Footage of a Victorian chiropractor adjusting a two-week-old baby’s spine has been referred by the state’s health minister to regulatory authorities after concerns for the boy’s wellbeing – and for other infants subjected to similar treatments.
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ABC reports that in a video posted to Facebook in August last year, a chiropractor from Cranbourne Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre lifts the infant by his feet and briefly holds him upside down.
The chiropractor then applies a spring-loaded ‘activator’ to the child in an attempt to manipulate his spine.
Discussing the now-deleted video, health minister Jenny Mikakos said “it’s appalling that young children and infants are being exposed to potential harm.”
While there are no laws prohibiting the use of chiropractic techniques on very young children, Mikakos said “The Chiropractic Board of Australia must condemn this practice as unprofessional and unacceptable, and [the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency] must act quickly to stop these rogue practitioners in their tracks.”
Chiropractic treatment of very young children has been criticised by some of Australia’s leading health authorities as ineffective at best, and actively harmful at worst.
Following 2013 reports of a four-month-old child suffering a fractured vertebrae due to spinal manipulation, Australian Medical Association president Dr Stephen Hambleton told ABC Radio “you shouldn’t be doing anything with a young person that young without significant levels of quality evidence, and that’s what we don’t see here.
“So, our advice would be, unless there’s sufficient evidence, the answer’s no, you shouldn’t do that.”
Speaking to ABC Radio today, Australian Chiropractors Association president Anthony Coxon said “there are things within that video that I have concerns over,” and encouraged regulatory authorities to investigate the incident.
In the meantime, it’s probably best to avoid having your babies manipulated in any way, shape, or form.
