Watch: Video Of Chiropractor 'Cracking' Baby's Back Goes Viral & People Are Shocked

Publish Date
Thursday, 28 April 2016, 10:56AM

A Melbourne paediatrician, with more than 30 years experience in the field, has questioned the treatment of a four-day-old baby suffering from colic and reflux by an Australian chiropractor.

Chiropractor Dr. Ian Rossborough released a video on his YouTube channel showing him manipulating the baby's back to cure her colic.

But paediatrician Dr Chris Pappas, said he was concerned by the footage particularly because "no scientifically proven benefits of chiropractic manipulation for young babies and children" exist.

"There are documented complications and injuries that have occurred because of spinal manipulation," Dr Pappas told news.com.au.

"What is concerning here is that the conditions which are being treated [colic and reflux] are harmless and self-limiting."

After the backlash, Rossborough released a secondary video demonstrating the procedure on his own daughter Isla. 

He said: 

"We don't crack anything, it's not a crack, it's a very specific, it's the end of my fingers ... and it's about that much pressure," he said while holding his week-old daughter.

“The reason why we adjust the baby is because the parents bring them to us. They’ve usually already been to the medical doctors, they’ve usually already been to hospital, they’ve usually already been to a number of different places and they come to us in desperation,’ he adds.

But Dr Pappas, who has seen complications from chiropractic treatments in the past, said while the incidence of injury might be small, they definitely exist.

“With an increasing number of infants and children receiving more and more chiropractic care, we may see a greater number of complications occurring,” he said.

“The problem is that babies bones are soft and their joints are very flexible. Not only can these tissues be damaged, but other structures, such as the spinal cord are at risk.

“For these reasons, I feel chiropractic care for infants and children should not be undertaken.”

What do you think? Check out his secondary video:

More info at nzherald.co.nz

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