is chiropractic safe

We Answer The Question: Is Chiropractor Safe?

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We know they’re highly trained and qualified. We know they can effectively treat a wide range of musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders including lower back pain, neck pain, headache and much more, without surgery or drugs. But a genuine question we still hear a lot is: “Are chiropractors safe?”

Many experienced chiropractors may find it a fairly frustrating question, but at the end of the day, it’s also quite understandable, too. After all, an operation under anaesthesia or a pill in your mouth can fly under the radar – but it’s often that audible “crack” or “pop” of certain spinal manipulations that chiropractors are perhaps best known for.

And if you’ve been to a chiro before, you already know what the game is: bare, firm hands working those muscles, bones and joints with often sharp, stretching or thrusting movements. So there’s obviously some level of risk there, and it’s perfectly normal to find some of the manipulations uncomfortable or even temporarily painful. That’s why we’re going to take a serious look at a perfectly reasonable question to ask:

“Is chiropractic safe?”

The first thing to observe is that it all depends on your definition of ‘safe’. After all, simply putting your bare feet on the ground after a night in bed might be risky for some – let alone some of the next things you do in a day, like drive a car.

But when stacked up against the other health, medical and wellbeing-related treatments, procedures and therapies out there, considering a chiropractor safe is a very safe bet. And that’s especially if you know for sure that they’re fully qualified, registered and – as an added bonus – experienced.

At LRCC we see hundreds of patients every month without indecent. That said, many people will report some mild side effects after a chiropractic session that almost always fade away after a day or two, such as:

  • Aches/pains
  • Stiffness
  • Tiredness.

In terms of incidents of serious adverse events from chiropractic treatments, the stats show it’s extremely rare. According to the Chiropractic Association of Victoria (CAA), “There have been few if any serious adverse events reported in medical literature in the past twenty years”.  In fact, less than more mainstream alternatives to seeing a chiropractor – even if it’s just basic anti-inflammatory drugs for lower back pain.

You can also be confident that your chiro will ask and know a great deal about your medical history and any existing problems you bring to the table – and then use the legendary feel of those highly-trained and practiced hands to understand just what your body can take and what it cannot. A good chiropractor will therefore be constantly monitoring and double-checking for what they call ‘red flags’ that narrow the range of potential treatments.

These include:

  • Bone fragility (such as osteoporosis & tumours)
  • Joint fragility/instability/infection
  • Certain neurological disorders
  • Inflammatory conditions (such as arthritis)
  • Bleeding disorders.

But even if a ‘red flag’ is identified, the chiropractor may simply narrow their range of potential interventions, or deepen their investigation as to what will be perfectly safe for your particular body. That’s because even people with very serious conditions may still be able to very capably tolerate lower-amplitude manipulations, especially in the soft tissues. The key, for the very best chiropractors, is to constantly monitor and adapt in a truly personalised way to ensure the benefits of treatment are never outweighed by the potential downsides.

And if some of the more “crack” or “pop”-worthy treatments are ruled out, there’s also plenty of other techniques and strategies a chiro will take for a truly multimodal approach. There’s:

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Often, chiropractors will consult directly with referring or ongoing doctors and specialists so that everyone is on the same page about what’s best for one person and one person alone: You. That’s because the objective is never to take an unreasonable risk but to reduce or eliminate symptoms and pain and enhance rather than endanger your quality of life. Better still, chiropractic science continues to evolve and improve with every passing day, making it easily one of the safest and most effective appointments you’ll ever attend.

Book in for safe, effective treatment at LRCC

At Longueville Road Chiropractic Centre, we are offering the safest, healthiest and most effective Sydney chiropractic care you can find anywhere in Sydney’s North Shore and beyond. We think your life should be pain-free and you should be doing all the things you love, so for a truly holistic, individualised and genuinely caring approach, reach out to the friendly team at LRCC today.