Chiropractic care is recognized for its safety and effectiveness in treating the spine. Find out how at the Marc Bony Chiropractic Center in Mataró.
Safety of Chiropractic Treatment
Chiropractic care is recognized as one of the safest, most conservative, and least invasive treatments for the spine.
Over the past 25 years, there have been five formal government investigations into chiropractic, all of which found it to be safe and effective (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Based on findings from more than 85 countries regarding the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care, no other profession can demonstrate greater safety or effectiveness in the treatment of mechanical spinal injuries.
Major national studies
• National clinical guidelines from the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, and New Zealand—developed by multidisciplinary panels and implemented by their respective governments—recommend, as a first-line treatment, chiropractic treatment as a first-line treatment, among other reasons because, compared to any medication—including over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers—it carries very few risks and side effects.
• The Manga study (6, 7) states: “There is no scientific study that demonstrates or even suggests that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe for the treatment of low back pain.”
• The RAND study (8) provided statistics on the overwhelming safety of manual therapy compared to conventional medical treatments for neck pain: Comparison of the Risk of Serious Complications TREATMENT RISK PER MILLION Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (over-the-counter, e.g., aspirin) 1,000 3,200 (in people over 65) Cervical surgery 15,600 Cervical manipulation 0.5–1.
U.S. insurance companies, drawing on the extensive data they collect from their databases, also provide their own statistics (9):
Risk Comparison (2001) Serious complications from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: 40,000 per million Deaths from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: 4,000 per million Serious complications from medical procedures: 1–2 per million
Conclusion
According to scientific evidence, manual therapy is therefore overwhelmingly safer than conventional treatments for back pain that we consider “safe,” such as the widely used anti-inflammatory drugs.
However, even today there are still some—though fewer and fewer—healthcare professionals in Spain who dismiss the procedure, regardless of who performs it, as unsafe, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
This only shows their profound ignorance of the subject or their malicious intent. It’s important to keep in mind that we’re always talking about a manipulative treatment performed exclusively by doctors of chiropractic.
Manipulation also has contraindications, such as fractures, risk of fracture, spinal instability, tumors, etc., which a Doctor of Chiropractic—given the level of college education they receive—can reliably identify.
Manipulation by non-professionals is not only ineffective but can also be counterproductive.
Sources
(1) Chiropractic in the United States: Training, Practice, and Research, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AHCPR Research Report, Dec. 1997.
(2) Chiropractic in New Zealand: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, Hasselberg PD, Government Printer, Wellington, 1979.
(3) Medicare Benefits Review Committee, Thompson CJ, Commonwealth Government Printer, Australia, 1986.
(4) Legitimization of Vissa Kiropraktorer, Commission on Alternative Medicine, SOU, 1987.
(5) The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain, Manga P, Angus D, et al. Commissioned by the OCA and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Pran Manga & Associates, University of Ottawa, 1993.
(6) Manga P, Agnus D, et al. (1993) “The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain,” Pran Manga and Associates, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
(7) Manga P, Agnus D (1998) Enhanced Chiropractic Coverage Under OHIP as a Means of Reducing Health Care Costs, Achieving Better Health Outcomes, and Improving the Public’s Access to Cost-Effective Health Services, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
(8) Coulte ID, Hurwitz EL, et al. (1996). The Appropriateness of Manipulation or Mobilization of the Cervical Spine. Santa Monica, California: RAND, Document No. MR-781-CR.
(9) Terret AGJ. Current Concepts in Vertebrobasilar Complications following Spinal Manipulation, NCMIC Group Inc., West Des Moines, Iowa, 2001.
