chiro faces investigation after baby video

Chiro faces investigation after baby video

Australia

A chiropractor who performed a “horrifying” spinal manipulation on a screaming newborn has been referred to the country’s health practitioner agency for investigation.

Victoria’s health minister Jenny Mikakos said a video showing the two-week-old boy being dangled upside down and having his spine and neck manipulated was “extremely disturbing”.

The video was posted on the Cranbourne Family Chiropractic’s Facebook page last August.

It also showed chiropractor Andrew Arnold using an instrument to deliver a controlled impulse on the baby’s neck and back, causing it to scream.

One of the baby’s parents is believed to be off-camera as Mr Arnold talks through the consultation and warns “he (the baby) is going to squawk a bit”.

The health minister referred Mr Arnold to the Chiropractic Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, asking for an investigation and action.

Mr Arnold and the clinic have been contacted for comment.

The clinic’s Facebook page was removed on Wednesday.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Harry Nespolon had called on the government, and others, to ban the practice.

“The concept of manipulating a baby’s back is just horrifying,” he said.

He said the treatment was unnecessary and unacceptable.

“The government must start looking at this very carefully and decide whether or not they think it is okay to perform this treatment on a baby.”

The Chiropractic Board of Australia said it was aware of the videos but would not comment on whether Mr Arnold acted within their code of conduct.

In 2016, another Melbourne chiropractor was temporarily banned by the AHPRA from treating children after he was filmed cracking the back of a four-day-old baby.