There’s a reason people who have seen chiropractors swear
by them and continue to go back: because chiropractic
care is just as safe as it is effective.
Your spine is an extremely important feature of your anatomy. Aside from obvious
reasons, it’s also the home to your central nervous system and, thus, is
surrounded by nerves. On top of that, you have large and important muscle
groups all around it, as well.
Chiropractors are trained specialists who spend their entire
careers learning about this one vital part of the body - your spine.
Chiropractic
has been shown to be one of the safest treatment approaches in healthcare
today. No intervention is free from risks but chiropractic has a very safe
track record.
Minor
side effects (such as temporary soreness similar to that which can be
experienced after a workout) after spine manipulation can happen but that the
risk of a serious adverse event was ‘low to very low’.
Some reports have associated upper high-velocity neck manipulation
with a certain rare kind of stroke, or vertebral artery dissection. However, evidence suggests that this type of arterial injury often takes
place spontaneously in patients who have pre-existing arterial disease. These
dissections have been associated with everyday activities such as turning the
head while driving, swimming, or having a shampoo in a hair salon. Patients
with this condition may experience neck pain and headache that leads them to
seek professional care—often at the office of a doctor of chiropractic or
family physician—but that care is not
the cause of the injury. Studies have found that “there was no
evidence that visiting a Chiropractor put people at greater risk than visiting
a primary care physician.”
The best evidence indicates that the incidence of artery
injuries associated with high-velocity upper neck manipulation is extremely
rare—about 1 per
5.85 million. To put this in perspective, the odds of
being struck by lightning in any one year is 1 in 700,000.
Therefore, having a significant side effect from a chiropractic treatment is
much less likely than getting struck by lightning!
Risks
associated with some of the most common treatments for musculoskeletal
pain—over-the-counter or prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDS) and prescription painkillers—are significantly greater than those of
chiropractic manipulation.
According
to the American Journal of Gastroenterology,
people taking NSAIDS are three times more likely than those who do not to
develop serious adverse gastrointestinal problems such as hemorrhage (bleeding)
and perforation. That risk rises to more than five times among people age 60
and older.
Moreover, the number of
prescriptions for powerful drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone have tripled
in the past 12 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
reported that abuse of these commonly prescribed painkillers are among the
leading causes of accidental death in the United States. Overdoses of opioid
painkillers are responsible for some 15,000 deaths per year; that’s more than
the number of deaths from cocaine and heroin combined.
When you look at the data,
Chiropractic is an extremely safe health care option and an important part of
your overall health. Book an appointment to start feeling your best.
Dr. Stephen Kelly is a Chiropractor at Family First
Chiropractic and Wellness, located In Red Deer, AB
www.family1stchiro.ca Call 403-347-3261 to book an appointment.
www.family1stchiro.ca Call 403-347-3261 to book an appointment.
