Chiropractic - Positions

Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Stephen J. Press [mailto:drsjp@drpress.com]

Chiropractic Main Article

In modern times the profession, through the venue of the World Federation of Chiropractic, or through National Associations, has taken certain positions on various public health matters.

Some of the most important and some of the most controversial are:

Vaccination
Although the American Chiropractic Association and the International Chiropractic Association generally support vaccinations, so too do they support individual exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws. The Canadian Chiropractic Association supports vaccination; surveys in Canada in 2000 and 2002 found that 40% of chiropractors supported vaccination, although over a quarter opposed it and advised patients against vaccinating themselves or their children.

Many who generally support vaccination, also feel that there are too many vaccinations given to infants too soon. So, the consensus is that vaccination's benefits "depend" on which vaccine and how many are given at what schedule.

Although vaccination is one of the most cost-effective forms of prevention against infectious disease, it remains controversial within the chiropractic community. Most chiropractic writings on vaccination focus on its negative aspects, claiming that it is hazardous or ineffective. Evidence-based chiropractors have embraced vaccination, but a minority of the profession rejects it, as original chiropractic philosophy traces diseases to causes in the spine and states that diseases cannot be affected by vaccines.