Safety

Everything we do is to Find the Cause and Treat People Naturally through Thorough,Wholistic and Loving service.         

Is chiropractic safe?

YES!

A New Zealand government study found that adjustments are “remarkably safe.”(1)  By avoiding risky surgery and drugs, chiropractic care enjoys an excellent track record.

The thorough exam you receive can identify the rare person for whom chiropractic care might be inappropriate.

Your chiropractic doctor chooses the best adjusting approach based on your age, size and other factors.

Safety Rumors

There are a few concerns that some people have about seeing a chiropractor.  These tend to be
passed around as rumors…like,  from a person that had an uncle that once knew someone who…

Some concerns are raised by other doctors.

Either way, you deserve to have your questions answered.

Here are some we have heard:

1) Will the adjustment make my joints too loose?

• Not when delivered correctly by a trained doctor of chiropractic.  Only the joints that need to
  be adjusted are adjusted.  There are two situations where a joint needs to be adjusted:  
  

• First, when a joint is not moving correctly.
  
• Second, when rapid stretching of the surrounding muscles and joint capsule will cause nerve activation that will stimulate areas of the brain stem, cerebellum, and/or cerebral cortex.  (See the Neurology page for more information.)
  

2) Will the adjustment brake my bones?

• Not when delivered correctly by a trained doctor of chiropractic.  Your chiropractic doctor
  chooses the best adjusting approach based on your age, size and other factors.  This is why is best done by a trained chiropractor.  
  
  No one should adjust themselves, because untrained manipulation can cause damage to muscle or joints or generate improper nerve stimulation.  But even manipulations not given by a doctor are highly unlikely to cause damage beyond that.

• Severe osteoporosis (loss of bone minerals) or cancer of the spine can predispose someone to spinal fractures.  Cancer in the spine is rare and is usually found with appropriate health screening (most importantly, your previously having been diagnosed cancer of  the prostate, lung or breast).
  

• Your chiropractor must be aware of the uncommon severe osteoporosis and use the appropriate force.  Patients with severe osteoporosis are often the ones that have spontaneous spine fractures(like when they step off a curb) that end up making them walked hunched over in their upper back or the ones that fracture their pelvis from just falling over.  The Activator instrument may be appropriate in their case or, perhaps, no adjustments at all.

3) Can neck adjustment cause a stroke or paralyze me?

• I am sure that would be a scary thought.  That idea comes from too many ninja movies and some bad research.  There are reported cases of stroke associated with visits to medical doctors and chiropractors. Research and scientific evidence does not establish a cause and effect relationship between chiropractic treatment and the occurrence of stroke; rather, recent studies indicate that patients may be consulting medical doctors and chiropractors when they are already in the early stages of a stroke. In essence, there may be a stroke already in process. The possibility of such injuries occurring in association with upper cervical adjustment is extremely remote..
  

• For those who want the fancy terminology, the latest research indicates that cerebrovascular accidents occur no more frequently after chiropractic adjustments than they do in any other situation.(2)  The important point for all doctors to recognize is that patients coming in with recent-onset headaches may be gradually having a stroke already.  This is the mistake that doctors (incl. chiropractors) have made — not recognizing that a stroke is already occurring when they treat.
  

4) Do you have another concern?  Please give us a call, or email us by clicking on this text link.

(1)  New Zealand Report, Report of the Commission of Inquiry.  Government Printer, Wellinngton, New Zealand, 1979.
(2)  Current Concepts: Spinal Manipulation and Cervical Arterial Incidents 2005.  The full monograph was co-edited by John J. Triano, D.C., Ph.D., and Greg Kawchuk, BSc, D.C., MSc, Ph.D., with contributors including: M. Ram Gudavalli, PhD, Michael T. Haneline, D.C., M.P.H., Michael D. Hill, M.D., MSc, FRCPC, and Shari Wynd, BSc, BASc, MASc, D.C.