Key Points
- Australia’s chiropractic board will allow practitioners to manipulate babies’ spines, under new guidelines.
- The board’s decision has alarmed medical bodies, as two reviews found there was no evidence to support the practice.
- Children have needed medical care after some treatments, including one who had a spinal fracture.
Doctors have criticised a controversial decision to allow babies to undergo chiropractic treatment on their spines, labelling the move “scary” amid a chorus of concern.
Health Minister Mark Butler is writing to Australia’s chiropractic board for an “urgent explanation” on its decision to allow the resumption of spinal manipulation on children under two years of age.
Butler will raise the issue with his state and territory counterparts at a meeting of health ministers on Friday.
Health Minister Mark Butler has sought an ‘urgent explanation’ from Australia’s chiropractic board. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS
The decision by the board has alarmed medical bodies, as two reviews found there was no evidence to support the practice.
Children have needed medical care after some treatments, including one who had a spinal fracture.
Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson said he was disappointed by the decision and understood why the board didn’t want to announce it publicly.
“We think the health of young Australians is so important, it shouldn’t be left as an experiment,” Professor Steve Robson said.
“At the moment, there’s so little evidence to even guide any decisions about chiropractic and young Australians that it really is a scandal.
“If chiropractors truly have faith in their methods, they should be prepared to subject them to proper clinical trials.”
Robson said the AMA supported Butler’s “massive please explain” missive to the board.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vice president Michael Clements said while there was a role for alternative therapies in the management of certain conditions, it wasn’t the case for babies.
“The idea that children should now be subject to spinal manipulation … is quite scary,” he said.
Associate Professor Clements said children should only be subjected to medical treatments when there was strong evidence they would help not harm.
“There are lots of therapists and people out there trying to profit,” he said.
He said the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners backed the previous ban on children receiving spinal manipulation.
A Chiropractic Board of Australia spokesman said parents or guardians needed to fully understand their rights and the evidence before any treatment is provided to children.
“The board strongly supports that good patient care involves providing treatment options that are evidence-informed and based on the best available information,” he said.
Australian Chiropractors Association president David Cahill welcomed the decision on pediatric care by the board.
“The statement serves to reinforce the confidence the Australian public has in chiropractic care provided by registered ACA member chiropractors,” Cahill said.
