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RACGP welcomes review of spinal manipulation on children
President Dr Harry Nespolon is in favour of the review, although he believes a more wide-ranging evaluation is necessary.
Following the investigation of the chiropractor filmed manipulating the spine of a two-week-old baby, ‘Options for a nationally consistent approach to the regulation of spinal manipulation on children’ was on the agenda of last week’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council meeting.
Health ministers agreed on the need for changes to the National Law to minimise potential risks from unsafe spinal manipulation performed on children. The council welcomed the Victorian proposal to commission an independent review of the practice of spinal manipulation on children under 12 years, with the findings reported to the COAG Health Council.
RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon is in favour of the review, although he believes a more wide-ranging evaluation is necessary.
‘The RACGP welcomes a review of any sort of activities that are potentially dangerous to patients,’ Dr Nespolon told newsGP. ‘There needs to be a broad review about a lot of the activities of chiropractors – this is just one that has been highlighted by the activities of one chiropractor.
‘As far as I understand, there are lots of chiropractors out there who are doing spinal manipulation on children and babies, and that’s just one activity.’
Dr Nespolon believes a larger review would provide an opportunity to look at whether there are other complaints or concerns about the activities of chiropractors.
‘It should be a broader approach than just spinal manipulation of children,’ he said.
‘It’s clearly concerning that the senior chiropractors are defending this sort of activity when, as far as we know, there is no benefit and there are certainly potentially significant risks, particularly for young babies.
‘My question is – why are they being treated, anyway? If they’re being treated for crying, well, all babies cry.’
The independent review panel should ideally consist of ‘people with appropriate expertise and who are able to bring evidence to the table about the intuition of practicing spinal manipulation on children’, not a majority of chiropractors, according to Dr Nespolon.
‘It can’t be the chiropractors looking at themselves,’ he said.
Dr Nespolon recognises that although patients do not need a referral to see a chiropractor, the GP can make the decision based on the patient’s situation.
‘It’s up to the individual discretion of each GP knowing that there may not be a lot of evidence supporting the treatment that the chiropractors provide,’ he said.
‘Although the evidence is poor, there are certainly patients who benefit from having chiropractic treatments on their lower back, and for some individuals it might be beneficial.
‘Even though the studies show that basically rest is the most important thing you can do for these patients, people are still going to want to get some treatment.’
Health ministers will consider the outcomes of the independent review of spinal manipulation on children, and determine any further changes needed to protect the public.
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