CHIROPRACTIC AND THE POLITICS OF HEALTH-CARE

Musculoskeletal disorders remain a common disability suffered by Austr alians, but the question of who should treat them remains a contentiou s issue as the first centenary of the original chiropractic adjustment approaches. This paper, part of a longitudinal study of the role of c hiropractic in the Australian health system, analyses this ongoing deb ate. Recent events are analysed here in this commentary on the politic s of health care in this field. These include meta-analysis to evaluat e the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for the treatment of lower back pain, recent legal action in the United States, and the recent ep istle against Australian chiropractors published by the Australian Med ical Association.