Melbourne Chiropractor Who “Cracked” Baby’s Back Temporarily Banned From Treating Children

The controversial chiropractor from Melbourne who cracked the back of a newborn was temporarily banned from treating anyone aged under 18 years.

Dr Ian John Rossborough, a Parkdale chiropractor, appeared in a video that emerged last month where he was seen manipulating the spine of a four-day-old baby to treat colic, which sparked debate online.

In the video, Dr Rossborough can be seen flexing the baby’s back and pressing firmly on the spine as he makes the baby’s back crack before the infant started crying.

This has caused Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy to raise her concerns with the board and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. She said that she still had concerns about claims made by a number of chiropractors. She told 774 ABC Melbourne:

“I do want the Chiropractic Board of Australia to satisfy me that they are policing the code of conduct. And that those that are acting outside their scope of practice, those that are claiming that chiropractic interventions can cure things for which there is no scientific evidence – are actually being actively policed.”

The ban was imposed by the Chiropractic Board of Australia (CBA) restricting the doctor from treating children until June 2.

Earlier this month, Ms Hennessy said the State Government would crack down on rogue chiropractors.

Tenplay.com.au reported that chiropractors claim they use this technique to treat children for illnesses including autism, ADHD and ear infections. However, other medical professionals say there’s no evidence these techniques can treat non-muscular conditions.

Meanwhile, Dr Rossborough has since explained his actions and claimed he would not put any force on the body of a baby which the baby “can’t handle” and denied actually “cracking” the baby’s spine. He insisted that he was only “reducing the pressure in the fluid within a joint.” Dr Rossborough released a video that defends his actions, Australianetworknews.com reports.