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Pediatric Chiropractic Care: The Subluxation Question And Referral Risk
Insights
Chiropractic care for children, including spinal manipulation for vertebral subluxations, lacks credible evidence and poses risks. Experts advise against this practice for infants and children due to potential harm and lack of scientific support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric health
- Chiropractic medicine
- Evidence-based practice
Background:
- Chiropractors frequently treat pediatric patients for various health issues.
- Treatment often involves spinal manipulation to address vertebral subluxations or vertebral subluxation complexes, believed to cause disease.
- Major chiropractic associations endorse pediatric chiropractic care, including subluxation correction for treatment and prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the scientific basis and safety of chiropractic spinal manipulation for treating children.
- To assess the risks associated with manipulating the immature spines of neonates and young children.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing scientific literature and evidence regarding chiropractic subluxation theory in pediatric populations.
- Assessment of the potential dangers of manipulating the developing spinal structures of infants and children.
Main Results:
- No credible scientific evidence was found to support the chiropractic theory of vertebral subluxation as a cause of disease in children.
- Manipulation of the immature, cartilaginous spine of infants and children is considered dangerous and unnecessary.
Conclusions:
- Chiropractic treatment for children, particularly spinal manipulation for subluxations, is not supported by credible evidence.
- Such interventions pose significant risks to pediatric patients and should be avoided.
- Referrals for pediatric chiropractic care may lead to harm and potential legal consequences such as negligence or malpractice claims.
Abstract:
Chiropractors commonly treat children for a variety of ailments by manipulating the spine to correct a 'vertebral subluxation' or a 'vertebral subluxation complex' alleged to be a cause of disease. Such treatment might begin soon after a child is born. Both major American chiropractic associations - the International Chiropractic Association and the American Chiropractic Association - support chiropractic care for children, which includes subluxation correction as a treatment or preventive measure. I do not know of any credible evidence to support chiropractic subluxation theory. Any attempt to manipulate the immature, cartilaginous spine of a neonate or a small child to correct a putative chiropractic subluxation should be regarded as dangerous and unnecessary. Referral of a child to a chiropractor for such treatment should not be considered lest a bad outcome harms the child or leads to a charge of negligence or malpractice.
