drugs and risky surgery, chiropractic care enjoys an excellent track record. A thorough exam can identify the rare person for whom chiropractic care might be unsuited. Compare the statistics. Adjustments are about 100 times safer than taking an over-the-counter pain reliever.
Chiropractic Training
At least six years of highly-specialized college training are required to graduate and earn licensure as a chiropractor. Chiropractic has gained recognition as a comprehensive, scientifically sound force among the healing arts. Look at the typical basic educational requirements for medical school graduates as compared to doctors of chiropractic.
| Medical | Chiropractic | |
|---|---|---|
| Class Hours (Minimum) |
Subject | Class Hours (Minumum) |
| 509 | Anatomy | 520 |
| 326 | Physiology | 420 |
| 401 | Pathology | 205 |
| 325 | Chemistry | 300 |
| 144 | Bacteriology | 130 |
| 324 | Diagnosis | 420 |
| 112 | Neurology | 320 |
| 148 | X-Ray | 217 |
| 114 | Psychiatry | 65 |
| 198 | Ob/Gyn | 65 |
| 156 | Orthopedics | 225 |
| 2,756 | Total Hours | 2,887 |
Call GetBack Chiropractic at (408) 730-1991 today for an examination to see if Chiropractic can help you, or contact us by e-mail.
Studies
A 1978-1980 study by the New Zealand Commission of Inquiry found that chiropractic adjustments are “remarkably safe.”
A major study in 1993 called The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain, also known as the Manga Report, funded by the Ontariao Ministry of Health found chiropractic management of low back pain to be safer than medical management. It overwhelmingly supported the efficacy, safety, scientific validity, and cost-effectiveness of chiropractic for low-back pain.
In another Canadian study, the Back Pain Clinic at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan concluded that “the treatment of intervertebral disk herniation by side posture manipulation is both safe and effective.” (Cassidy et al. 1993.)
The Journal of Family Practice published an editorial in November 1992 in which DC Cherkin, Ph.D. noted that the risks of complications from lumbar manipulation are very low.
The source of public concern about the safety of chiropractic adjustment is a condition known as vertebral artery syndrome (VAS), a.k.a. vertebrobasilar accident (VBA), which occurs when sudden head movements disrupt the blood flow of the vertebral artery, possibly leading to stroke. The probability of this complication arising from cervical manipulation is extremely remote. According to the 1996 Rand report, “The Appropriateness of Manipulation and Mobilization of the Cervical Spine,” only one out of every one million chiropractic patients experiences VAS. To put it another way, you are as likely to get hit by lightning than to suffer VAS at the hands of a chiropractor.
A related 2001 population-based case-control study by the American Heart Association found a slightly increased risk among patients under age 45, but that this age group also has a higher occurance of VBAs from turning the head while driving, coughing, lifting, and sporting injuries. The study was hampered by the extremely small population of VBAs that could potentially be connected with cervical manipulation (only 6 cases). What association they did find could also arise from confounding, in which the same underlying pathology that made a patient susceptible to VBA also could cause symptoms that led the patient to seek chiropractic care.
Call GetBack Chiropractic at (408) 730-1991 today for an examination to see if Chiropractic can help you, or contact us by e-mail.