Is Chiropractic Care Safe? What the Research Actually Shows

The Safety Question Is a Fair One — And the Evidence Has a Clear Answer

If you have never been to a chiropractor, or if you have heard stories that gave you pause, the safety question is a reasonable one to ask. Chiropractic adjustments involve applying controlled force to the spine — and the spine houses the spinal cord and the nerve roots that control every function in the body. It is reasonable to want to know that the person you are trusting with your spine knows what they are doing and that the treatment itself is well understood.

The good news is that the research on chiropractic safety is extensive and its conclusions are consistent. Chiropractic care — specifically spinal manipulation performed by a trained and licensed chiropractor — is one of the safest treatments available for the musculoskeletal conditions it is used to treat. This is not a claim made only by chiropractors. It is the conclusion of systematic reviews, government health agency reports, and major medical organizations that have evaluated the evidence independently.

At Nowak Chiropractic in South Buffalo, Dr. John Nowak has been providing safe chiropractic care to Buffalo-area patients for over 40 years. He is a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic, a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic, and an active continuing education participant through 2024. His patients’ safety has always been the foundation of his practice — and the research supports what his four decades of clinical experience has demonstrated.

What the Research Shows About Chiropractic Safety

The most comprehensive reviews of chiropractic safety consistently reach the same conclusion: serious adverse events from chiropractic spinal manipulation are rare. The risk profile of chiropractic care compares favorably to virtually every other treatment commonly used for the same conditions — including over-the-counter and prescription medications, epidural injections, and surgery.

The most common side effect of a chiropractic adjustment is mild, temporary soreness in the area treated — similar to the muscle soreness experienced after a new exercise. This occurs in a portion of patients, typically resolves within 24 to 48 hours, and is not clinically significant.

Serious adverse events from cervical spine manipulation — the area of greatest public concern — are the subject of a substantial body of research. The evidence consistently shows that the risk of serious injury from cervical manipulation by a trained chiropractor is extremely low. A frequently cited figure from large-scale reviews places the risk of serious adverse events at less than one per several million cervical adjustments — a risk profile that compares favorably to many medications taken without a second thought.

For lumbar spine manipulation, the evidence is even more clearly favorable. Serious adverse events from lumbar adjustments are exceptionally rare, and the risk profile of lumbar chiropractic care is substantially lower than that of the surgical and injection alternatives that patients with back pain are frequently offered.

Why Chiropractic Is Safer Than Many Alternatives

The relative safety of chiropractic care becomes clearer when it is compared to the treatments most commonly used for the same conditions.

Compared to NSAIDs and Analgesics

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs — ibuprofen, naproxen, and prescription-strength equivalents — are among the most commonly used treatments for musculoskeletal pain.

They are generally regarded as safe for short-term use, but their risks are real and well-documented. Regular use of NSAIDs is associated with gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney damage, and cardiovascular events that collectively account for significant morbidity and mortality in the population. Chiropractic care produces none of these systemic effects.

Compared to Opioid Analgesics

The opioid epidemic has made the risks of opioid prescribing for musculoskeletal pain conditions painfully clear. Dependency, overdose, and the long-term functional consequences of opioid use disorder represent a public health catastrophe that could have been significantly mitigated by greater use of evidence-based non-pharmacological alternatives like chiropractic care. For patients who are being offered opioid management for back or neck pain, chiropractic care is a demonstrably safer option for the conditions it treats.

Compared to Spinal Surgery

Surgery carries the risks of anesthesia, infection, bleeding, failed back surgery syndrome, and the need for revision procedures that together represent a meaningful risk burden for every patient who undergoes a spinal procedure. For the conditions that most commonly lead to back surgery — disc herniation, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease — conservative chiropractic care produces outcomes comparable to surgery for many patients without any of those risks.

Who Should Exercise Caution With Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is not appropriate for every patient in every situation, and a responsible chiropractor will identify contraindications before treating. Conditions that require caution or referral rather than chiropractic treatment include:

• Spinal fractures or instability from trauma, osteoporosis, or cancer

• Active infection or inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine

• Severe osteoporosis that makes the bone vulnerable to adjustment forces

• Cauda equina syndrome or other presentations with severe acute neurological deficit

• Vascular abnormalities that affect the blood supply to the brain through the vertebral arteries

A thorough intake history and physical examination before treatment begins is the standard of care that identifies these contraindications. At Nowak Chiropractic, every new patient goes through a proper consultation and examination before any treatment is delivered. If something in that evaluation raises a concern, Dr. John will address it — either by modifying the treatment approach or by referring the patient to the appropriate provider.

40 Years of Safe Practice in South Buffalo

The best evidence of a chiropractor’s safety record is ultimately the clinical history of their practice. Dr. John Nowak has been practicing in South Buffalo since 1982. He has treated thousands of patients over four decades. His continuing education — completed as recently as 2024 — reflects an ongoing commitment to staying current on best practices and evidence-based care.

If safety concerns have been keeping you from seeking the chiropractic care that might resolve your back pain, neck pain, headaches, or other spinal condition, the research supports giving it a serious look. And if you have questions about whether your specific situation is appropriate for chiropractic care, the right person to answer them is Dr. John — who has been answering that question honestly for patients in this community for over 40 years.

Safe, Experienced Chiropractic Care in South Buffalo

Nowak Chiropractic is located in South Buffalo and serves patients from West Seneca, Lackawanna, Cheektowaga, and across the greater Buffalo area. New patients are treated at their first visit.

Call us today at (716) 825-412.