Safety of Chiropractic Care
Some people are concerned about seeing a chiropractor because they think chiropractic treatment might be harmful or dangerous. However, research on chiropractic care shows that it is remarkably safe (1), effective (2), and associated with a high level of patient satisfaction (3).
There has to be some risk, right?
Virtually all forms of health care carry risks. (5) Given the type of manual or “hands-on” procedures that chiropractors use in their daily practice, it stands to reason that there is at least some risk that, in rare cases, some people may experience an adverse event after visiting their chiropractor.
A number of researchers have reviewed all published literature on the safety of chiropractic care. (6-8) According to these studies, serious adverse events are very rare, and in most cases, the researchers were unsure whether chiropractic care actually caused the event or not. (6-8)
Chiropractic care has an enviable safety record compared to most other healthcare interventions. (1, 4)
Because serious adverse events following chiropractic care are so rare, it is virtually impossible for researchers to accurately estimate how often they actually occur. (6) Therefore, there are only rough estimates for serious adverse events. And these estimates range from one in 20,000 to one in several million chiropractic visits.4 But let’s put this into perspective; another study has shown that people who are admitted to the hospital have as high as a one-in-three chance of experiencing an adverse event. (9)
It is not uncommon in chiropractic care for some people to feel a bit stiff and sore after an adjustment, but this usually goes away on its own. (1, 6, 7)
So, based on the best reviews of all the scientific literature on this topic, we know that getting seriously injured from a visit to your chiropractor is extremely rare. (4, 8, 9) In fact, the statistics show that you’re about 10 times more likely to suffer a serious injury while driving to and from your chiropractor’s office than you are to suffer a serious injury during a visit to your chiropractor. (10)
Research on Stroke
Despite all these studies showing how rare side effects are in chiropractic care, there are still people who worry that chiropractic treatment can cause a stroke. This has also been studied very carefully. (8, 11) In two separate studies, researchers examined extremely large patient databases from insurance companies in Canada and the United States and compared more than 2,600 patients who had actually suffered a stroke involving arteries in their neck with people who had not had a stroke. (8, 11) They examined whether the people who had suffered a stroke were more likely to have visited a chiropractor or a doctor before the stroke occurred.
What they found was that people who had suffered one of these strokes had not visited a chiropractor more often than a doctor before the stroke occurred. In some groups, they were actually more likely to have visited a doctor than a chiropractor before the stroke.
What does this mean?
These studies suggest that patients who suffer a stroke after visiting a chiropractor likely went to the chiropractor because they had neck pain or headaches caused by the early stages of the blood vessel damage that ultimately led to the stroke. The stroke had therefore already begun before they went to the chiropractor. It also means that there is no increased risk of having a stroke if you choose to visit a chiropractor compared to the risks associated with visiting a doctor.
So, if you or someone you know is concerned about seeing a chiropractor, you can rest assured that chiropractic care is associated with a very low risk of causing serious harm. (6, 7) The risks are so rare that they cannot be accurately estimated, (5, 11) and of the risk estimates that have been made, most suggest that serious adverse events associated with chiropractic care may occur once every few hundred thousand visits. (5, 6) As with any healthcare intervention, some adverse events naturally occur with chiropractic care (5, 6), and these adverse events are generally minor and resolve on their own (5, 6), and do not detract from the high level of patient satisfaction associated with chiropractic care. (3)
So, despite what some people may think, chiropractic care has an enviable track record when it comes to safety, and you can rest assured that you’re in safe hands when you visit your chiropractor.
References
1. Rubinstein SM. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2008;31(6):461-4.
2. Coulter ID, et al. Spine J 2018;18(5):866-79.
3. Gaumer, G. J. *Manipulative Physiol Ther* 2006;29(6):455-62.
4. Rafter N, et al. QJM: Monthly Journal of the Medical Association 2014.
5. Jevne J, et al. Chiropr Man Therap 2014;22(1):37.
6. Gouveia LO, et al. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2009;34(11):E405-13.
7. Thiel HW, et al. Spine (Phila, Pa, 1976) 2007;32(21):2375-8; discussion 79.
8. Cassidy JD, et al. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2009;32(2, Supplement 1):S201-S08.
9. Makary MA, Daniel M. BMJ 2016;353:i2139.
10. NHTS Administration. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2013.
Acknowledgments
· Dr. Heidi Haavik - B.S. (Physiology), B.S. (Chiropractic), Ph.D.
· Dr. Kelly Holt - BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
· Dr. Jenna Duehr - BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc
