Chiropractors Fight Back - The Response
 At the October 1991 Federal
Assembly of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) a decision was made
to investigate chiropractic with a view to producing a publishable
report. In September 1992 the AMA published Chiropractic in Australia
and circulated it widely throughout the medical profession, government
and media representatives. This document was produced by the AMA without
input from the CAA, chiropractic registration boards, or the then two
government funded chiropractic institutions.
On 24 March 2003 the CAA formally released its response to the
AMA’s position paper. The document Chiropractors Fight Back
– The Response was timely and an important, evidence-based,
informative and politically valuable document, which is still utilised
today. It contains a large amount of historical information and reflects
the passion of both the leaders of the profession at the time and the
chiropractors practising throughout Australia. I had just joined the CAA
when Dr John Sweaney, the then Executive Director, was spending long
hours day and night to produce this document.
Prior to the release of CAA National’s document, Dr Keith
Simpson, then a Queensland practising chiropractor, had released a paper
The Evidence on Chiropractic which also replied to the AMA’s
paper. At the time the Queensland Branch of the CAA represented 75% of
registered chiropractors in Australia.
Chiropractors understandably reacted strongly to the claims made by the
AMA. I quote from the preface in Dr Simpson’s paper:
“…..The Australian Medical Association, with its usual
bellicosity, launched its most blatant attack on the chiropractic
profession. The multifaceted assault was timed to coincide with the
meeting in Canberra of the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory
Council (AHMAC). The intent of the AMA was to severely restrict
chiropractic practice. The
alleged reason behind this desire was patient safety. For those who have
studied the relationship between the American Medical Association and
the US chiropractic profession the reason was more sinister: the
elimination of chiropractic from the health care system.”
The Executive Summary of CAA National’s Fight Back document
alluded to the AMA’s “conceited self-righteousness in the
perception of its role as the SOLE authority in health matters”,
their “total failure to consult or involve any organisation or
authoritative individual associated with the chiropractic
profession” and
the AMA’s “failure to recognise, and insulate itself from,
the insidious and far reaching influences of the American Medical
Association’s campaign over recent decades to discredit
chiropractic”.
The content of the document addressed primary issues such as the
scientific basis of chiropractic, chiropractic and visceral disorders,
safety and appropriateness of chiropractic care, legitimacy of treatment
methods and investigations into chiropractic.
If you would like to read these documents please send me an email: ceo@caa.asn.au
The Chiropractors' Association of Australia
20 Years Young in 2010
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