Baby feet
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Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has sought "urgent explanation" from the Chiropractic Board of Australia after it lifted the ban on the practice of manipulating spines of children below 12 years, which was imposed four years ago.

Butler said he will raise the issue with state and territory health ministers during a scheduled meeting on Friday, ABC News reported.

Chiropractic is an alternative medicine that involves diagnosis and treatment of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. The practice involves manipulation of the spine, other joints, and soft tissues.

As the board's decision led to widespread criticism, doctors described it as "deeply disturbing."

In 2019, the board banned the manipulation of the spine of children below the age of 12, after a social media video went viral showing a Melbourne chiropractor manipulating the back, hips and collarbone of a two-week-old baby. The baby was seen crying as the chiropractor used a spring-loaded device called an "activator" on the baby's neck, tailbone and spine.

"It's reckless, as far as I am concerned," said Dr James Best, the chair of child and young person health at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). "A shiver goes down my spine when I see that," he said about the viral video.

In 2022, Cochrane Australia and Victorian healthcare monitor Safer Care Victoria held reviews to study the effectiveness and safety of spinal manipulation in children under 12.

The two reviews concluded that adequate research was not done that proved the safety and effectiveness of spinal manipulation in children, but added that there were "no reports of serious harm in children receiving chiropractic care in Australia."

A spokesperson for the Health Minister stated that the board's latest decision contradicted the findings that the practice was effective in children, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the reviews did not find evidence of the practice causing harm in patients, but "spinal manipulation in children is not wholly without risk."