Chiropractors treating babies with ‘dangerous’ procedure they falsely claim treats colic
BABIES as young as two days are being treated with a “dangerous” procedure chiropractors falsely claim helps colic.
Experts warn the alternative medicine risks injuring the spinal cords of tots and could leave them brain damaged.
Babies are said to have colic if they frequently cry for more than three hours a day for no reason.
There is no known cure and it usually stops by three or four months.
But a Sun investigation found 60 clinics advertising services, which are not clinically proven, as a safe treatment.
Some charge £125 a time to manipulate joints.
Putney Chiropractic Centre in South London, and Essential Chiropractic, in Devon, both told The Sun their sessions were no risk to kids.
Putney clinic says on its website: “Spinal manipulation is effective in relieving infantile colic.”
A member of staff told our undercover reporter they offer the treatment for up £125 a session, and said: “After a few adjustments, on a continuous treatment plan, they do see a vast improvement.”
Asked if there were any risks, their worker said: “No, I don’t believe so.”
Essential Chiropractic says on its website: “Despite the research done on colic there is no known cause, which can make treatment difficult.
“Chiropractic care has shown some of the best results, with 94 per cent of colicky babies demonstrating improvement with chiropractic adjustments.”
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It adds: “Chiropractic adjustments for infants are specific, gentle, and safe.”
They told us they have “a lot of babies on our books” and added: “Our chiropractor Dipty has treated babies two days old – literally straight out of the oven.”
Asked if there were any “potential dangers”, they replied emphatically: “No.”
Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Colic is a self-limiting disorder and there is absolutely no evidence that chiropractic manipulation is effective in treating it.
“Practitioners are misleading parents by claiming it works and parents should not consider it under any circumstances.
“Manipulation of the spine and joints is dangerous and there is a risk of severe neurological damage if the spinal cord is harmed.
“Practitioners should examine their conscience and think about the ethics of offering a non-proven practice, such as this.
“Any person purporting to deliver health care needs to be honest.
“There is no evidence that this treatment works and it is wrong to mislead parents.”
Australian chiropractor Dr Ian Rossborough caused outrage earlier this year when he posted a video of himself on YouTube apparently “cracking” the back of a four-day-old baby.
Dr Frank Jones, from Australia’s College of GPs, said there was no evidence the treatment could effectively treat asthma, eczema, colic or reflux.
He added: “This is an unnecessary and seemingly almost cruel process.
“You could rupture ligaments, muscles and even bone if they have underlying bone problems.”
Another doctor said the video “made his eyes water”.
Project Leader at Good Thinking Society, Laura Thomason said: “We have been investigating this area for a long time because there is no reliable evidence that colic can be treated by adjusting the spine.
"The GCC has roundly failed to address our concerns, they have dismissed the vast majority of our complaints about chiropractors offering such treatments without even allowing them to be considered by their Investigating Committee.
"It is extraordinary and disappointing to see a regulator refusing to protect the public from demonstrably false claims. By failing to do so, they are tacitly endorsing chiropractors seeking payment for ineffective treatments and are potentially allowing infants to be harmed.”
The General Chiropractic Council was approached for comment but has yet to respond.