EXCLUSIVEDoctors warn against 'disturbing' BABY chiropractors who crack bones of newborns to stop them crying
Experts have raised alarm bells about a online trend that sees chiropractors 'adjusting' the backs of newborn babies — putting the infants at risk of joint, spine and tendon damage.
Parents have shared clips on social media of their children, some just weeks old, on chiropractor tables as the healthcare professionals manipulate their tiny limbs, pressing on their spine, neck and shoulders.
One video shows Texas chiropractor Jason Roberts briefly turning a baby upside down during a consultation.
These manipulations can lead to damage to blood vessels and the spine in adults- which can lead to paralysis, and in rare cases, death. Chiropractic professionals say these complications have never been reported in a child, however.
'I would advise parents to not allow this sort of practice to be done to your child,' Dr James Best, a pediatric family practitioner with a private practice in Australia said.
He called the practice 'deeply disturbing' and was part of a group of providers asking it to be banned in children under two.
Dr Best told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the spinal columns of babies are especially susceptible to injuries which could theoretically cause permanent damage to their nervous system.
For example, in 2022, recent college graduate Caitlin Jensen, then 28, was paralyzed after receiving a routine neck adjustment at a Georgia chiropractor. Doctors who examined Ms Jensen said her chiropractor had severed arteries in her neck, leading to a stroke.
Because of risks like these Dr Best publicly opposed using chiropractic techniques on newborns, as part of a group effort that moved to ban newborn spinal manipulation in Australia. The ban was reinstated in June 2024.
'Ultimately, there is no way you’re going to get an improvement in a newborn from a manipulation,' Dr Sean Tabie, an orthopedic surgeon at Children’s National Hospital, told the Washington Post.
'The only thing that you might possibly cause is harm,' Dr Tabie added.
Chiropractic organizations push back against physicians like Dr Best and Dr Tabie. They say the practice is safe, and claim it can help relieve persistent crying spells, constipation, vomiting and musculoskeletal problems in young children.
'Chiropractic care of children is very gentle and is not "cracking babies," David Cahill, the president of The Australian Chiropractors Association told the ABC.
Instead, it's common for these pediatric sessions to include pedaling the baby's legs, massaging their abdomen, using finger tips to press on baby's neck, spine and hips, and sometimes, using vibrating massage guns.
Other times, the appointments involve instructing parents on how to hold their baby in a way that helps them stretch, as Jen Rousseau, a chiropractor based in Nashville, shared in a TikTok with over 6000 views.
These social media posts seem to have captured the publics attention. Google searches for the term 'baby chiropractor' have climbed steadily since 2010 - hitting a peak in July of 2022 and plateauing since.
They include the likes Dustin Dudd, a Texas based chiropractor, shared a TikTok of his service on a patient only six days old.
The video, which has over 1.3 million views, shows the practitioner using a vibrating implement on the baby's back.
It's divided commenters. Some, like user Julia Thompson said: 'A 6 day old?! That should be illegal'.
Others, like user Naomi Altizer, said: 'Taking my newborn to the chiropractor was the best decision I ever made.'
Chiropractors, generally, are not medical doctors — they don't have to go to medical school to obtain their degree.
But they are required, typically, to complete at least three years of undergraduate study and four years of a chiropractic graduate program in order to become a Doctor of Chiropractor (DC). All states require practicing chiropractors to be licensed.
Chiropractic's are often times advertised as an alternative to drugs or surgery for conditions like chronic pain, headaches, arthritis and stiffness in adults, and are popular in holistic health circles.
Still, the fact they are not medical doctors has brought ire from the public, especially following controversial cases.
For example, in 2014, a 30 year old Oklahoman named Jeremy Youngblood died of a stoke shortly after visiting the chiropractors office. The corner said his death was caused by spinal manipulation.
In response to this tragedy, Dr Bill Kinsiger, the President of the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, called chiropractors 'snake oil salesmen'.
He told FOX13: 'they (chiropractors) use neck manipulation for things that have nothing to do with the neck — low back pain, knee pain and all sorts of organic illnesses like ear infections in babies, colicky babies and PMS in women.'
Studies of chiropractic's in children have yielded tepid results, which critics also highlight.
The American Academy of Chiropractic Pediatrics acknowledged that the evidence for the efficacy of their practice is mixed, saying: 'There are many biased articles both for chiropractic and against it.'
A 2021 study from the University of Southern Denmark investigated treating 185 babies with colic, a condition where babies cry inconsolably each day for hours, for weeks at a time, with chiropractor treatments.
They had researchers lightly press on the spines or necks of babies to see if it helped soothe them.
Early on in analyzing the data, it seemed like the treatment might've helped the babies cry less. But further analysis showed that the findings weren't strong enough to draw a conclusion that the practice improved the baby's colic.
A 2019 study of 2000 British mothers found that 82 percent said they believed chiropractic treatments improved their babies eating habits, sleep issues and helped them cry less.
Most insurance providers don't cover the treatment for kids - and prices vary a lot from practice to practice, averaging somewhere between $60 to $200 dollars a session, according to GoodRx.
Even with the mixed evidence, and the price tag, it's a popular practice.
One of the reasons that people might be taking their kids to these specialists is because we've mistaken normal developmental stages as medical problems that need fixing, Dr Michael Milobsky, a pediatrician with a primary care practice in Colorado, told the Washington Post.
He said that colic, for example, is a natural stage many children face and grow out of on their own, not a condition that needs to be treated.
But colic has 'been sold as something that can be treated or solved, as opposed to being understood that this is just a developmental period that has a wide spectrum of presentations.'
There are next to no traditional treatment for this condition, which, understandably, leads tired parents to look to alternative solutions, like a chiropractor, Dr Milobsky said.
Still, there are few medical doctors who recommend this, if any, Dr Mutahir Farhan , an internal medicine doctor that practices in Riverside California, said.
Dr Farhan added that: 'I guarantee you there is not an organization of OBGYN physicians or pediatricians out there that actually support this type of medicine, I don't even know if I'd call it medicine.'
