Abstract
Background: Concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies have been raised. Of the various practitioner-based CAM therapies, chiropractic remains popular. To address safety concerns, we examined the prevalence and incidence of adverse events in a practice-based research network setting.
Methods: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Life University (Atlanta, GA, USA). In a prospective cohort study, we characterized the chiropractic care of children and examined the prevalence and incidence of adverse events (AEs) associated with pediatric SMT.
Results: Two-hundred sixty-four chiropractors reported on 512 children. An AE prevalence of 0.67% was calculated with risk estimates of 880, 141 and 28 cases per 1 million person-year for the first, second and third AE occurrence. Four hundred forty nine parents reported on similar number of children. A prevalence of 4.45% calculated with risk estimates of 978 and 172 cases per 1 million person-year for the first and second AE occurrence.
Discussion: Children attend chiropractic care for wellness and to address dysfunctions of the neuromusculoskeletal system and conditions of childhood. Parents indicate a high perceived effectiveness with indicated AEs as minor and self-limiting.
Conclusion: We provided supporting data that AEs associated with pediatric chiropractic SMT are rare. We encourage further research in this field.
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Alcantara, J., Ohm, J. & Kunz, K. A Prospective Study on the Safety of Pediatric Chiropractic Spinal Manipulative Therapy: Results from a Practice-Based Research Network. Pediatr Res 70 (Suppl 5), 567 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.792
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.792