Chiropractic and the politics of health care

Musculoskeletal disorders remain a common disability suffered by Australians, but the question of who should treat them remains a contentious issue as the first centenary of the original chiropractic adjustment approaches. This paper, part of a longitudinal study of the role of chiropractic in the Australian health system, analyses this ongoing debate. Recent events are analysed here in this commentary on the politics of health care in this field. These include meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for the treatment of lower back pain, recent legal action in the United States, and the recent epistle against Australian chiropractors published by the Australian Medical Association.