Chiros warned off treating children

Sept. 29, 2013, 3 a.m.

Doctors are calling for chiropractors to stop treating children after a Melbourne infant's neck was broken during a chiropractic adjustment that went horribly wrong.

Melbourne paediatrician Chris Pappas said he cared for a four-month-old baby last year after one of her vertebrae was fractured during a chiropractic treatment for torticollis - a wry neck, which is usually harmless in babies. He said the infant, who was rushed to Monash Medical Centre for treatment, was lucky to make a full recovery.

''It was a very fine line. Another few millimetres and there would have been a devastating spinal cord injury and the baby would have either died or had severe neurological impairment with quadriplegia. Everybody was very nervous about this little baby,'' he said.

Dr Pappas complained about the treatment to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, which referred the case to the Chiropractic Board of Australia - the body charged with public protection and setting care standards.

Three weeks ago, he received a letter from AHPRA saying the case had been privately investigated and closed after the chiropractor committed to completing education in paediatric chiropractic. The letter said the board had considered the patient's records and an independent opinion before deciding that the way the chiropractor practises ''is, or may be, unsatisfactory''.

Dr Pappas said he was concerned the board's decision was an endorsement of chiropractic treatment for infants when there was no scientific evidence to support claims they could treat children's ailments and evidence of harm was mounting. ''I think they have put the chiropractor's interests before the interests of the public and I think that's wrong,'' Dr Pappas said.

''I don't think chiropractors should be treating infants full stop. In my opinion it's inappropriate and it carries a very small but real risk of causing damage.''

There are limited studies of adverse events from chiropractic treatments, but some suggest a neck manipulation carries a one in 20,000 to a one in 1 million risk of stroke. A systematic review published in Pediatrics in 2007 also found nine serious adverse events relating to spinal manipulations in children, including a case of brain haemorrhage and paraplegia.

The president of the Chiropractors Association of Australia, Laurie Tassell, says chiropractic is as safe for children as it is for adults. ''Chiropractors use skill, not force or strength, to conduct a safe, effective adjustment. Chiropractic care can be remarkably gentle,'' he said. ''And being a five-year, university-trained spinal health expert, a chiropractor will modify their adjustment techniques to suit the age and spine of each individual child.''

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Chiros warned off treating children