The Australian Chiropractic Board’s Ban on Infant Care: Weak Rebuttals Amidst Medical Bias

The Chiropractic Board of Australia's recent decision to reinstate a ban on spinal manipulation for children under two years old has ignited a firestorm of debate. Despite evidence and best practices documents showing the safety and efficacy of chiropractic care for infants, the decision has revealed not only a deep divide between chiropractic practitioners and medical authorities but between factions of chiropractors.

The chiropractic community's response, led by the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA), has been disappointingly weak, failing to adequately address the blatant bias of medical authorities.

The Reinstatement and Reactions

On June 14, 2024, Australian health ministers demanded the reinstatement of the ban. Dr. Wayne Minter, Chair of the Chiropractic Board, fumbled his response stating "While there has been no evidence of serious harm to infants from chiropractic care in Australia, the Board’s role is first and foremost to protect the public." Minter failed to address the obvious: If there is no evidence of harm and plenty of evidence of benefit then why is the ban needed?

This decision, supposedly in the public's interest, overlooks significant positive evidence regarding chiropractic care for children.

Shockingly, the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) responded by expressing support for the Chiropractic Board's decision. Dr. David Cahill, President of the ACA, stated, "Parents can be sure that when they're going to a registered chiropractor their child is in safe hands." He further explained, "The chiropractic adjustment is a very specific tailored force appropriate to the size of the person who's receiving that." These reassurances, however, seem insufficient against the strong opposition from medical professionals.

Medical Authorities’ Staunch Opposition and Hysterics

The backlash from the medical community has been severe and, at times, alarmingly biased. Associate Professor Michael Clements, Vice President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), claimed, "We know there is a risk of harm; we know that there is no evidence of a curative benefit or that these therapies are needed." This broad dismissal of chiropractic care lacks nuance and fails to acknowledge the substantial evidence of its benefits and safety.

Dr. Patrick Lo, a Paediatric Neurosurgeon, echoed these sentiments, stating, "The child is an immature structure; they're not fully grown humans yet so everything that you do to them puts them at risk for the future." Such statements paint chiropractic care in an unduly negative light without providing any consideration of the evidence supporting its safety and efficacy.

Steve Robson, Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, added, "Chiropractic treatments are largely unstudied and any treatment for children should be evidence based. The ban should remain in place until we get full evidence one way or the other." This call for evidence-based treatment, while ostensibly reasonable, overlooks the existing research on safety and efficacy and ignores best practices and practice guidelines supporting such care.

A Disappointing Response from Chiropractic Leadership

The ACA's response has been disappointingly weak, failing to robustly counter the medical community's biased stance. James Best, Chair of Child and Young Person Health at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, described the practice as "deeply disturbing" and "certainly something I wouldn't do to my child, so I would advise parents to not allow this sort of practice to be done to your child." He further warned, "The spinal columns of young children and babies are really susceptible to injuries," and called the reinstatement "reckless."

In contrast, the ACA’s responses have been mild, with Dr. Cahill merely stating the safety of chiropractic adjustments and their tailored nature. The ACA has not effectively highlighted the lack of evidence for harm and the overwhelming positive feedback from parents who have utilized chiropractic care for their children in addition to the research.

Moving Forward: A Call for Stronger Advocacy

The chiropractic community in Australia needs stronger advocacy and leadership  to counter the biased perspectives of medical authorities. Dr. Wayne Minter’s and Dr. David Cahill’s reassurances  fall short of the vigorous defense required to challenge the sweeping generalizations and false statements made by medical professionals.

The chiropractic community must demand a fair and balanced evaluation of the evidence. This includes emphasizing the substantial anecdotal support and the positive findings from reviews such as the Safer Care Victoria Review, which indicated no harm from chiropractic care among nearly 30,000 submissions, with 99.6% of parents reporting benefits for their children.

They also need to point out that people in glass houses should not throw stones. Apparently the medical authorities condemning chiropractic care for children haven't spent much time around infants being cared for in the industry they regulate. Perhaps they should attend some births where the medical doctors twist baby's necks, use forceps and vacuum extraction causing the very problems that the chiropractor is attempting to correct. Those facts are some of the most well documented in the medical literature.

Perhaps instead of worrying about one of the safest health care professions in the world, they should check the statistics on birth trauma in Australia - or better yet investigate the 18,000 people that die every year in Australian hospitals through preventable medical negligence, the 50,000 people who suffer from permanent injury annually as a result of medical negligence in Australia or the 80,000 Australian patients per year that are hospitalized due to medication errors.

Conclusion

The reinstatement of the ban on infant spinal manipulation by the Chiropractic Board of Australia highlights the urgent need for robust advocacy within the chiropractic community. The biased views of medical authorities must be challenged with solid evidence and strong leadership. The chiropractic community must unite in demanding a fair assessment of chiropractic care’s benefits, ensuring that policies are based on comprehensive evidence rather than unfounded fears.

As the debate continues, it is crucial for chiropractic leaders to step up and provide a more assertive defense of their practice. The health and well-being of patients, especially the youngest ones, depend on it.