Manual Therapies (what I’m learning in Week 6)
Pritha is seeing a Chiropractor for the first time, on the advice of a friend. She has heard that the Chiropractor may be able to help with her neck pain and also her difficulty conceiving. Her friend Martha has recently fallen pregnant after being treated by a Chiropractor and Martha has strongly recommended that Pritha try the same treatment.
Answer both of the following questions:
- If you were in Pritha’s position, how would you verify the information that her friend Martha has given her?
As Pritha, I would do an online search. The first search I did on Google ‘Can Chiropractic treatments help with fertility’ – led me to a Chiropractic clinic that posted of an article about fertility and chiropractic, written by a Doctor who (in reference to endometriosis and general fertility issues) stated:
Author: ‘Once the subluxations are minimized or eliminated, a woman’s menstrual cycle can strengthen, the action that delivers the egg through the fallopian tubes to the uterus can improve, and some cases of endometriosis can begin to reverse’.
This research was quoted as being from a series of research papers published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation. The above would give me hope, but I’d have to look further than one article to see if Chiropractic can help.
I had a look at another couple of articles on fertility, one by, Budgell B & Yee B, 2018, A scoping review of chiropractic management of female patients with infertility, ‘The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association’.
This article concluded: ‘In the absence of a robust body of primary data literature, the use of spinal manipulation and the management of female infertility should be approached with caution’.
I researched another article by, Madeline Behrendt, D.C., 2003,’ Insult, Interference and Infertility: An Overview of Chiropractic Research’, ‘Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research ~ May 2, 2003 ~ Page 1’,
This article concluded:
Author: ‘The application of chiropractic care and subsequent successful outcomes on reproductive integrity, regardless of factors including age, history and medical intervention, are described through a diversity of chiropractic arts. Future studies that may evaluate more formally and on a larger scale, the effectiveness, safety and cost benefits of chiropractic care on both well-being and physiological function are suggested, as well as pursuit of appropriate funding’
The article doesn’t state that Chiropractic fixes fertility issues, rather that more research on a larger scale should be pursued.
Zetler,J & Bonello,R, 2011, Essentials of Law, Ethics, and Professional Issues, Elsevier, states that Chiropractic is, ‘the most researched and firmly established alternatives to medical care, and it is also the most mainstream’. A point is made that Chiropractic practice has seen a break from the more ‘Classical’ applications, to more ‘Multimodal Mainstream’ applications in Integrative practice with other medical professions. Additionally, modern Chiropractic is taught in qualifications equivalent to Bachelor of Health Sciences, and Doctor of Chiropractic. It is a profession heavily regulated, and licenses are required to practice. Because of this, practitioner statements about what it can and can’t achieve need to be within the scope of regulation and training.
If, I were in Pritha’s situation, (from my own perspective and understanding of energy movement and flow around the body, including my understanding of qi and meridians from learning traditional chinese (TCM) medicine), the research articles I have read, might give me hope that I can solve the issue of my neck pain, and perhaps improve my chances of conceiving.
Being unsure as to whether this, or another treatment would be best, I would ask the practitioner directly, and perhaps research the current information from associations, including ‘The Chiropractic Board of Australia’. I went to their site and I did find an article questioning the validity of TCM treatments and fertility, so it looks as if Chiropractic being regulated by AHPRA will not currently make any claims that it can assist with fertility issues either. I couldn’t see another article about this so I’d probably ring the Chiropractor and ask to clarify.
- It took Pritha a lot of courage to ask the Chiropractor about treating fertility. How can the Chiropractor let Pritha know that this treatment is not within the typical scope of practice of Chiropractic without making Pritha feel embarrassed or upset?
The practitioner can listen and answer all questions professionally and with empathy. Perhaps they can refer Pritha to other modalities for neck pain, and even fertility, for example, a Naturopath, or TCM practitioner may be a point of call before considering a mainstream fertility specialist.
Another option is to tell Pritha that an adjustment has been shown to help with neck pain, and that he can’t give any indication or guarantee that it would help with fertility, however she is welcome to have a treatment as part of a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing program aiming to improve overall health.