Chiropractic Safety Studies

Chiropractic treatments are extremely safe for people of all ages. Unfortunately, some critics of chiropractic care have attempted to manipulate the public into thinking chiropractic treatments are dangerous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chiropractic treatments are among some of the safest treatments used in the health care field. Read what Canadian researchers stated after performing the largest analysis of scientific literature on the most effective and cost effective treatments for low back pain:

"Chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction."

The Manga Report
The Agency on Health Care Policy and Research Study
The New Zealand Commission Report

The Manga Report

The Ontario Ministry of Health commissioned Manga Report represents the largest analysis of scientific literature on the most effective and cost effective treatments for low back pain. After reviewing all of the international evidence on the management of low back pain, lead investigator Pran Manga, Ph.D., found the treatments provided by Doctors of Chiropractic were exceptionally safe – much safer than for standard medical treatments of similar conditions.

• "There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low back pain. Some medical treatments are equally safe, but others are unsafe and generate iatrogenic (doctor-induced) complications for low back pain patients. Our reading of the literature suggests that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain."

• "Indeed, several existing medical therapies of low back pain are generally contraindicated on the basis of the existing clinical trials. There is also some evidence in the literature to suggest that spinal manipulations are less safe and less effective when performed by nonchiropractic professionals."

• "Chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction." The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain (The Manga Report). Pran Manga and Associates (1993) – University of Ottawa, Canada.

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The Agency on Health Care Policy and Research Study

On December 8, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services released Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of acute low back pain. Their guidelines were developed after extensive study of diagnostic and treatment methods for acute low back pain. The guidelines were created by the AHCPR panel to provide primary care clinicians with information and recommended strategies for the assessment and treatment of acute low back problems. The AHCPR panel was made up of 23 members consisting of medical doctors, chiropractic doctors, nurses, experts in spinal research, physical therapists, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, and a consumer representative.Their findings included:

• The risk of serious complications from lumbar spinal manipulation is rare;

• Conservative treatment such as spinal manipulation should be pursued in most cases before considering surgical intervention;

• Prescription drugs such as oral steroids, antidepressant medications and colchicine are not recommended for acute low back problems.

Acute Low Back Problems in Adults. Clinical Practice Guidelines. Bigos S, et al. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Publication No. 950642 (1994) - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [top]

The New Zealand Commission Report

The government of New Zealand published a 377 page report which assessed the efficacy and safety of chiropractic care. The report was a result of almost 2 years of conducted hearings from recognized health care experts.Their principal findings included:

• "Chiropractors are the only health practitioners who are necessarily equipped by their education and training to carry out spinal manual therapy (spinal adjustments)."

• "Chiropractors carry out spinal diagnosis and therapy at a sophisticated and refined level."

• "Spinal manual therapy in the hands of a registered chiropractor is safe."

• "The duration and training of a registered chiropractor are sufficient to enable him/her to determine whether there are contraindications to spinal manual therapy in a particular case, and whether that patient should have medical care instead of, or as well as, chiropractic care."

New Zealand Report. Hasselberg PD. Government Printer, Wellington – 1979.

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