In a shocking and unprecedented move, the Chiropractic Board of Australia has banned the practice of spinal manipulation in children by chiropractors. The move comes after calls from the Victorian Health Minister and Australian Medical Association's President to stop the chiropractic care of children.

CLICK HERE to review the policy

Incredibly, the Chiropractic Board either lies in their announcement or reveals deep seated ignorance stating:

". . . the Board acknowledges there is no current clinical guideline, or peer-reviewed publication to guide chiropractors with respect to the care of infants and young children, and the use of spinal manipulation in particular."

Of course nothing could be farther from the truth. There is a robust base of evidence for the chiropractic management of children including practice guidelines by the Council on Chiropractic Practice and the International Chiropractors Association. Further, studies on safety and efficacy have been carried out by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association among others.

The move is clearly not based on science or research but is a political move designed to control and contain the chiropractic profession and by implementing this policy the Chiropractic Board of Australia is complicit in that action.

Adding insult to injury, just a couple of weeks ago the President of the Australian Chiropractic Association Anthony Coxon DC was interviewed on television about the care of children and made this absurd statement:

"Is the care likely to be effective or of benefit to young babies? Look, while there is some positive, moderate level of evidence, its not definitive at this stage.

"Certainly not at the level of evidence where we would feel confident advertising it on a website"

Click her for a video clip of his statement

Coxon was contacted for this story to see if he wanted to clarify his statement but he did not respond for comment.

What is not clear from the statement on the ban is whether or not the Board or the government consider all chiropractic procedures "spinal manipulation" since much of chiropractic care of infants does not involve cavitating joints. Historically the distinction is lost on not only non-chiropractors but subluxation deniers within the profession as well as those who are simply woefully ignorant about the chiropractic care of children.

The move by the chiropractic profession itself to ban the care of infants comes amid widespread hysteria in Australia and Canada regarding chiropractic care in general, but especially in infants and in children with special needs.

They have done this by redefining evidence informed practice and imposing a standard that the majority of medical procedures could not meet.

While the actions in Australia and Canada, which got their start in the United Kingdom, are fueled by anti chiropractic sentiment within organized medicine and public health, they are getting a great deal of support from Subluxation Deniers within the chiropractic profession.

These Deniers have been pushing for years to limit the practice of chiropractic to musculoskeletal pain syndromes and have used various strategies and tactics to accomplish their goals.

These efforts are not limited to countries outside the United States as there are efforts within the US to accomplish the same objectives. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recently adopted strict guidelines that effectively ban the taking of x-rays for subluxation analysis and ACA leaders, including Mike Simone DC, a member of the Colorado Board of Chiropractic, have called for the "elimination" of subluxation based chiropractors.

The ACA has just introduced Medicare legislation which removes subluxation from the Medicare law and puts it in a "Premable". That legislation has received widespread endorsement including the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the Congress of Chiropractic State Organizations (COCSA) and state organizations such as the California Chiropractic Association, Washington State Chiropractic Association and the Colorado Chiropractic Association. All of which purport to support the management of subluxation. Did they read the bill?

The American Chiropractic Association appears to have been taken over by a radical wing of the trade association through the West Hartford Group (WHG) which recently adopted a resolution on subluxation.

The RESOLUTION passed by the Board of Directors of the WHG includes nine items including calling upon the profession to acknowledge the chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex theory as historical in value and not evidence-informed.

CLICK HERE for that story

In Canada, the President of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) David Wickes DC has called subluxation based chiropractors "the gangrenous arm of the chiropractic profession that should be cut off". Wickes and CMCC is a member of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) which has remained silent during all of these attacks.

CLICK HERE for that story

It is reported that over 800 chiropractors have resigned from the Canadian Chiropractic Association over the failure of leadership there after nearly 70 chiropractors were hauled before the board over issues related to the care of children.

This most recent attack in Australia comes on the heels of overblown and childish outrage by the medical and public health community after the posting of a video online of an infant receiving chiropractic care.

CLICK HERE for more about the Australian Debacle

CLICK HERE for more about the Canadian Debacle