Chiropractic Care: The Safest of the Safe

Despite statistics from dozens of studies demonstrating the safety of chiropractic treatments, recent news reports have alleged that chiropractic neck adjustments can sometimes be harmful. However, according to a study by the Rand Corporation, a serious adverse reaction from cervical manipulation occurs less than once in 1 million treatments. The study also showed that on the rare occasion of an adverse reaction, it is often the result of the procedure being performed by a health professional who is inexperienced or inadequately trained in spinal manipulation, rather than by a licensed doctor of chiropractic. Other scientific textbooks and reports have estimated the risk to be even more minute; as low as one in 10 million treatments.

To put this number into perspective, the New England Journal of Medicine found complications from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen, are responsible for 16,500 deaths each year. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 2 million Americans become seriously ill every year from negative reactions to drugs that were correctly prescribed and taken; 106,000 Americans die annually from those side effects.