A chiropractor has sparked a debate after sharing a video showing him appearing to treat a six-day old infant.
In the video, which was shared on TikTok by ProHealth Chiropractic in Corsicana, Texas, on its account @prohealthchiropractic, Dr Dustin Judd could be seen holding the infant in one hand as he used a device in a circular motion on the baby’s back.
In a text caption on the video, it claimed that the clip, which has been viewed more than 1.2m times, showed “a normal day here at the chiropractic office”.
“Right at six days old, Carter got his first adjustment and LOVED IT,” the caption on the video read, while the chiropractic office also added the hashtags #newborn and #paediatricchiropractor.
According to another user identifying themselves as a paediatrician, chiropractors have “no business manipulating or ‘practising’ on infants or kids”.
“Paediatrician here, who actually is a medical professional, and chiropractors have NO BUSINESS manipulating or ‘practising’ on infants or kids,” they alleged.
On Twitter, where the video also circulated, someone else asked: “What can even be wrong with your back at six days old?”
However, despite the criticism, others defended the video on the basis that paediatric chiropractic care helped their own children.
“When our daughter was a baby we took her to a chiropractor, she was a very colic-y baby, it helped her out so much,” one person wrote.
Another said: “Chiro treatment did wonders for my daughter when she was an infant!! Was able to get her off of all of her acid reflux meds!”
“People don’t realise it’s not all about cracking their bones, it helps with babies who have colic and stuff like that too,” someone else noted.
Others took the opportunity to respond to those who had identified themselves as paediatricians in the comments, with one viewer claiming that their sister “had a dislocated shoulder when she was born and sore neck,” and that “chiro definitely took care of it”.
“They don’t need those cracks but it’s helpful,” they added.
In regards to the care that chiropractors can offer babies, there are a number of reasons why a parent might bring their child, according to chiropractors, who told BuzzFeed that chiropractic care can help babies with the condition torticollis, which occurs when babies are born with or later develop a twisted neck, or with trauma from the birthing process.
As for whether it is safe for a baby to receive chiropractic care, Dr Lindsay Pelley, a chiropractor specialising in paediatrics at the University of Western States Health Center in Oregon, previously told BuzzFeed: “I think most people are nervous about chiropractic care in general because it seems a little aggressive, especially manual adjustments for adults. But if you’re going to a specialised paediatric chiropractor, there are minimal risks. It’s a very gentle, conservative way to improve the baby and most likely mom’s quality of life with minimal intervention.”
Dr Judd also addressed the debate over the video in a follow-up posted to TikTok, where he began by acknowledging that what was not seen in the video was him talking to the baby’s mother for the entirety of the appointment.
“He was six days old. The mother is very well-educated, she’s a PT [physical therapist], she knows all about musculoskeletal neurology, she knew the importance of checking her baby after birth, and so that’s why she was in here,” he explained.
Dr Judd then noted that he has been a chiropractor for 16 years, and that most of it has been “paediatric-driven”. As for why he focuses his care on infants and children, he revealed that he lost a baby in 2010, and that it put himself and his office on a path of paediatrics.
“Hundreds of babies in here every week, probably 50 per cent of my practice is kids,” he continued. “And they’re coming in with all kinds of stuff, ear infections, sleep issues, torticollis, latch issues, palette issues … we’re very good at what we do.”
The Independent has contacted ProHealth Chiropractic for comment.
